No. 2 Women's Water Polo Hosts No. 1 Stanford Saturday

Saturday, March 7

Los Angeles, Calif.

1:00 PM (PT)

UCLA

Stanford

Emma Lineback

Photo by: Mac Brown

No. 2 Women's Water Polo Hosts No. 1 Stanford Saturday

March 04, 2026 | Women's Water Polo

The second-ranked UCLA women's water polo team continues its homestand Saturday with a showdown against No. 1 Stanford. The MPSF matchup begins from Spieker Aquatics Center at 1 p.m. PT. It will be the teams' second meeting of 2026, with the Cardinal (8-0, 2-0 MPSF) taking the first one in an 8-7 thriller for the Barbara Kalbus Invitational championship (Feb. 15). The Bruins (12-1, 2-0) have won three games in a row since that setback. Overnght is set to air live video, with 6-8 Sports providing live scoring. Admission is free.

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Opponent: No. 1 Stanford
Venue: Spieker Aquatics Complex
Date: Saturday, March 7
Time: 1 p.m. PT
Watch: https://www.overnght.com/
Live Stats: https://scores.6-8sports.com/scoreboard

SERIES HISTORY
Series vs. Stanford: Stanford leads 63-40
Most Recent vs. Stanford: Stanford won 8-7 on Feb. 15 (Recap)

REUNION WEEKEND
UCLA women's water polo's 1996 and 2006 national championship teams will be honored at halftime of Saturday's game. In just the second year of their program's existence, the 1996 Bruins made history. The team started 24-0 and finished 29-1 under National Coach of the Year Guy Baker, avenging its lone loss with an 8-4 victory against Cal in the National Collegiate Championship title game. Three future UCLA Athletic Hall of Famers – Coralie Simmons, Catharine von Schwarz and National Player of the Year Nicolle Payne – starred for the Bruins. Ten years later, UCLA would earn its fourth NCAA title in six years -- and second in as many years. The 2006 Bruins finished 29-4 under National Coach of the Year Adam Krikorian and claimed their trophy in dramatic fashion against crosstown rival and top seed USC. After tournament most valuable player and National Player of the Year Kelly Rulon drew a foul, sophomore Courtney Mathewson stepped up and converted a last-second, five-meter penalty shot for the difference in a 9-8 win. Seeded third in the tournament, UCLA also took down No. 2 seed Stanford in the semifinals.

LAST TIME OUT
Second-ranked UCLA earned home wins against No. 8 Indiana (Feb. 27 – 18-7) and No. 12 Michigan (Feb. 28 – 17-8) to kick off a stretch of nine consecutive games at Spieker Aquatics Center. UCLA never trailed in its MPSF matchup with Indiana, as six Bruins scored two or more goals. Taylor Smith led the way with three. Against Michigan, Anna Pearson (career-high tying six) and Smith (four) combined for 10 goals. The Wolverines held a two-goal lead in the first quarter, but UCLA finished the contest on a 15-4 run. Lauren Steele (14) and Joey Niz (eight) combined for 22 saves across the two games.

O'DEA NAMED MPSF/S&R SPORT NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Katherine O'Dea was named MPSF/S&R Sport Newcomer of the Week Tuesday, the conference announced. The award is her first. O'Dea, a freshman attacker from Long Beach, Calif., scored three total goals as second-ranked UCLA recorded home wins against No. 8 Indiana (Feb. 27) and No. 12 Michigan (Feb. 28). Eleven Bruins scored in an 18-7 victory against the Hoosiers. O'Dea was active on both sides of the ball, collecting two first-half steals before scoring during the fourth quarter. She found the back of the net twice in a 17-8 triumph over the Wolverines. Both goals came during a tightly-contested first half. O'Dea's second pushed UCLA's lead to 7-5 going into halftime. She also tallied three assists and a steal.

TAYLOR MADE
Just 13 games into her senior campaign, Taylor Smith has set a single-season career high for goals. She currently leads the team with 42. Smith's personal best was 40, across 26 games, in 2025. She has scored in all but one game, logging 10 hat tricks along the way. Smith's performance at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational was one to remember, as she matched her single-game career high with six goals in a 15-8 win versus No. 6 Arizona State (Jan. 31) and scored five times in a 12-9 victory against No. 2 USC (Feb. 2). She would receive the MPSF Player of the Week award for her role in the Bruins' runner-up finish. Smith logged four goals in UCLA's MPSF opener at No. 4 California, which the Bruins won by a 19-18 score in overtime. She accounted for three of her team's last four goals, including the game winner with 1:46 remaining in overtime.

MANTELLATO MAGIC
Bia Mantellato was a force for the Bruins as they earned a runner-up finish at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Irvine, Calif. The senior's finest moment of the weekend came in a thrilling semifinal-round win versus third-ranked USC. Mantellato piled up a season-high six goals – including UCLA's final two of a 10-9 result – while adding five earned exclusions and a pair of assists against the Trojans. She finished the tournament with 10 goals, five assists, 11 earned exclusions and one steal across three games. Mantellato ranks second on the team with 32 goals. She's logged five hat tricks and 10 multi-goal games.

TOUGH COMPETITION
Across UCLA's first 13 games, it has faced off with nine teams ranked in the top 10 of that week's CWPA Women's Varsity Top 25: No. 1 Stanford (Feb. 15 – 7-8), No. 2 USC (Feb. 1 – 12-9), No. 3 USC (Feb. 14 – 10-9), No. 4 California (Feb. 21 – 19-18 OT), No. 5 Hawai'i (Jan. 31 – 14-5), No. 6 Arizona State (Jan. 31 – 15-8), No. 6 Long Beach State (Jan. 25 – 18-7), No. 8 Indiana (Feb. 27 – 18-7) and No. 9 Fresno State (Jan. 25 – 14-6). The Bruins are 8-1 in these games with an average goal differential of plus-5.5 (14.1-8.6). They have also beaten No. 12 Michigan (Feb. 28 – 17-8), No. 12 UC Irvine (Feb. 7 – 15-10), No. 13 Fresno State (Feb. 13 – 17-10) and unranked Cal State Fullerton (Jan. 30 – 22-4).

UCLA IN THE CWPA POLL
UCLA remained at No. 2 in the latest CWPA Women's Varsity Top 25, released Wednesday. The Bruins held steady at No. 3 in the first three editions before moving up a spot following their championship run at the Triton Invitational. They have received 96 points in five straight weeks. Rounding out the top five were No. 1 Stanford (100), No. 3 USC (92), No. 4 California (88) and No. 5 Arizona State (84). To view the full poll, click HERE.

2026 AWARD WATCH
Smith Selected UCLA Student-Athlete of the Week Presented by La Victoria – Feb. 4
Smith Voted MPSF/Delfina Player of the Week – Feb. 3

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. The duo is currently 7-0 at UCLA. Additionally, UCLA completed its coaching staff with former Stanford standout Ryann Neushul to the post of assistant coach. Neushul is a four-time NCAA Champion, a four-time All-American, a two-time World Champion, and the 2025 Peter J. Cutino Award winner.

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.