UCLA
USC
No. 4 UCLA to Close Regular Season at No. 1 USC
April 19, 2018 | Women's Water Polo
The No. 4 UCLA women's water polo team concludes its regular-season schedule Saturday with a trip across town to take on top-ranked USC. The teams' first MPSF meeting this season will begin at 7:05 p.m. Pac-12 Networks will provide live television coverage, with Kevin Danna and Adam Krikorian in the announcers' booth. The Trojans will honor eight seniors prior to the latest chapter in the rivalry. The game will mark UCLA's second in a row and fourth overall against the nation's top team.
SERIES HISTORY
The Bruins hold a 50-26 all-time advantage over the Trojans. The teams last faced off Feb. 11 in the Triton Invitational final, which USC captured by a 6-4 score. After trailing from the game's opening goal, UCLA pulled even at 4:37 of the third stanza. The Trojans eventually built a three-goal lead before Maddie Musselman's second of the day pulled the Bruins to within two at the final score. The teams also faced off in a pair of unscored exhibition contests at the January 13 UCLA Invitational.
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Bruins were out of action last week after falling in a thriller against top-ranked Stanford. The Cardinal jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the April 7 game, but saw the Bruins come all the way back with four straight goals over 8:09 of gametime during the second and third quarters. Stanford would score the game's final three goals for the difference. Musselman led the Bruins with two goals--both scored during the furious rally.
LOVE FOR LIEBOWITZ
Freshman Lexi Liebowitz earned the first weekly award of her career when she was named the MPSF Newcomer of the Week for April 10. Without scoring a goal, Liebowitz played a big role in the Bruins' rally and near upset of Stanford April 7. The freshman assisted on two goals during a 4-0 scoring run over 8:09 of gameplay and won the second-half-opening sprint to keep UCLA's momentum rolling. Liebowitz added one earned exclusion and one field block during the third stanza that saw the Bruins temporarily pull even. On the year, the lefty is among the top five Bruins in goals scored (17), assists (17), earned exclusions (19), sprints won (14), steals (11) and field blocks (11). The award marked the second weekly award of the season for a Bruin. 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.
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 triple digits, doing it in her 44th game. 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 (45), while co-leading with Bronte Halligan in the assists department (27). She is also tied with Liebowitz for the team lead in field blocks (11) and trails just Halligan (43) in takeaways with 39. She has tallied 17 multi-goal games, including six hat tricks. She has 114 goals in just 51 career games (2.24 per game).
NEXT WOMAN UP
Over one third (82) of UCLA's 245 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 (six), 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 Bruins lost seven seniors--including four starters--from its NCAA runner-up 2017 squad.
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.
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.
