UCLA
California
No.3 UCLA Welcomes No. 4 Cal in MPSF Showdown
March 15, 2017 | Women's Water Polo
The No. 4 California Golden Bears visit Spieker Aquatics Center on Saturday, March 18, for an MPSF matchup. Play will begin at 11:30 a.m. and be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks. Greg Mescall and Adam Krikorian will be on the call.
The Series -- The Bruins hold a 49-10 all-time record against the Golden Bears. The teams most recently met earlier this season (Feb. 26), when Rachel Fattal of the Bruins converted on a penalty shot with 17 seconds remaining to give UCLA a 12-11 win in the third-place game of the Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Irvine, Calif.
Coming Up -- The Bruins travel to Honolulu to take part in the Hawai'i Invitational. UCLA will play three non-MPSF games at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex, beginning with No. 12 San Diego State on Thursday, March 30. Play will begin at 10:15 p.m. (PT). The Bruins will also take on host No. 8 Hawai'i the following day (9:00 p.m.) and conclude their trip with No. 13 UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, April 1 (3:00 p.m.).
2007 Reunion -- The 2007 team will be honored Saturday in commemoration of the 10-year anniversary of its milestone run to UCLA's 100th NCAA team championship. The championship was the third in a row for the women's water polo team, which finished 28-2 overall and 11-1 in MPSF play. Seniors Molly Cahill (currently an assistant coach on UCLA's staff), Emily Feher, Kacy Kunkel, Jenna Murphy and Kelly Rulon led the way for the Bruins, who lost two regular-season contests to Stanford, but rebounded to beat the Cardinal in the finals of both the MPSF Tournament (9-3) and the NCAA Tournament (5-4). Rulon, who was awarded the Peter J. Cutino Award, scored 70 goals on the year, including the 237th of her career to set a program record. As a team, UCLA scored a school-record 30 goals in a Feb. 17 win at Pacific.
Musselman Earns Fourth Newcomer Honor -- Freshman Maddie Musselman was named the MPSF Newcomer of the Week Tuesday (March 14) as announced by the league. The award was her second in as many weeks. Musselman led the way for the Bruins with four goals (on five shots) in their MPSF home-opening 17-5 win over then-No. 23 CSU Bakersfield Saturday. All four of her scores came in the game's first three quarters. The attacker was also involved on a fifth goal, as she added one assist. Additionally, Musselman twice gained possession for the Bruins by way of one steal and a sprint win. She capped a balanced first career MPSF home game with one earned exclusion. This is Musselman's fourth Newcomer of the Week award and fourth career MPSF honor. On the year, the attacker has totaled team highs of 36 goals and 29 steals, as well as a team-high-tying 14 earned exclusions.
Milestone Watch -- With her three first-half goals against then-No. 23 CSU Bakersfield Saturday, redshirt senior Rachel Fattal became the fourth Bruin in program history to reach 200 career goals. She joined a club that previously included just Kelly Rulon (237 - 2003, 05-07), Coralie Simmons (235 - 1996-98, 2001) and Katie Rulon (201 - 2006-09). With two more goals, Fattal will move into sole possession of third place on the all-time list. The attacker also has 176 career steals and will become the program leader in the category with six more takeaways. Kelly Rulon currently holds the record with 181.
Exclusive Company -- The Bruins have outscored opponents 225-53 through 14 games this season. The 225 goals scored stands as the most by a Bruin team over that period of time, a record that it holds by 30 goals over the next closest team (2008). The 172-goal difference between UCLA and their opponents, meanwhile, is also a record. The next closest margin of 136 (186-50) was set by the 1998 team. With the 53 goals allowed, the 2017 Bruins have only been bested by their predecessors from 1996 (45), 2003 (46), 2002 (50) and 1998 (50).
Bruins Remain Third in Week 9 Poll -- The Bruins once again checked in at No. 3 in the Week 9 CWPA poll. Three of the top five ranked teams were in action leading up to the release of the rankings, as UCLA defeated CSU Bakersfield, 17-5, while No. 2 Stanford posted wins over La Verne (21-3), Arizona State (9-3) and Marist (19-1) and No. 4 California took down Harvard, 14-7. Additionally, UCLA was third in the MPSF preseason coaches poll, where they totaled one first-place vote and 28 points overall. Also receiving first-place votes were No. 1 Stanford (four), No. 2 USC (one) and No. 4 California (one). This marked the first time ever that four teams have earned at least one first-place vote in the MPSF preseason coaches poll. The MPSF has been the dominant conference in NCAA women's water polo, winning all 21 national championships since its inaugural season in 1996.
In the Cage -- Goalkeeper Carlee Kapana, who shared time in goal with the departed Alex Musselman in 2016, has tallied 118 saves over 12.59 games played this season (9.38 saves per game). The sophomore has allowed just two goals in the Bruins' first two MPSF contests, including zero in their conference-opening win over San Jose State. In four of her appearances this season, Kapana has surrendered just one goal. For the year, she holds a 3.73 goals against average. Kapana also earned her second career MPSF honor and first Player of the Week award on Feb. 21. Freshman Hannah Storum, meanwhile, has finished in the cage five times. She has tallied 16 saves and surrendered six goals in 5.66 quarters played this season. Between the two goalies, the Bruin GAA sits at 3.79.
Head Coach Brandon Brooks -- Brandon Brooks (UCLA '05) returns for his eighth season, having compiled a 178-39 record over his first seven. Brooks, the 2015 MPSF Coach of the Year, has coached UCLA to three MPSF Tournament titles in six seasons (2010, 2012, 2015). In addition, the Bruins have advanced to the MPSF Tournament championship match five times during his tenure. Twenty-three of Brooks' players have earned 39 All-America certificates, and 21 players have earned 38 All-MPSF awards. As an assistant coach with the men's and women's programs, Brooks was involved in four NCAA championships, and as a player, he was part of two NCAA title teams (1999 and 2000). A two-time Olympic goalkeeper, Brooks was the starting goalkeeper for the 2004 U.S. team that won the silver medal in Athens.
