UCLA
UC Irvine
No. 4 UCLA Visits No. 7 UC Irvine Friday
February 15, 2018 | Women's Water Polo
ON DECK THIS WEEK
No. 4 UCLA takes on No. 7 UC Irvine in the first of five straight games in Orange County for the Bruins. They will begin play with the Anteaters Friday at 7 p.m. from the Anteater Aquatics Complex. The teams will also compete at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational Feb. 23-25. Both the Bruins and Anteaters recently returned from the Triton Invitational in San Diego. UCLA posted a runner-up finish, while the Anteaters took fourth. Each team was knocked out of the winners bracket follow with a two-goal loss to eventual champion No. 2 USC.
SERIES HISTORY
UCLA holds a 25-0 all-time record against UC Irvine, including a pair of 16-1 wins last season. Maddie Musselman scored four goals in a rainy home opener (Feb. 17), while Lizette Rozeboom and Alys Williams each netted a hat trick of her own. Carlee Kapana racked up 13 saves in that one. Then, just eight days later, the Bruins dispatched the Anteaters from their home pool in a Barbara Kalbus Invite semifinal game. Williams registered another hat trick.
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Bruins made a run to the Triton Invitational title game before falling in a close one to then-No. 2 USC, 6-4. UCLA reached the final thanks to a 7-6 victory over No. 6 Arizona State that saw Rozeboom strike with 10 seconds remaining in what would turn out to be the game winner. One day earlier, Hannah Storum totaled 22 saves, including 15 in a 10-2 win over host then-No. 15 UC San Diego. The Bruins defeated Iona, 12-1, in the opener. Rozeboom led all Bruin goal scorers with sixโincluding at least one in each game.
NEW CONTRIBUTORS
Forty percent (56) of UCLA's 140 goals have come from either newcomers or players who participated in five or less games in 2017. Sophomore Emily Skelly is tops among those nine players with 11 goals, while freshman Lexi Liebowitz has 10. Louise Hazell (eight), Brooke Maxson (eight), Sarah Sheldon (seven), Kelsey Blacker (five), Roxy Wheaton (four), Haley Evans (two) and Allison Wieseler (one) round out that group. The seven sophomores on that list combined for just five goals in 2017.
MIGHTY MADDIE
Musselman, who was named a First-Team ACWPC All-American and the MPSF Newcomer of the Year as a freshman, is off to an impressive start to her sophomore campaign. The Newport Beach, Calif. native currently leads the Bruins in goals (21) and steals (21) and is tied for the team lead in assists (16). Musselman has registered eight multi-goal games, including hat tricks against Michigan (Jan. 27) and Pacific (Jan. 28) at the Michigan Invitational.
IN THE CAGE
It has been a balanced effort thus far in goal for the Bruins, as Jahmea Bent, Carlee Kapana and Hannah Storum have each spent considerable time in the cage. Bent has played two games for the Bruins, allowing seven goals in her eight quarters for a 3.5 goals-against average (GAA). She has also tallied 14 saves, including eight in her debut against Loyola Marymount. Storum has played seven games, allowing 34 goals (4.86 GAA) while posting a team-best 57 saves. Kapana has played four games, giving up 17 goals (4.25 GAA) and tallying 41 saves. She has recorded 11-save games against Michigan (Jan. 20) and Pacific (Jan. 28) and a 10-goal performance versus USC (Feb. 11).
SIX FOR SKELLY
Sophomore Skelly carried three career goals into play at the Michigan Invitational (Jan. 27-28), having never scored more than one in a game. In the Bruins' Saturday opener against then-No. 23 Marist, the sophomore doubled her career output, exploding for six in an 18-8 win over the Red Foxes. Skelly's half dozen goals represented the most by a Bruin since Lizette Rozeboom posted seven in a 22-5 win over George Washington (March 5). That game was also played in Michigan as part of the Wolverine Invitational.
BRUINS FOURTH IN WEEK 5 POLL
The Bruins are ranked No. 4 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association's Week 5 poll, it was announced Feb. 14. Stanford maintained its hold on the top spot (100 points), while California moved into sole possession of the No. 2 spot (94) after being idle. Triton Invitational champion USC is a close third (93). Following the Bruins (89), Hawai'i maintains its spot in the Top 5 (84). UCLA was previously voted tied for third with USC in the preseason MPSF rankings, behind Stanford and Cal and in front ASU and San Jose State, respectively.
THE WRIGHT WAY
Adam Wright, who has coached the UCLA men's water polo team to three NCAA Championships (2014, 2015, 2017), will now guide both the UCLA men's and women's water polo teams, Director of Athletics Dan Guerrero announced July 20, 2017. Wright has an overall record of 227-37 (.860) and an MPSF mark of 51-12 (.810). 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.
FAMILIAR FACES
Wright completed his staff on Aug. 31, 2017 with the hiring of Kodi Hill, who joined Dusty Litvak as an assistant coach. A 2017 graduate of UCLA, Hill was an instrumental member of a Bruin class that amassed a record of 105-17 over its four years in the pool. Litvak previously served under Wright in the same role for the men's team during 2013 and 2014 and worked in a volunteer capacity with the women's team each of the past two seasons.
