LOS ANGELES – No. 3 UCLA (4-0, 0-0 MPSF) heads to UC San Diego to compete in the Triton Invitational. The Bruins will play four games in San Diego, opening with California Baptist University at 2:40 p.m. PT on Friday, Feb. 2. All of the games on Friday will take place at Coggan Family Aquatic Complex at La Jolla High School (800 Nautilus St., La Jolla, Calif.). All games after that on Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 3-4), will be held at Canyonview Aquatic Complex on the campus of UC San Diego. UCSD will provide live stats for all games on Friday and only for games that it is involved in on Saturday and Sunday. To purchase tickets, or to find rosters, schedules, and results for all teams as well as live video and stats links, please visit their Tournament Central page by clicking here.
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Friday, Feb. 2 (Triton Invitational – Coggan Family Aquatic Complex – La Jolla High School)
2:40 PM PT – No. 3 UCLA vs. California Baptist University
Saturday, Feb. 3 (Triton Invitational – Canyonview Aquatic Complex – UC San Diego)
8:40 AM PT (if lose on Friday) or 10:40 AM PT (if win on Friday) – No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 9 UC San Diego or No. 14 Arizona State
3:00 PM PT (if lose on Saturday morning) or 5:40 PM PT (if win on Saturday morning)
Sunday, Feb. 4 (Triton Invitational – Canyonview Aquatic Complex – UC San Diego)
8:40 AM PT – 7th Place Game
10:040 AM PT – 5th Place Game
11:20 AM PT – 3rd Place Game
12:40 PM PT – 1st Place Game
SERIES HISTORY
This is the 12th meeting between UCLA and California Baptist University with the Bruins leading the series 11-0. The Bruins defeated the Lancers 20-3 in the last meeting on Jan. 22, 2022, at the UCSB Winter Invitational. Emma Lineback paced the Bruins' offense with her second-consecutive hat trick. A total of 12 Bruins scored, including seven multiple-goal scorers. Fiona Kuesis, Maddie Musselman, Val Ayala, Anneliese Miller, Katrina Drake, and Nicole Struss added two scores apiece. Georgia Phillips got the start in the cage and played the first half, registering five saves while allowing two goals. Sydney Chiang came on in relief in the second half, tallying seven stops while surrendering one goal.
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW
No. 2 UCLA scored the first four goals of the game and never looked back en route to an 18-10 win over No. 14 UC Davis (0-5) in the Bruins' only countable game of the California Cup at Spieker Aquatics Complex on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 27). UCLA improved to 22-1 all-time in the series history with the Aggies. The Bruins had eight players score in the contest, led by a career-high-tying effort of five goals from sophomore Anna Pearson. Freshmen Becca Melanson and Panni Szegedi and sophomore Genoa Rossi each scored the first hat tricks of their young collegiate careers. Freshman Lauren Steele got the start in the cage and played the first half, recording 10 saves and two steals while allowing three goals. Freshman Joey Niz played the second half in the cage and had four saves and a steal while surrendering seven goals.
BRUINS SWEEP WEEKLY MPSF AWARDS
The UCLA Bruins swept the MPSF weekly honors as sophomore utility Anna Pearson was named the MPSF/Delfina Player of the Week and freshman utility Panni Szegedi was tabbed the MPSF/S&R Sport Newcomer of the Week as announced by the league office on Jan. 30. UCLA went 1-0 this past week with an 18-10 win over No. 14 UC Davis in its only countable game at the California Cup on Saturday (Jan. 27) to help the Bruins remain undefeated at 4-0 on the year. Pearson (Irvine, Calif. / Orange Lutheran HS) led the team and tied her career high with five goals (on seven shots) against the Aggies. She also drew a team-high three exclusions. Szegedi (Budapest, Hungary / Kolping Katolikus Iskola) scored the first hat trick (on five shots) of her collegiate career against UC Davis. The freshman did a little bit of everything, winning all three of her sprints, drawing one exclusion, and recording a game-high four steals. It marked Pearson's third and Szegedi's first career MPSF award of their respective careers.
