No. 3 UCLA Hosts No. 2 USC on Senior Day

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LOS ANGELES – No. 3 UCLA (21-4, 4-1 MPSF) concludes the regular season this week when it hosts No. 2 USC (22-1, 4-1 MPSF) at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center. The Bruins and the Trojans will square off on at 4:05 p.m. PT on Saturday, April 20 on the Pac-12 Networks.

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Saturday, Apr. 20 (MPSF Game)
4:05 PM PT – No. 2 USC at No. 3 UCLA (Pac-12 Networks)

Friday-Sunday, Apr. 26-28 (MPSF Championship)
TBD – at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center

Friday-Sunday, May 10-12 (NCAA Championship)
TBD – at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center

Series History
This is the 82nd meeting between USC and UCLA with the Bruins leading the all-time series, 50-31. But the Trojans have won the last five meetings, including a 10-3 win earlier this year in the title game of the Triton Invitational at UC San Diego on Feb. 10. Last year, USC posted four wins over UCLA (6-4 in the championship game of the Triton Invitational, 11-5 in the MPSF meeting at USC, 13-10 in the MPSF Championship semifinals, and 10-6 in the 2018 NCAA Championship semifinals.

Recapping Last Outing
No. 3 UCLA (21-4, 4-1) posted a 13-3 win at No. 18 San Jose State (9-12, 1-3) on Sunday afternoon at West Valley College. The Bruins were led by junior Bronte Halligan who scored a season-high and career-high-tying four goals (on four shots). Senior Carlee Kapana got the starting nod in the cage for UCLA and played the first half, registering five saves while allowing two goals. Sophomore Jahmea Bent came on in relief in the second half and tallied seven saves while surrendering one goal.

Best Start for Bruins Since 2008
Before its 10-3 loss to No. 1 USC in the championship game of the Triton Invitational (Feb. 9), the UCLA Bruins opened the 2019 season at 13-0, which is the best start in 11 years. In 2008, the Bruins went 33-0, winning the program's seventh NCAA Championship.

Bruins in the MPSF Stats
Just two Bruins are currently ranked in the top 25 in the MPSF in scoring, led by Maddie Musselman's 2.45 goals per game (49 goals in 20 games), which ranks 4th in the league. Freshman Val Ayala ranks 22nd with a 1.24 goals per game average (31 goals in 25 games). In the goalie rankings, senior Carlee Kapana ranks 2nd in saves per game (9.79 spg) while sophomore Jahmea Bent ranks 3rd (9.63 spg). Kapana ranks 3rd in the MPSF in goals against average at 6.50 while Bent ranks 4th at 6.62.

Ava Johnson Named MPSF/KAP7 Newcomer of the Week
UCLA freshman Ava Johnson (Walnut Creek, Calif./Las Lomas HS) was named the MPSF/KAP7 Newcomer of the Week as announced by the league office on April 9. The freshman center scored two goals in two games as the Bruins nearly pulled off an upset at No. 1 Stanford (Apr. 6) and later posted a 13-3 win at No. 18 San Jose State (Apr. 7). Against the Cardinal, Johnson scored one goal on one shot, UCLA's first goal of the game in the third quarter and one which sparked a 5-0 run after a 4-0 deficit. She drew four exclusions and added one field block in that game. Playing only in the first half at San Jose State, Johnson scored once on her only shot. She also drew four exclusions, and had one steal and one field block against the Spartans. This is the second career MPSF weekly honor for Johnson..

Maddie Musselman Named MPSF/KAP7 Player of the Week
UCLA's Maddie Musselman (Newport Beach, CA/Corona Del Mar HS/Laurel Springs Academy) was named the MPSF/KAP7 Player of the Week as announced by the league office on Mar. 5. The junior attacker helped the fourth-ranked Bruins defeat No. 3 California, 9-7, in the MPSF opener for both teams on Sunday, March 3. Musselman scored both of her game-high-tying two goals in the second half. Her first goal ended a 4-0 scoring run by Cal to keep UCLA ahead at 6-4 with 0:45 left in the third period. Her second goal was the eventual game-winner with 2:48 remaining in the fourth which put the Bruins up 8-6. She added three drawn exclusions, three field blocks, and one steal. She leads the Bruins in scoring with 40 goals in 16 games, which ranks third in the MPSF (2.50 goals per game). This is the 10th career MPSF weekly award for Musselman, third as player of the week.

