No. 3 UCLA Continues MPSF Play with Doubleheader on Saturday

Saturday, March 16

Tempe, AZ

11:30 AM

UCLA

Arizona State

Freshman Katrina Drake and the UCLA Bruins are back in the pool for MPSF play after a 13-day hiatus.

Photo by: Minette Rubin

No. 3 UCLA Continues MPSF Play with Doubleheader on Saturday

March 15, 2019 | Women's Water Polo

2019 WWP Stats

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LOS ANGELES – No. 3 UCLA (17-3, 1-0 MPSF) returns to MPSF play this week when it travels to No. 8 Arizona State (10-7, 1-1 MPSF) to face the Sun Devils in Tempe, Ariz., on Saturday, March 16 at 11:30 a.m. PT. Later that day, the Bruins will face league newcomer No. 22 Indiana (5-11, 0-3 MPSF) at 3:00 p.m. PT at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center.

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Saturday, Mar. 16 (MPSF Doubleheader at Arizona State)
11:30 AM PT – No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 8 Arizona State (Live Stream) (Live Stats)
3:00 PM PT – No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 22 Indiana (Live Stats)

Friday, Mar. 29 (Final Non-Conference Regular Season Game)
6:00 PM PT – No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 7 Pacific

Recapping Last Outing
Then fourth-ranked UCLA (17-3, 1-0) opened MPSF play with a huge 9-7 victory over No. 3 California (10-3, 0-1) on Sunday afternoon at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center. In the win over the Golden Bears, the Bruins were led by junior Maddie Musselman who scored two goals. Senior Carlee Kapana started in goal for UCLA, going the distance, recording five saves while surrendering seven goals. The Bruins' defense was stellar with a season-high nine field blocks in the game.

Best Start for Bruins Since 2008
Before its 10-3 loss to No. 1 USC in the championship game of the Triton Invitational (Feb. 9), the UCLA Bruins opened the 2019 season at 13-0, which is the best start in 11 years. In 2008, the Bruins went 33-0, winning the program's seventh NCAA Championship.

Bruins in the MPSF Stats
Just two Bruins are currently ranked in the top 25 in the MPSF in scoring, led by Maddie Musselman's 2.50 goals per game (40 goals in 16 games), which ranks third in the league. Freshman Val Ayala ranks 18th with a 1.45 goals per game average (29 goals in 20 games). In the goalie rankings, senior Carlee Kapana ranks 2nd in saves per game (9.55 spg) while sophomore Jahmea Bent ranks 4th (8.99 spg). Kapana ranks 4th in the MPSF in goals against average at 6.44 while Bent ranks seventh at 7.47.

Maddie Musselman Named MPSF/KAP7 Player of the Week
UCLA's Maddie Musselman (Newport Beach, CA/Corona Del Mar HS/Laurel Springs Academy) was named the MPSF/KAP7 Player of the Week as announced by the league office on Mar. 5. The junior attacker helped the fourth-ranked Bruins defeat No. 3 California, 9-7, in the MPSF opener for both teams on Sunday, March 3. Musselman scored both of her game-high-tying two goals in the second half. Her first goal ended a 4-0 scoring run by Cal to keep UCLA ahead at 6-4 with 0:45 left in the third period. Her second goal was the eventual game-winner with 2:48 remaining in the fourth which put the Bruins up 8-6. She added three drawn exclusions, three field blocks, and one steal. She leads the Bruins in scoring with 40 goals in 16 games, which ranks third in the MPSF (2.50 goals per game). This is the 10th career MPSF weekly award for Musselman, third as player of the week.

Ava Johnson Named MPSF/KAP7 Newcomer of the Week
UCLA freshman Ava Johnson (Walnut Creek, Calif./Las Lomas HS) was named the MPSF/KAP7 Newcomer of the Week as announced by the league office on Feb. 19. The freshman center led the Bruins in scoring with her second hat trick of the season in a 13-10 overtime win over No. 7 UC Irvine (Feb. 16). Johnson scored all three goals on power plays, with the first being the only goal of the second period. She would net the eventual game-winning goal in the first overtime period and would add the final score of the game in the second overtime. Johnson also drew a team-high four exclusions in the win. She has scored eight goals in her last five outings after scoring just four goals in her first 10 games. This is the first career MPSF honor for Johnson.

Val Ayala Named MPSF/KAP7 Newcomer of the Week
UCLA freshman Val Ayala (Anaheim, Calif./Foothill HS) was named the MPSF/KAP7 Newcomer of the Week as announced by the league office on Jan. 22. The freshman attacker led the Bruins in scoring this past weekend as UCLA went 5-0 with five wins over nationally ranked teams. Ayala registered three hat tricks, opening her collegiate career with three scores in a 10-6 win over No. 18 CSUN. She completed another hat trick in another 10-6 win over No. 6 UC Irvine. She tacked on one goal in a 17-8 win over No. 24 Cal Baptist and then scored three more in a 9-7 outcome over No. 9 Michigan. In all, Ayala scored 10 goals while collecting three assists, three steals and two drawn exclusions. This is the first career MPSF honor for Ayala.

Coaching Changes
During the offseason, UCLA men's water polo hired Christopher Lee as an assistant coach to replace Dustin Litvak, who was hired to be the head men's water polo coach at Princeton.

Wright on Deck
Adam Wright is in his second season as UCLA's head women's water polo coach in 2019 with an overall record of 40-11 (.784) and an MPSF mark of 3-3 (.500). On July 20, 2017, UCLA Director of Athletics, Dan Guerrero, announced that Wright will guide both the UCLA men's and women's water polo teams.

Recapping 2018
Overall Record: 23-8 | Final Ranking: 4th | NCAA Finish: T-3rd | MPSF Tournament Finish: 4th

UCLA advanced to the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament in head coach Adam Wright's first season at the helm of the program. The Bruins' 8-4 win over Pacific at USC secured their eighth consecutive appearance in the national semifinals. Sophomore Maddie Musselman secured ACWPC All-America acclaim for the second time in her career. Senior Devin Grab registered her second selection as a second-team All-American. UCLA also saw Bronte Halligan pick up third-team honors while Carlee Kapana was named an honorable mention All-America selection. In total, 12 Bruins claimed ACWPC All-Academic honors.

UCLA In The CWPA Poll
The Bruins remain at No. 3 in the 2019 CWPA National Women's Varsity Top 25 Poll (92 points, no change), released on Mar. 13.

2019 WOMEN'S VARSITY TOP 25 (WEEK 8 - Feb. 13)
Rank	Team	Last Week's Poll	Points
1	USC	1	100
2	Stanford	2	96
3	UCLA	3	92
4	California	4	88
5	Hawai'i	5	83
6	Michigan	6	80
7	Pacific	7	77
8	Arizona State	9	71
9	UC Santa Barbara	10	69
10	UC Irvine	8	64
11	UC Davis	11	60
12	Loyola Marymount	12	54
13	Fresno State	13	50
14	Princeton	15	43
15	Long Beach State	17 (T)	42
16	Wagner	16	40
17	UC San Diego	14	38
18	Harvard	17 (T)	34
19	San Jose State	19	32
20	Marist	21	20
21	CSUN	20	16
22	Indiana	25	14
23 (T)	Cal Baptist	34	12
23 (T)	Azusa Pacific	RV	12
25	San Diego State	22	9
RV	Bucknell	24	4