UCLA
California
No. 4 UCLA Set to Open MPSF Play
March 08, 2018 | Women's Water Polo
ON DECK THIS WEEK
The No. 4 UCLA women's water polo team will open Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) play when it visits No. 1 California Saturday (noon). It will mark the first of two versus Top-10 opponents, as the Bruins will conclude their trip at No. 8 Pacific Sunday (1 p.m.). Last year, UCLA took the conference's regular-season crown with an unblemished 6-0 mark.
SERIES HISTORY
The Bruins hold a 56-10 all-time mark versus California, including 16 consecutive victories dating back to 2013. Six of the last seven decisions have been decided by three goals or less, including a 7-5 win in the third-place game at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Irvine, Calif. last month (Feb. 25). Maddie Musselman led the way with four goals, while Carlee Kapana racked up 13 saves. UCLA, meanwhile, is 21-0 versus Pacific, extending that unbeaten mark with a 10-4 win over the Tigers at the Michigan Invitational (Jan. 28). Musselman netted a hat trick in that one, while Kapana tallied 11 saves in three quarters of play.
WEEK IN REVIEW
UCLA has been out of action since Feb. 25, when they defeated the No. 2 Golden Bears for third place at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational. It was the fourth game in three days for the Bruins, who also tallied wins over No. 17 UC Santa Barbara, 13-3 (Feb. 23), and No. 5 Hawai'i, 9-8 (Feb. 24). They also dropped a semifinal game versus top-ranked Stanford, 10-3, in their second Saturday game.
MUSSELMAN FASTEST TO 100
With her second conversion versus Cal (Feb. 25), Musselman became the fastest Bruin to 100 career goals. She previously set the UCLA freshman record for goals scored with 69. The Corona del Mar, Calif. native has not missed a beat in her second season, leading the team in goals (33) and assists (21) while trailing just Bronte Halligan in the steals department (29). She has tallied 12 multi-goal games, including five hat tricks. For her efforts in the Bruins' win over UCI, Maddie Musselman was named MPSF Player of the Week for Week 6 on Tuesday. Musselman posted her third hat trick of the season and also shined off the ball, racking up two steals, three sprints won and a career-high five earned exclusions. The Player of the Week honor marked the second of Musselman's career. 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.
CLUTCH PERFORMERS
UCLA is 5-1 in its six games decided by two or fewer goals and leading scorers Musselman and Lizette Rozeboom have come up big in the clutch. Musselman has scored the difference-making goal in four of those wins, while Rozeboom netted the difference maker with 10 seconds remaining in the Bruins' 7-6 win over Arizona State in the semifinal round of the Triton Invitational (Feb. 11). Musselman leads the team with eight goals scored in the fourth quarter or later of games. Skelly has six, while Rozeboom and Sarah Sheldon each have five.
NEW CONTRIBUTORS
Thirty-seven percent (67) of UCLA's 180 goals have come from either newcomers or players who participated in five or fewer games in 2017. Sophomore Skelly and freshman Liebowitz are tops among those nine players with 13 goals apiece. Brooke Maxson (11), Louise Hazell (eight), Sheldon (seven), Kelsey Blacker (five), Roxy Wheaton (five), Haley Evans (two), Myna Simmons (two) and Allison Wieseler (one) round out that group. The seven sophomores on that list combined for just five goals in 2017.
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 7.5 games, allowing 37 goals (4.93 GAA) while posting 60 saves. Kapana has played 8.675 games, giving up 47 goals (5.41 GAA) and tallying 85 saves. She racked up a season-high 13 saves in the Bruins' road win against UC Irvine (Feb. 16) and matched that mark versus Cal at the Barbara Kalbus Invite (Feb. 25). Kapana has also recorded 11-save games against Michigan (Jan. 20) and Pacific (Jan. 28) and a 10-save performance versus USC (Feb. 11).
BRUINS FOURTH IN WEEK 8 POLL
The Bruins are ranked No. 4 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association's Week 8 poll, it was announced Wednesday. Cal, previously ranked No. 4 in the Week 7 poll, moved into a tie for the top spot after defeating previously unbeaten Stanford. The Golden Bears and Cardinal are tied for the No. 1 spot (97 points). USC (93) and UCLA (89) were leapfrogged by Cal. Hawai'i rounds out the top five (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.
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.
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.