STEELE NAMED MPSF/S&R SPORT NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
UCLA freshman goalkeeper Lauren Steele (Old Greenwich, Conn./Orange Lutheran HS) has been named the MPSF/S&R Sport Newcomer of the Week as announced by the league office on Jan. 23. Steele went 3-0 in the cage as the Bruins' starting goalkeeper against three ranked teams at the UCSB Winter Invitational over the weekend. She racked up a total of 17 saves (10.0 saves per game) while sporting a 5.88 goals against average in her three appearances in goal. While starting every game, she led the team in steals with five as she played just over half of the 12 quarters (6.8) in the cage and then played in the field, where she finished tied for fourth on the team in scoring with three goals (on six shots). She had five saves while pitching a shutout in the first period in the win over No. 25 Marist. She followed that with eight saves, three steals, and her first collegiate goal in the win over No. 10 UC San Diego in 29:50 of action in goal. In the win at No. 12 UC Santa Barbara, she played 16:38 in the cage, making four saves and two steals while allowing just four goals. She also scored twice (on two shots) against the Gauchos. This was Lauren Steele's first career MPSF award.
PEARSON IS LONE RETURNING ALL-AMERICAN FROM 2023
Sophomore utility Anna Pearson is the only Bruin All-American back for the 2024 season. She earned Honorable Mention accolades after finishing second on the team in scoring with 46 goals. First Team All-American center Ava Johnson, graduated, as did Second-Teamer, utility Katrina Drake. Junior attacker Emma Lineback and sophomore utility Sienna Green both earned Honorable Mention plaudits and both will miss the 2024 campaign to train for a spot on the National Teams of their respective countries, USA and Australia, for the Olympic Games.
TWO MORE ALL-AMERICANS RETURNING
But while only one player is back this season that earned All-America acclaim in 2023, the Bruins return two more players that have achieved All-America status in their respective careers. Junior attacker Molly Renner earned Honorable Mention honors in 2022 and was eighth on the team last year in scoring with 25 goals (56 in her career). Graduate student Hannah Palmer has decided to use her free COVID year and return for a fifth season after earning Second-Team All-America honors in 2021. The attacker was 10th on the team last year in scoring with 20 goals (93 in her career).
RETURNING ALL-MPSF SELECTIONS
While five of the Bruins' seven All-MPSF selections from a year ago are either gone or using an Olympic year, two players return from the 2023 season that received postseason accolades from the league office. Both are sophomores in utility Anna Pearson and attacker Taylor Smith, who was seventh on the squad in scoring with 30 goals.
TENDING GOAL
The Bruins have five goalkeepers on the 2024 roster that will be vying for playing time and three of them saw action last season. Leading the charge will be senior Sydney Chiang, who played in eight games (starting six times) while going 6-0 on the year. Sophomore Izzy Rosensitto made one appearance on the year while junior MJ Bailey also played in one game. Looking to make an immediate impact will be two true freshmen goalkeepers in Joey Niz (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos HS) and Lauren Steele (Old Greenwich, Conn./Orange Lutheran HS).
YOUTH MOVEMENT
The Bruins will be a fairly young team in 2024 with 11 true freshmen and six sophomores on the roster. That is a total of 17 of the Bruins' 26 student-athletes (65.4 percent) on the roster with only one year or less of collegiate experience. The 11 freshmen include the two aforementioned goalies, as well as center Dania Innis (Orinda, Calif./Miramonte HS), attackers Elektra Urbatsch (Brooklyn, N.Y./Poly Prep Country Day School), Becca Melanson (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny HS), Helene MacBeth (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente HS), Camille Greenlee (Carlsbad, Calif./The Bishop's School), and Alexsa Gimenez (Commerce, Calif./Downey HS), and utilities Natasha Kieckhafer (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic HS), Olivia Ouellette (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos HS), and Panni Szegedi (Budapest, Hungary/Kolping Katolikus Iskola).
OUTNUMBERED BUT MIGHTY
UCLA will have nine players on its 2024 roster that are either juniors, seniors or graduate students. Three graduate students are using their free COVID year to play in 2024 and they include attackers Fiona Kuesis, Hannah Palmer, and Brooke Doten. The Bruins also have three seniors on the roster that includes goalkeeper Sydney Chiang and attackers Anneliese Miller and Malia Allen. While junior Emma Lineback is taking an Olympic year, three other juniors return in 2024 that includes goalkeeper MJ Bailey, attacker Molly Renner, and utility Nicole Struss.
