No. 3 UCLA Opens the 2026 Campaign in the Bay Area

Saturday, January 24

Berkeley, Calif.

8:00 AM (PT)

UCLA

California (Exhibition)

The Bruins officially open up the season vs. No. 9 Fresno State on Sunday, Jan. 25, at 8:00 a.m. PT.

Photo by: Elijah Carr

No. 3 UCLA Opens the 2026 Campaign in the Bay Area

January 23, 2026 | Women's Water Polo

SOCIAL MEDIA: WWP on Twitter/X | WWP on Facebook | WWP on Instagram

LOS ANGELES – No. 3 UCLA (0-0, 0-0 MPSF) heads to Berkeley, Calif., to open the 2026 season at the Brigitte Donner Daws Memorial Invitational (Jan. 24-25). The Bruins will officially open the season against No. 9 Fresno State on Sunday, Jan. 25 at 8:00 a.m. PT at California's Spieker Aquatics Complex. The Bruins will conclude the tournament with a 2:00 p.m. bout with No. 6 Long Beach State later that day. The Bruins will start play with a pair of exhibition games on Saturday, Jan. 24 with No. 4 California at 8:00 a.m. PT, followed by No. 1 Stanford at 2:00 p.m. PT. Every game of the Tournament will be streamed live on Overnght.com with live stats provided on the 6-8 Sports platform (links provide below).

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Saturday, Jan. 24 (Exhibition Games – Spieker Aquatics Complex – Berkeley, Calif.)
8:00 AM PT – No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 4 California | WATCH
2:00 PM PT – No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 1 Stanford | WATCH

Sunday, Jan. 25 (Brigitte Donner Daws Memorial Invitational – Spieker Aquatics Complex – Berkeley, Calif.)
8:00 AM PT – No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 9 Fresno State | LIVE STATS | WATCH
2:00 PM PT – No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 6 Long Beach State | LIVE STATS | WATCH

SERIES HISTORY
This is the 10th meeting between UCLA and Fresno State with the Bruins leading the series 9-0. The Bruins swept the season series last year, winning 18-14 at the California Cup (the same tournament as this week that has been renamed) on Jan. 26 and then posting a 24-11 home won on March 1.

From game recap (1/26/25): No. 1 UCLA (3-0, 0-0 MPSF) concluded the California Cup with an 18-14 win over No. 9 Fresno State (3-3) late Sunday afternoon at Spieker Aquatics Complex. UCLA extended its winning streak to 29 straight games and improved to 8-0 against the Bulldogs in the series history. A total of 10 different Bruins scored against Fresno State, paced by a career-high of six goals for junior Anna Pearson. Three other Bruins scored multiple goals in the win, which included two scores each from junior Lily Gess, redshirt junior Emma Lineback, and sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Steele. Steele got the start in the cage and played all of the first half and six minutes of the second half, tallying five saves, two steals, and scoring both goals on 7-on-6 plays at the end of the first and fourth quarters, while allowing 10 goals. Sophomore Joey Niz played the other 10 minutes in the cage, recording two stops and one steal while giving up four goals.
From game recap (3/1/25): No. 4 UCLA (11-3, 1-0 MPSF) returned to the friendly confines of Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center and saw its offense come to life in a 24-11 win over No. 6 Fresno State (7-6) on Saturday afternoon in the Bruins' home opener. UCLA extended its winning streak to 9-0 against the Bulldogs in the series history. A total of 11 different Bruins scored against Fresno State, paced by a career-high-tying five goals for redshirt junior Emma Lineback, who also added an assist for a team-high six points. Junior transfer Bia Mantellato also scored five goals against the Bulldogs. Junior Anna Pearson scored her sixth hat trick of the season. Three other Bruins scored multiple goals in the win, which included two scores each from junior Lily Gess, sophomore Becca Melanson, and freshman Jojo Walters. Steele got the start in the cage and went the distance, tallying a season-high 18 saves to go with four steals and three assists while allowing 11 goals.

This is the 28th meeting between UCLA and Long Beach State with the Bruins leading the series 27-0. The Bruins won the only meeting last year, winning 12-7 at the California Cup (the same tournament as this week that has been renamed) on Jan. 25.

From game recap (1/25/25): No. 1 UCLA (2-0, 0-0 MPSF) opened the 2025 season with a pair of wins over ranked teams at the California Cup at Spieker Aquatics Complex on Saturday afternoon. The Bruins opened with a 17-8 win over No. 15 UC Davis (3-2) in the first game and then ended day one with a 12-7 win over No. 8 Long Beach State (2-2). UCLA extended its winning streak to 28 straight games and improved to 23-1 all-time against the Aggies and 27-0 against the Beach in the series history. Seven different Bruins scored in the win over LBSU, led by a hat trick from redshirt junior Emma Lineback. Lineback also dished out three assists to finish with a game-high six points. Juniors Taylor Smith, Mantellato, and Pearson each added two scores for the Bruins. Steele got the start again and went the distance, tallying 12 saves and two steals while allowing seven goals.

RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
A total of six All-Americans will be suiting up for UCLA in 2026. The Bruins return all five of their All-Americans from the 2025 season, including First-Team selection, senior utility Anna Pearson (Irvine, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS). Junior goalkeeper Lauren Steele (Old Greenwich, Conn./Orange Lutheran HS) and RS-senior attacker Emma Lineback (Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach HS) both earned Second-Team All-American honors last year and are joined by Honorable Mention picks, senior center Bia Mantellato (São Paulo, Brazil/Newport Harbor HS) and senior utility Genoa Rossi (Laguna Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS). The Bruins also retain the services of 2023 Third-Team All-American, senior attacker Taylor Smith (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor HS).