Ava Johnson Named MPSF/KAP7 Newcomer of the Week
UCLA freshman Ava Johnson (Walnut Creek, Calif./Las Lomas HS) was named the MPSF/KAP7 Newcomer of the Week as announced by the league office on Feb. 19. The freshman center led the Bruins in scoring with her second hat trick of the season in a 13-10 overtime win over No. 7 UC Irvine (Feb. 16). Johnson scored all three goals on power plays, with the first being the only goal of the second period. She would net the eventual game-winning goal in the first overtime period and would add the final score of the game in the second overtime. Johnson also drew a team-high four exclusions in the win. She has scored eight goals in her last five outings after scoring just four goals in her first 10 games. This is the first career MPSF honor for Johnson.

Val Ayala Named MPSF/KAP7 Newcomer of the Week
UCLA freshman Val Ayala (Anaheim, Calif./Foothill HS) was named the MPSF/KAP7 Newcomer of the Week as announced by the league office on Jan. 22. The freshman attacker led the Bruins in scoring this past weekend as UCLA went 5-0 with five wins over nationally ranked teams. Ayala registered three hat tricks, opening her collegiate career with three scores in a 10-6 win over No. 18 CSUN. She completed another hat trick in another 10-6 win over No. 6 UC Irvine. She tacked on one goal in a 17-8 win over No. 24 Cal Baptist and then scored three more in a 9-7 outcome over No. 9 Michigan. In all, Ayala scored 10 goals while collecting three assists, three steals and two drawn exclusions. This is the first career MPSF honor for Ayala.

Coaching Changes
During the offseason, UCLA men's water polo hired Christopher Lee as an assistant coach to replace Dustin Litvak, who was hired to be the head men's water polo coach at Princeton.

Wright on Deck
Adam Wright is in his second season as UCLA's head women's water polo coach in 2019 with an overall record of 44-12 (.786) and an MPSF mark of 6-4 (.600). On July 20, 2017, UCLA Director of Athletics, Dan Guerrero, announced that Wright will guide both the UCLA men's and women's water polo teams.

Recapping 2018
Overall Record: 23-8 | Final Ranking: 4th | NCAA Finish: T-3rd | MPSF Tournament Finish: 4th

UCLA advanced to the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament in head coach Adam Wright's first season at the helm of the program. The Bruins' 8-4 win over Pacific at USC secured their eighth consecutive appearance in the national semifinals. Sophomore Maddie Musselman secured ACWPC All-America acclaim for the second time in her career. Senior Devin Grab registered her second selection as a second-team All-American. UCLA also saw Bronte Halligan pick up third-team honors while Carlee Kapana was named an honorable mention All-America selection. In total, 12 Bruins claimed ACWPC All-Academic honors.

UCLA In The CWPA Poll
The Bruins remain at No. 3 in the 2019 CWPA National Women's Varsity Top 25 Poll (92 points, no change), released on Apr. 17.

2019 WOMEN'S VARSITY TOP 25 (WEEK 13 - Apr. 17)
Rank	Team	Last Week's Poll	Points
1	Stanford	2	100
2	USC	1	96
3	UCLA	3	92
4	California	4	88
5	Hawai'i	5	83
6	Michigan	6 (T)	78
7	UC Irvine	6 (T)	76
8	Pacific	8	74
9	UC Davis	9	66
10	Arizona State	10	64
11	UC Santa Barbara	11	63
12	Loyola Marymount	13	54
13	Long Beach State	12	53
14	UC San Diego	14	46
15	Princeton	15	41
16	Harvard	18 (T)	37
17	San Diego State	16	36
18	Fresno State	17	32
19	Wagner	18 (T)	29
20	San Jose State	21	26
21	Bucknell	18 (T)	25
22	Marist	22	15
23	CSUN	23	11
24	Azusa Pacific	24	7
25	Cal Baptist	25	5
RV	Indiana	RV	3

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No. 3 UCLA Hosts No. 2 USC on Senior Day

2019 WOMEN'S VARSITY TOP 25 (WEEK 13 - Apr. 17)

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Players Mentioned

Val Ayala

Jahmea Bent

Devin Grab

Bronte Halligan

Ava Johnson

Carlee Kapana

Maddie Musselman

University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics

No. 3 UCLA Hosts No. 2 USC on Senior Day

2019 WOMEN'S VARSITY TOP 25 (WEEK 13 - Apr. 17)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Val Ayala

Jahmea Bent

Devin Grab

Bronte Halligan

Ava Johnson

Carlee Kapana

Maddie Musselman

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