University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA Women's Water Polo - NCAA Championships (8)
2024
No. 1 UCLA (26-0) captured its eighth NCAA Championship and its 12th National Championship in program history with a 7-4 win at No. 3 California (19-7) on May 12 at Spieker Aquatics Complex. UCLA completed just the third undefeated season in program history, joining the 2005 (33-0) and 2008 (33-0) teams. Just five squads ever have now had perfect runs to NCAA Championships, with USC doing it twice (2004 and 2016). The Bruins registered the 123rd NCAA title in UCLA athletic department history. UCLA women's water polo has won 12 national championships in all, with four predating the first NCAA one. Head coach Adam Wright, who has guided the UCLA men's water polo program to four NCAA titles, did so for the first time at the helm of the women's team. Freshmen starred for UCLA Sunday, with Panni Szegedi scoring three goals. Fellow first-year standout Lauren Steele got the start in the cage and went the distance, recording 17 saves while allowing four goals. Also scoring for the Bruins were freshman Natasha Kieckhafer, senior Anneliese Miller and sophomores Anna Pearson, Genoa Rossi and Taylor Smith.
2009
The 2009 UCLA women's water polo team captured its fifth consecutive NCAA title, defeating crosstown rival USC, 5-4, in the championship match at Maryland's Eppley Recreation Center on Sunday, May 10. The Bruins' win capped a season in which they placed third in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and third in the MPSF postseason tournament. UCLA entered the NCAA championships as the No. 3 seed and defeated Michigan in first-round action, 13-6. In the semifinals, the Bruins rallied to defeat No. 2 seed Stanford for the first time all year, 12-11, when sophomore Megan Burmeister scored the game-winning goal at the buzzer. In the championship match against No. 1 seed USC, senior Tanya Gandy led the Bruins with three goals and senior goalkeeper Brittany Fullen collected 12 saves. The Bruins also received one goal each from senior Anne Belden and sophomore Priscilla Orozco. UCLA never trailed in the contest, securing a 5-3 lead by halftime. UCLA's senior class of Anne Belden, Brittany Fullen, Tanya Gandy and Katie Rulon finished with four NCAA titles and a perfect 12-0 mark in NCAA Tournament play. Gandy, who earned NCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player honors and scored a school-record 79 goals, including three in the title match.
2008
The 2008 UCLA women's water polo team captured its fourth consecutive NCAA title, defeating crosstown rival USC, 6-3, in the championship match at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center on Sunday, May 11. The Bruins' win capped a remarkable 33-0 season, a year in which UCLA was ranked as the No. 1 team in the national poll from start to finish. UCLA finished with an undefeated record and NCAA championship for the second time in four years - the Bruins' 2005 squad went 33-0 en route to defeating Stanford for the national title. In the 2008 championship match, junior Tanya Gandy paced the Bruins with two goals, as seniors Courtney Mathewson and Gabrielle Domanic, junior Anne Belden and freshman Priscilla Orozco each scored one goal. The Bruins raced to a 3-1 first-quarter lead and registered a 5-1 halftime advantage. USC closed the gap to 5-2 by the end of the third quarter, and each team traded a goal in the final quarter. Gandy earned NCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player honors, having scored three goals in UCLA's 11-4 win over UC Davis in the semifinal contest before netting two goals in the championship match. The 6-3 victory over USC marked the final game in a Bruins' uniform for UCLA's five seniors - Kamaile Crowell, Gabrielle Domanic, Jillian Kraus, Courtney Mathewson and Brittany Rowe - all of whom helped lead the women's water polo program to NCAA titles in each of their four seasons at UCLA.