RETURNING ALL-MPSF PLAYERS
The list of returning all-league players is basically the same as the All-Americans list with one addition. Three Bruins earned Delfina All-MPSF First-Team accolades last year, and that included Anna Pearson, Emma Lineback, and Lauren Steele. Two Bruins landed on the Delfina All-MPSF Honorable Mention team, which included Genoa Rossi and Bia Mantellato. Sophomore attacker Tali Stryker (Lafayette, Calif./Miramonte HS) was the lone Bruin on the MPSF All-Newcomer Team a year ago. Taylor Smith was also named Second-Team All-MPSF in 2024.

EXPERIENCE BETWEEN THE POSTS
UCLA returns three goalkeepers who have all seen action in the cage for the Bruins. That list is headlined by two-time All-American, Lauren Steele. Also in that group is senior Izzy Rosensitto (Newport Beach, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic HS), and junior Joey Niz (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos HS).

INFLUX OF YOUTH
Six true freshmen have arrived in Westwood and look to make an immediate impact in 2026. The class is bolstered by three redshirts from last year, putting the total number of freshmen to nine on this year's roster. The six true freshmen include Presley Jones (Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach HS), Ally Larsen (Orinda, Calif./Miramonte HS), Katherine O'Dea (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson HS), Jailynn Robinson (Dallas, Texas/Orange Lutheran HS), Alison Sagara (Orinda, Calif./Miramonte HS), and Sienna Steiner (Sarasota, Fla./Venice HS). The three redshirt freshmen are Ryan Chalupnik (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor HS), Aubrey Graham (Mountain View, Calif./Mountain View HS), and Ana Pieper (Orinda, Calif./Campolindo HS).

TRANSFER PORTAL
The Bruins' 2026 roster has been bolstered by three transfers from inside the MPSF. Janna Tauscher (Sunset Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS), the redshirt senior center from California has one year remaining, as does the senior defender from Arizona State, Zoë Frangieh (Los Gatos, Calif./Los Gatos HS). Also with one year remaining is senior attacker Fanni Muzsnay (Budapest, Hungary/Szabo Lorinc Bilingual HS), who transferred in from USC.

MORE BRUINS LOOKING TO MAKE AN IMPACT
UCLA also returns nine players from its 2025 roster that all made significant contributions last season. That group includes sophomores Jenna Human (El Cajon, Calif./Santana HS) and Jojo Walters (Dallas, Texas/Southlake Carroll HS), redshirt sophomores Dania Innis (Orinda, Calif./Miramonte HS), Alexsa Gimenez (Commerce, Calif./Downey HS), juniors Becca Melanson (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny HS), Olivia Ouellette (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos HS), and Elektra Urbatsch (Brooklyn, N.Y./Poly Prep Country Day School), and seniors Lily Gess (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor HS) and Carly McMurray (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic HS), The Bruins will redshirt junior Natasha Kieckhafer (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic HS) and sophomore Maile Turner (Danville, Calif./Monte Vista HS), who are both recovering from undisclosed injuries.

COACHING CHANGES
With two-time reigning MPSF Coach of the Year, Adam Wright, stepping away from day-to-day operations as UCLA's head women's water polo coach in 2026, two current Bruins coaches have been elevated to the post of interim Co-Head Coach. Jason Falitz, who has been the Associate Head Coach on the men's side since 2017 and at that same post with the women's team since the 2022 season, will serve as one of the Co-Head Coaches. Matt Kubeck, who just completed his second season as an Assistant Coach with the Bruins' men's squad will also serve as a Co-Head Coach with the women in 2026. Additionally, an assistant coach for the women's team will be named early next week.

RECAPPING 2025
Overall Record: 20-6 (.769) | MPSF Record: 5-1 (.833) | Final Ranking: 3rd | NCAA Finish: T-3rd | MPSF Tournament Finish: 2nd

The UCLA Bruins finished the season with the No. 1 seed heading into the MPSF Championship Tournament for the second straight year. But the Bruins were unable to successfully defend their MPSF and NCAA Tournament titles from a 26-0 season in 2024, falling in overtime, 11-9, to No. 1 Stanford at home in the MPSF final. Seeded second for the NCAA Championship, the Bruins fell to No. 3 USC, 15-13, in the semifinals.

UCLA IN THE CWPA POLL
The Bruins held steady at No. 3 in the 2026 CWPA National Women's Varsity Top 25 Poll (92 points), released on May Jan. 21.

2026 Women's Varsity Top 25 (Week 1/January 21)
Rank	Team	Preseason Poll	Points
1	Stanford	1	99
2	USC	2	97
3	UCLA	3	92
4	California	5	88
5	Hawai'i	4	84
6	Long Beach State	6	80
7 (T)	Indiana	10 (T)	73
7 (T)	LMU	8 (T)	73
9	Fresno State	7	69
10	UC Irvine	8 (T)	64
11	Arizona State	10 (T)	58
12	San Jose State	12	56
13 (T)	Harvard	14	48
13 (T)	UC San Diego	13	48
15	Princeton	15 (T)	46
16	UC Davis	17	42
17	Michigan	15 (T)	33
18	UC Santa Barbara	18	31
19	Pacific	19	28
20	Wagner	20	27
21	San Diego State	21	20
22	Brown	22	19
23	Marist College	23	14
24	Pomona-Pitzer	24	7
25	LIU	RV	3
RV	California Baptist University	25	1
RV	CSUN	RV	1
RV	Villanova	RV	1
RV	La Salle	RV	1