UCLA
UC Santa Barbara
No. 4 UCLA Set for Barbara Kalbus Invite
February 22, 2018 | Women's Water Polo
ON DECK THIS WEEK
No. 4 UCLA is in Irvine, Calif. for the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, which features the top nine teams in the latest Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) poll and 16 ranked teams in all. The Bruins will take on No. 17 UC Santa Barbara in Group D action from the Anteater Aquatics Complex Friday at 1:45 p.m. They will face No. 5 Hawai'i or No. 7 San Diego State Saturday at 9:15 a.m. Opponent and location are dependent on Friday's results. That will mark the first of two Saturday games for the Bruins, who will conclude their time at the tournament Sunday.
SERIES HISTORY
UCLA holds a 40-1 all-time record against UC Santa Barbara. The Bruins' only loss to the Gauchos marked the first in program history (Feb. 17, 1995). As part of last month's UCSB Invitational, UCLA defeated UCSB, 10-6 (Jan. 21). The Bruins held a 5-4 lead after three quarters before scoring five goals in the final frame. UCLA is 48-3 against Hawai'i and 40-4 versus San Diego State. The Bruins defeated both teams at last year's Hawai'i Invitational, pounding the Aztecs by a 22-5 score (March 30) before taking down the host Rainbow Wahine, 12-4.
WEEK IN REVIEW
No. 4 UCLA defeated No. 7 UC Irvine in double overtime, 8-7, at the Anteater Aquatics Complex Feb. 16. Maddie Musselman scored the game-winning goal with 1:42 remaining in the second extra frame. It was a nip-and-tuck first half, with the teams trading goals on the way to a 3-3 halftime score. The Bruins scored the next three goals in the third quarter to double up the Anteaters, before host UCI ran off four straight in the fourth to take its first lead of the game. Lizette Rozeboom sent the game to overtime, where neither team was able to gain an upper hand. Ultimately, Musselman found the back of the net for her third—and the game's final—goal.
MUSSELMAN HONORED
For her efforts in the Bruins' win over UCI, Maddie Musselman was named MPSF Player of the Week for Week 6 on Tuesday. Musselman posted her third hat trick of the season and also shined off the ball, racking up two steals, three sprints won and a career-high five earned exclusions to help the No. 4 Bruins improve to 13-1. The Player of the Week honor marks the second of the Corona del Mar, Calif. native's career. She earned a conference record seven Newcomer of the Week awards during her freshman campaign. Musselman, who was named a First-Team ACWPC All-American and the MPSF Newcomer of the Year as a freshman, is off to an impressive start to her sophomore campaign. The Newport Beach, Calif. native currently leads the Bruins in goals (24) and is second on the team in assists (16), steals (23) and field blocks (four). Musselman has registered nine multi-goal games.
CLUTCH PERFORMERS
Each of UCLA's last three games has been decided by two or fewer goals and leading scorers Musselman and Lizette Rozeboom have each come up big in the clutch. In addition to Musselman's game winner against UCI, Rozeboom netted the difference maker with 10 seconds remaining in the Bruins' 7-6 win over Arizona State in the semifinal round of the Triton Invitational (Feb. 11). Musselman has scored three goals in the fourth quarter or later of UCLA's three two-goal-or-fewer-difference games, while Rozeboom has posted two. Musselman leads the team with six goals scored in the fourth quarter or later of games. Rozeboom has five, while Sarah Sheldon and Emily Skelly each have four.
NEW CONTRIBUTORS
Thirty-eight percent (56) of UCLA's 148 goals have come from either newcomers or players who participated in five or fewer games in 2017. Sophomore Skelly is tops among those nine players with 11 goals, while freshman Lexi Liebowitz has 10. Louise Hazell (eight), Brooke Maxson (eight), Sheldon (seven), Kelsey Blacker (five), Roxy Wheaton (four), Haley Evans (two) and Allison Wieseler (one) round out that group. The seven sophomores on that list combined for just five goals in 2017.
IN THE CAGE
It has been a balanced effort thus far in goal for the Bruins, as Jahmea Bent, Carlee Kapana and Hannah Storum have each spent considerable time in the cage. Bent has played two games for the Bruins, allowing seven goals in her eight quarters for a 3.5 goals-against average (GAA). She has also tallied 14 saves, including eight in her debut against Loyola Marymount. Storum has played seven games, allowing 34 goals (4.86 GAA) while posting a team-best 57 saves. Kapana has played 5.19 games, giving up 24 goals (4.63 GAA) and tallying 54 saves. She racked up a season-high 13 saves in the Bruins' road win against UC Irvine (Feb. 16). Kapana has also recorded 11-save games against Michigan (Jan. 20) and Pacific (Jan. 28) and a 10-save performance versus USC (Feb. 11).
BRUINS FOURTH IN WEEK 6 POLL
The Bruins are ranked No. 4 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association's Week 6 poll, it was announced Wednesday. The top 12 spots in the poll remained the same from the Week 5 installment, with Stanford maintaining its hold on the top spot (100 points). California held on to the No. 2 spot (94) after defeating No. 10 UC Davis, while USC is a close third (93). Following the Bruins (89), Hawai'i maintains its spot in the Top 5 (84). UCLA was previously voted tied for third with USC in the preseason MPSF rankings, behind Stanford and Cal and in front ASU and San Jose State, respectively.
SIX FOR SKELLY
Sophomore Skelly carried three career goals into play at the Michigan Invitational (Jan. 27-28), having never scored more than one in a game. In the Bruins' Saturday opener against then-No. 23 Marist, the sophomore doubled her career output, exploding for six in an 18-8 win over the Red Foxes. Skelly's half dozen goals represented the most by a Bruin since Lizette Rozeboom posted seven in a 22-5 win over George Washington (March 5). That game was also played in Michigan as part of the Wolverine Invitational.
THE WRIGHT WAY
Adam Wright, who has coached the UCLA men's water polo team to three NCAA Championships (2014, 2015, 2017), will now guide both the UCLA men's and women's water polo teams, Director of Athletics Dan Guerrero announced July 20, 2017. Wright has an overall record of 227-37 (.860) and an MPSF mark of 51-12 (.810). From 2014-16, Wright's Bruins set an NCAA record with 57 consecutive victories and a conference record with 26 consecutive MPSF wins. Prior to becoming head coach of the men's program in 2009, he served as an assistant coach with the men's and women's teams during the 2008-09 school year, helping the women win an unprecedented fifth consecutive NCAA Championship in May 2009.
FAMILIAR FACES
Wright completed his staff on Aug. 31, 2017 with the hiring of Kodi Hill, who joined Dusty Litvak as an assistant coach. A 2017 graduate of UCLA, Hill was an instrumental member of a Bruin class that amassed a record of 105-17 over its four years in the pool. Litvak previously served under Wright in the same role for the men's team during 2013 and 2014 and worked in a volunteer capacity with the women's team each of the past two seasons.