WRIGHT ON DECK
Adam Wright is in his seventh season as UCLA's head women's water polo coach in 2024 with an overall record of 130-36 (.783) and an MPSF mark of 25-12 (.676). He recently won his 100th game at the helm of the women's program with a 9-8 victory at No. 4 California (Mar. 5, 2022). On July 20, 2017, then-UCLA Director of Athletics, Dan Guerrero, announced that Wright would guide both the UCLA men's and women's water polo teams.
RECAPPING 2023
Overall Record: 21-8 (.724) | MPSF Record: 4-2 (.667) | Final Ranking: 3rd | NCAA Finish: T-3rd | MPSF Tournament Finish: 4th
UCLA finished the season at 21-8 overall and 4-2 in the MPSF in 2023 in head coach Adam Wright's sixth season at the helm of the program. Five Bruins earned All-America acclaim on the year. Graduate center Ava Johnson headlined the list of Bruin selections as UCLA's lone First-Team honoree. Graduate utility Katrina Drake was the only Bruin to earn Second-Team honors. The remaining three Bruins earned Honorable Mention All-America accolades, which included sophomore attacker Emma Lineback and a pair of freshmen utility in Anna Pearson and Sienna Green.
UCLA IN THE CWPA POLL
The Bruins slid one spot to No. 3 in the 2024 CWPA National Women's Varsity Top 25 Poll (92 points), released on Jan. 31.
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Friday, Feb. 2 (Triton Invitational – Coggan Family Aquatic Complex – La Jolla High School)
2:40 PM PT – No. 3 UCLA vs. California Baptist University
Saturday, Feb. 3 (Triton Invitational – Canyonview Aquatic Complex – UC San Diego)
8:40 AM PT (if lose on Friday) or 10:40 AM PT (if win on Friday) – No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 9 UC San Diego or No. 14 Arizona State
3:00 PM PT (if lose on Saturday morning) or 5:40 PM PT (if win on Saturday morning)
Sunday, Feb. 4 (Triton Invitational – Canyonview Aquatic Complex – UC San Diego)
8:40 AM PT – 7th Place Game
10:040 AM PT – 5th Place Game
11:20 AM PT – 3rd Place Game
12:40 PM PT – 1st Place Game
SERIES HISTORY
This is the 12th meeting between UCLA and California Baptist University with the Bruins leading the series 11-0. The Bruins defeated the Lancers 20-3 in the last meeting on Jan. 22, 2022, at the UCSB Winter Invitational. Emma Lineback paced the Bruins' offense with her second-consecutive hat trick. A total of 12 Bruins scored, including seven multiple-goal scorers. Fiona Kuesis, Maddie Musselman, Val Ayala, Anneliese Miller, Katrina Drake, and Nicole Struss added two scores apiece. Georgia Phillips got the start in the cage and played the first half, registering five saves while allowing two goals. Sydney Chiang came on in relief in the second half, tallying seven stops while surrendering one goal.
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW
No. 2 UCLA scored the first four goals of the game and never looked back en route to an 18-10 win over No. 14 UC Davis (0-5) in the Bruins' only countable game of the California Cup at Spieker Aquatics Complex on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 27). UCLA improved to 22-1 all-time in the series history with the Aggies. The Bruins had eight players score in the contest, led by a career-high-tying effort of five goals from sophomore Anna Pearson. Freshmen Becca Melanson and Panni Szegedi and sophomore Genoa Rossi each scored the first hat tricks of their young collegiate careers. Freshman Lauren Steele got the start in the cage and played the first half, recording 10 saves and two steals while allowing three goals. Freshman Joey Niz played the second half in the cage and had four saves and a steal while surrendering seven goals.
