The No. 4 UCLA women's water polo will look to remain perfect at home when top-ranked Stanford visits Spieker Aquatics Center Saturday. The meeting will represent the first in MPSF play this season for the longtime foes. Pac-12 Networks will provide coverage of the game, with Kevin Danna and Chris Dorst on the call. Saturday will also represent the Bruins' Senior Day, with Alexis Angermund, Devin Grab and Nicole Reynolds each playing in her final game at Spieker. The ceremony honoring the trio will begin at at 11:45 a.m. (PT). First sprint will occur at 12:05 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY
Stanford holds a 47-35 advantage all time in the series. The teams' most recent meeting saw the Cardinal pick up a 10-3 Triton Invitational semifinal-round win (Feb. 24), in which Stanford scored the game's first three goals and six of the first seven. Devin Grab, Grace Reego and Myna Simmons registered the Bruin goals, while Carlee Kapana stopped eight shots over three quarters in the cage. The teams faced off three times in 2017, as visting UCLA picked up a 10-9 win over top-ranked Stanford in the lone regular-season meeting (April 15). The Bruins and Cardinal split two postseason meetings, with host UCLA winning the MPSF Championship, 6-3 (April 30), and Stanford claiming the NCAA title with an 8-7 victory in Indianapolis two weeks later.
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Bruin defense took charge in a 6-3 win over Arizona State at Spieker (March 31). Kapana was the catalyst, stopping six shots and keying a counterattack that was responsible for four of UCLA's half-dozen goals. Bronte Halligan led the way on the offensive side with two goals. After being held scoreless over the game's first 12:11, the Bruins scored four goals in 3:42. They tacked on two more in the second half and held the Sun Devils scoreless in the fourth quarter. Kapana sealed the deal with a stop of a penalty shot with 3:40 to go.
SENIOR STATS
Angermund, Grab and Reynolds have posted the following statistics in their four years in Westwood:
• Angermund: 94 games (17 starts), 47 goals, 10 assists, 16 steals, 5 field blocks, 84 earned exclusions
• Grab: 89 games (37 starts), 102 goals, 48 assists, 64 steals, 23 field blocks, 48 earned exclusions
• Reynolds: 63 games (3 starts), 35 goals, 6 assists, 9 steals, 5 field blocks, 30 earned exclusions
REUNION WEEKEND
In addition to honoring its three seniors prior to Saturday's game, UCLA will celebrate its 1998 and 2008 championship teams at halftime. The '98 squad secured the third title in as many seasons for UCLA, defeating California in the National Collegiate Tournament final, 7-3, and outscoring opponents 43-12 over the course of the playoff. Those Bruins also scored a program-record 451 goals and held their opponents to just 106. The 2008 NCAA championship, meanwhile, capped the careers of Kamaile Crowell, Gabrielle Domanic, Jillian Kraus, Courtney Mathewson and Brittany Rowe, who became the first student-athletes in program history to win four NCAA titles in as many years. Mathewson was named the nation's top player, winning the Peter J. Cutino Award.
100-GOAL CLUB
Devin Grab and Lizette Rozeboom became the newest members of the program's 100-goal club with their multi-goal efforts in the Bruins' doubleheader sweep March 24. Grab hit the century mark with her hat trick against Long Beach State, while Rozeboom joined her with a three-goal performance versus Hartwick. They became the second and third Bruins to join the club this year, as Maddie Musselman reached the milestone on Feb. 25. Musselman became the fastest Bruin to 100 career goals. The sophomore previously set the UCLA freshman record for goals scored with 69. The Newport Beach, Calif. native has not missed a beat in her second season, leading the team in goals (42) while trailing just Bronte Halligan in the assists (25) and steals departments (36). She has tallied 16 multi-goal games, including six hat tricks. For her efforts in the Bruins' win over UCI, Musselman was named MPSF Player of the Week for Week 6. She earned a conference record seven Newcomer of the Week awards during her freshman campaign, during which she was also named a First-Team ACWPC All-American and the MPSF Newcomer of the Year. She has 112 goals in just 50 career games (2.24 per game).
NEW CONTRIBUTORS
Thirty-four percent (81) of UCLA's 240 goals have come from either newcomers or players who participated in five or fewer games in 2017. Freshman Lexi Liebowitz leads those players with 17. Sophomore Emily Skelly, meanwhile, has 15. Brooke Maxson (11), Kelsey Blacker (nine), Louise Hazell (eight), Sarah Sheldon (seven), Myna Simmons (five), Roxy Wheaton (five), Haley Evans (two) and Allison Wieseler (two) round out that group. The seven returners (Skelly, Maxson, Blacker, Hazell, Sheldon, Evans and Wieseler) on that list combined for just five goals in 2017.
THE WRIGHT WAY
Adam Wright, who has coached the UCLA men's water polo team to three NCAA Championships (2014, 2015, 2017), took over head coach of both the UCLA men's and women's water polo teams on July 20, 2017. Wright has an overall record of 227-37 (.860) and an MPSF mark of 51-12 (.810) on the men's side. From 2014-16, Wright's Bruins set an NCAA record with 57 consecutive victories and a conference record with 26 consecutive MPSF wins. Prior to becoming head coach of the men's program in 2009, he served as an assistant coach with the men's and women's teams during the 2008-09 school year, helping the women win an unprecedented fifth consecutive NCAA Championship in May 2009.