2007
For the third consecutive year, the UCLA women's water polo team hoisted the NCAA Championship trophy after defeating Stanford, 5-4, on May 13, 2007. Junior Courtney Mathewson led the Bruins' attack with three goals, and junior Jillian Kraus scored twice to give UCLA the school's unprecedented 100th NCAA team championship and fifth in women's water polo. In the championship game, UCLA led 2-0 after one quarter and owned a 3-1 lead at halftime. The Bruins used a third-quarter goal by Mathewson to take a 4-1 lead into the final quarter. Stanford scored two goals early in the fourth quarter, cutting the Bruins' advantage to 4-3. Mathewson's third goal of the contest handed UCLA a 5-3 cushion, and the Bruins held on to win 5-4. Senior goalkeeper Emily Feher capped a remarkable career at UCLA by recording nine saves in the championship victory. She finished her four-year career having registered 713 saves, the second highest career total in school history. Senior Kelly Rulon was selected the Tournament MVP after capturing her fourth NCAA team title. Rulon, a four-time All-American, established UCLA's all-time goals record with 237 in her career. Joining Rulon on the eight-player NCAA All-Tournament first team were Feher, Mathewson, Kraus and Kacy Kunkel.The Bruins finished the regular season with a 28-2 overall mark and improved to 90-6 from 2005 through 2007.
2006
The 2006 women's water polo team surprised the water polo world by winning its second straight NCAA title, defeating USC, 9-8 in stunning fashion in the championship game of the NCAA women's water polo tournament in Davis, CA. UCLA finished 29-4 and recorded the school's 99th NCAA championship. The Bruins advanced to the title game by defeating Hartwick and Stanford in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. With about 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of the title match, USC tied the game at 8-8. Following a Bruin timeout, Courtney Mathewson scored the game-winning goal, slipping the ball barely past the USC goalkeeper with a seven-meter shot with one second on the clock. USC had one last shot with a second left, but the ball bounced off the crossbar. Kelly Rulon, the NCAA tournament MVP and first-team All-MPSF member, scored four goals in the game and led the Bruins with 70 goals on the season. Emily Feher, Thalia Munro, and Kacy Kunkel were also named to the NCAA All-Tournament team. UCLA's NCAA title was its fourth in the six-year history of the championship.
2005
The UCLA Bruin women's water polo team concluded its remarkable season by winning the 2005 NCAA Championship. The Bruins beat third-seeded Stanford, 3-2 in the final game of the tournament at the Canham Natatorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This is UCLA's 96th NCAA Championship. UCLA (33-0) finished the year with the longest single-season winning streak in NCAA history of 33 games. They are also only the second team to go undefeated, after the USC Trojans went 29-0 in 2004. In the fourth quarter, Brittany Rowe scored again for UCLA, her second goal of the game, to put the Bruins ahead 3-1. Stanford would not give up, and Katie Hansen scored for Stanford with 4:12 left in the game. UCLA's tough defense was the key to the Bruin victory. Rulon and Munro had steals that prevented Stanford from getting many scoring opportunities. With 36 seconds left, Molly Cahill received her third ejection, giving Stanford a 6-5 situation in the last possession of the game. Kristina Kunkel stole the ball with 17 seconds and UCLA held on to win 3-2.
2003
The UCLA women's water polo team defeated Stanford University to win its second NCAA championship and sixth national title. The Bruins entered the second half trailing 0-2 but stormed back with four straight goals to take home the title with a 4-3 victory. The Bruins finish the season 23-4 overall. UCLA trailed at the half, 2-0, before Kelly Rulon and Jessica Lopez scored third quarter goals to tie the game. A 6-on-5 goal from Lauren Heineck gave UCLA its first lead, and senior Robin Beauregard made it 4-2 with 2:50 left in the final period. Stanford was able to convert on a UCLA turnover to get within one at 4-3, but UCLA then stopped a 6-on-5 opportunity in the final minute and was able to hold Stanford scoreless on its final possession. Six Bruins were named to the All-Tournament Team. Beauregard was named the NCAA tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Lopez and junior Natalie Golda were named to the first team, and Rulon, seniors Jaime Hipp and Maureen Flanagan were named to the second team.
2001
In 2001, the Bruins captured the inaugural NCAA Women's Water Polo title, their second consecutive national title and fifth championship in six years. In the title game, UCLA defeated Stanford 5-4. The win came off of a Coralie Simmons goal with 1:28 remaining in the games. Goals were scored by Simmons (2), Robin Beuregard, Kelly Heuchan, and Ashley Stachowski. Jaime Hipp recorded six saves. For her efforts, Simmons received MVP honors and was joined on the All-Tournament team by Beuregard, Heuchan, Hipp, Kristin Guerin, Jenny Lamb and Elaine Zivich.