BRUINS SWEEP WEEKLY MPSF AWARDS
The UCLA Bruins swept the MPSF weekly honors as sophomore utility Anna Pearson was named the MPSF/Delfina Player of the Week and freshman utility Panni Szegedi was tabbed the MPSF/S&R Sport Newcomer of the Week as announced by the league office on Jan. 30. UCLA went 1-0 this past week with an 18-10 win over No. 14 UC Davis in its only countable game at the California Cup on Saturday (Jan. 27) to help the Bruins remain undefeated at 4-0 on the year. Pearson (Irvine, Calif. / Orange Lutheran HS) led the team and tied her career high with five goals (on seven shots) against the Aggies. She also drew a team-high three exclusions. Szegedi (Budapest, Hungary / Kolping Katolikus Iskola) scored the first hat trick (on five shots) of her collegiate career against UC Davis. The freshman did a little bit of everything, winning all three of her sprints, drawing one exclusion, and recording a game-high four steals. It marked Pearson's third and Szegedi's first career MPSF award of their respective careers.
STEELE NAMED MPSF/S&R SPORT NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
UCLA freshman goalkeeper Lauren Steele (Old Greenwich, Conn./Orange Lutheran HS) has been named the MPSF/S&R Sport Newcomer of the Week as announced by the league office on Jan. 23. Steele went 3-0 in the cage as the Bruins' starting goalkeeper against three ranked teams at the UCSB Winter Invitational over the weekend. She racked up a total of 17 saves (10.0 saves per game) while sporting a 5.88 goals against average in her three appearances in goal. While starting every game, she led the team in steals with five as she played just over half of the 12 quarters (6.8) in the cage and then played in the field, where she finished tied for fourth on the team in scoring with three goals (on six shots). She had five saves while pitching a shutout in the first period in the win over No. 25 Marist. She followed that with eight saves, three steals, and her first collegiate goal in the win over No. 10 UC San Diego in 29:50 of action in goal. In the win at No. 12 UC Santa Barbara, she played 16:38 in the cage, making four saves and two steals while allowing just four goals. She also scored twice (on two shots) against the Gauchos. This was Lauren Steele's first career MPSF award.
PEARSON IS LONE RETURNING ALL-AMERICAN FROM 2023
Sophomore utility Anna Pearson is the only Bruin All-American back for the 2024 season. She earned Honorable Mention accolades after finishing second on the team in scoring with 46 goals. First Team All-American center Ava Johnson, graduated, as did Second-Teamer, utility Katrina Drake. Junior attacker Emma Lineback and sophomore utility Sienna Green both earned Honorable Mention plaudits and both will miss the 2024 campaign to train for a spot on the National Teams of their respective countries, USA and Australia, for the Olympic Games.
TWO MORE ALL-AMERICANS RETURNING
But while only one player is back this season that earned All-America acclaim in 2023, the Bruins return two more players that have achieved All-America status in their respective careers. Junior attacker Molly Renner earned Honorable Mention honors in 2022 and was eighth on the team last year in scoring with 25 goals (56 in her career). Graduate student Hannah Palmer has decided to use her free COVID year and return for a fifth season after earning Second-Team All-America honors in 2021. The attacker was 10th on the team last year in scoring with 20 goals (93 in her career).
RETURNING ALL-MPSF SELECTIONS
While five of the Bruins' seven All-MPSF selections from a year ago are either gone or using an Olympic year, two players return from the 2023 season that received postseason accolades from the league office. Both are sophomores in utility Anna Pearson and attacker Taylor Smith, who was seventh on the squad in scoring with 30 goals.
TENDING GOAL
The Bruins have five goalkeepers on the 2024 roster that will be vying for playing time and three of them saw action last season. Leading the charge will be senior Sydney Chiang, who played in eight games (starting six times) while going 6-0 on the year. Sophomore Izzy Rosensitto made one appearance on the year while junior MJ Bailey also played in one game. Looking to make an immediate impact will be two true freshmen goalkeepers in Joey Niz (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos HS) and Lauren Steele (Old Greenwich, Conn./Orange Lutheran HS).
YOUTH MOVEMENT
The Bruins will be a fairly young team in 2024 with 11 true freshmen and six sophomores on the roster. That is a total of 17 of the Bruins' 26 student-athletes (65.4 percent) on the roster with only one year or less of collegiate experience. The 11 freshmen include the two aforementioned goalies, as well as center Dania Innis (Orinda, Calif./Miramonte HS), attackers Elektra Urbatsch (Brooklyn, N.Y./Poly Prep Country Day School), Becca Melanson (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny HS), Helene MacBeth (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente HS), Camille Greenlee (Carlsbad, Calif./The Bishop's School), and Alexsa Gimenez (Commerce, Calif./Downey HS), and utilities Natasha Kieckhafer (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic HS), Olivia Ouellette (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos HS), and Panni Szegedi (Budapest, Hungary/Kolping Katolikus Iskola).
OUTNUMBERED BUT MIGHTY
UCLA will have nine players on its 2024 roster that are either juniors, seniors or graduate students. Three graduate students are using their free COVID year to play in 2024 and they include attackers Fiona Kuesis, Hannah Palmer, and Brooke Doten. The Bruins also have three seniors on the roster that includes goalkeeper Sydney Chiang and attackers Anneliese Miller and Malia Allen. While junior Emma Lineback is taking an Olympic year, three other juniors return in 2024 that includes goalkeeper MJ Bailey, attacker Molly Renner, and utility Nicole Struss.
WRIGHT ON DECK
Adam Wright is in his seventh season as UCLA's head women's water polo coach in 2024 with an overall record of 130-36 (.783) and an MPSF mark of 25-12 (.676). He recently won his 100th game at the helm of the women's program with a 9-8 victory at No. 4 California (Mar. 5, 2022). On July 20, 2017, then-UCLA Director of Athletics, Dan Guerrero, announced that Wright would guide both the UCLA men's and women's water polo teams.
RECAPPING 2023
Overall Record: 21-8 (.724) | MPSF Record: 4-2 (.667) | Final Ranking: 3rd | NCAA Finish: T-3rd | MPSF Tournament Finish: 4th
UCLA finished the season at 21-8 overall and 4-2 in the MPSF in 2023 in head coach Adam Wright's sixth season at the helm of the program. Five Bruins earned All-America acclaim on the year. Graduate center Ava Johnson headlined the list of Bruin selections as UCLA's lone First-Team honoree. Graduate utility Katrina Drake was the only Bruin to earn Second-Team honors. The remaining three Bruins earned Honorable Mention All-America accolades, which included sophomore attacker Emma Lineback and a pair of freshmen utility in Anna Pearson and Sienna Green.
UCLA IN THE CWPA POLL
The Bruins slid one spot to No. 3 in the 2024 CWPA National Women's Varsity Top 25 Poll (92 points), released on Jan. 31.
| 2024 Women's Varsity Top 25 (Week 2/January 31) | |||
| Rank | Team | Week 1 Poll | Points |
| 1. | USC | 1 | 100 |
| 2. | California | 3 | 94 |
| 3. | UCLA | 2 | 92 |
| 4. | Hawai'i | 4 | 90 |
| 5. | Fresno State | 5 | 83 |
| 6 (T). | UC Irvine | 6 | 79 |
| 6 (T). | Stanford | 7 | 79 |
| 8. | Princeton | 9 | 71 |
| 9. | UC San Diego | 10 | 69 |
| 10. | Michigan | 11 | 63 |
| 11. | Loyola Marymount | 19 | 55 |
| 12. | UC Santa Barbara | 12 | 53 |
| 13. | Long Beach State | 8 | 47 |
| 14. | Arizona State | 13 | 46 |
| 15. | Indiana | 16 | 42 |
| 16 (T). | Pacific | 15 | 41 |
| 16 (T). | UC Davis | 14 | 39 |
| 18. | Harvard | 17 | 33 |
| 19. | San Jose State | 18 | 32 |
| 20. | Wagner | 20 | 26 |
| 21. | Long Island University | 22 | 21 |
| 22. | San Diego State | 23 | 17 |
| 23 (T). | CSUN | 21 | 13 |
| 23 (T). | Biola | 25 | 6 |
| 25. | Pomona-Pitzer | 24 | 5 |
| RV | Brown | RV | 4 |
| RV | Marist | RV | 2 |