Friday, January 31
San Diego, Calif.
1:20 PM (PT)
UCLA
vs
Concordia University Irvine
The Bruins open their Triton Invitational title defense on Friday, Jan. 31 at 1:20 p.m. PT vs. Concordia University Irvine.
Photo by: Ross Turteltaub
No. 1 UCLA Seeks to Defend Triton Invitational Crown
January 30, 2025 | Women's Water Polo
LOS ANGELES โ No. 1 UCLA (3-0, 0-0 MPSF) seeks to defend its Triton Invitational crown this weekend at UC San Diego (Jan. 31-Feb. 2). The Bruins will open with Concordia University Irvine (0-2) on Friday, Jan. 31 at 1:20 p.m. PT. With a win, UCLA will advance to the quarterfinals where they will face the winner of No. 7 Arizona State (6-1, 0-0 MPSF) and No. 14 UC San Diego (3-3, 0-0 Big West) on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 11:10 a.m. PT. Win that game and UCLA will advance to the first semifinal at 4:30 p.m. PT on Saturday against the winner of Bracket D, which includes No. 6 UC Irvine, No. 10 Long Beach State, No. 18 San Diego State, and No. 22 California Baptist University.ย The Tritons will provide live stats on the FOSH but only for games they are involved in. Sorry, no streamย available for games this weekend. For information such as tickets, rosters, results, etc., please visit theirย Tournament Central page.
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Friday, Jan. 31 (Triton Invitationalย โ Canyonview Aquatics Center โย La Jolla, Calif.)
12:00 PM PT โ No. 1 UCLAย vs. Concordia University Irvine
Saturday, Feb. 1 (Triton Invitationalย โ Canyonview Aquatics Center โย La Jolla, Calif.)
8:30 AM (L on Friday) or 11:10 AM PT (W on Friday) โ No. 1 UCLAย vs. winner of No. 7 Arizona State/No. 14 UC San Diego
TBD โ No. 1 UCLAย vs. TBD
Sunday, Feb. 2 (Triton Invitationalย โ Canyonview Aquatics Center โย La Jolla, Calif.)
TBD โ No. 1 UCLAย vs. TBD
SERIES HISTORY
This is the 3rd meeting between UCLA and Concordia University Irvine with the Bruins leading the series 2-0. The Bruins defeated the Golden Eagles 25-6 in the last meeting between the two teams (Jan. 18, 2014) at the UCLA Invitational.
- From game recap: The Bruins had eight players score in the contest, led by a career-high-tying effort of five goals from sophomoreย Anna Pearson. Freshmenย Becca Melansonย andย Panni Szegedi,ย and sophomoreย Genoa Rossiย each scored the first hat tricks of their young collegiate careers. Freshmanย Lauren Steeleย got the start in the cage and played the first half, recording 10 saves and two steals while allowing three goals. Freshmanย Joey Nizย played the second half in the cage and had four saves and a steal while surrendering seven goals.
- From game recap: The Bruins had seven players score in the contest, paced by a season- and career-high five goals from sophomoreย Taylor Smith. Juniorย Molly Rennerย returned to the lineup after missing the last five games with an undisclosed injury and scored two goals, as did sophomoreย Anna Pearsonย and seniorย Anneliese Miller. Pearson scored the eventual game-winning goal with 2:18 left in the fourth quarter. Freshmanย Lauren Steeleย got the start in the cage and went the distance, recording 10 saves and two steals, while allowing 12 goals.
- From game recap: The Bruins had seven players score in the contest, led by a career-high-tying effort of three goals from sophomoreย Lily Gess. Freshmanย Becca Melansonย was the only other Bruin to turn in a multiple-goal game effort and her second score was the largest of the contest, the eventual game-winning goal that break a 9-9 tie at the 5:59 mark of the fourth period.ย Freshmanย Lauren Steeleย got the start in the cage and played most of the game (all but the final 0:30 of the first quarter and the last 1:40 of the third quarter), tallying eight saves and three steals while giving up six goals. She also was 1-for-2 from the field (wearing cap number two), scoring her first collegiate goal against the Tritons in the second period. Freshmanย Joey Nizย played the remaining 2:10 that Steele didn't play in the cage and had four saves while surrendering three goals.
UCLA went 3-0 this past week at the California Cup with a 17-8 win over No. 15 UC Davis and a 12-7 win over No. 8 Long Beach State on Saturdayย (Jan. 25). After an exhibition game with No. 2 Stanford, the Bruins concluded play with an 18-14 win over No. 9 Fresno State on Sunday (Jan.26). The three wins to open the season extended the Bruins' winning streak to 29 games.
- From UCDย game recap: Nine different Bruins scored against the Aggies, paced byย junior transferย Bia Mantellatoย (Hawai'i), who scored a career-high-tying seven goals in her Bruin debut. The seven goals are the most ever in a season opener and the most by a Bruin in a debut game since Maddie Musselman scored five goals in her collegiate opener, a 20-1 win over San Jose State on Jan. 14, 2017. The seven goals were also the most scored by a Bruin since Abbi Hill put up seven in her freshman season in a 16-6 win over Wagner on Jan. 26, 2020. Mantellato also had an assist to finish the game with eight points and drew two exclusions and had a steal against the Aggies.ย UCLAย also got a hat trick from juniorย Anna Pearson, who drew a game-high five exclusions and added a steal.ย Sophomoreย Lauren Steeleย got the start in the cage and played the first three quarters, tallying six saves, one steal, and scoring one goal, while allowing six goals. Sophomoreย Joey Nizย played the entire fourth quarter, making five stops while surrendering two goals.
- From LBSUย game recap: Seven different Bruins scored in the win over LBSU, led by a hat trick from redshirt juniorย Emma Lineback. Lineback also dished out three assists to finish with a game-high six points. Juniorsย Taylor Smith, Bia Mantellato, and Anna Pearson each added two scores for the Bruins.ย Steele got the start again and went the distance, tallying 12 saves and two steals while allowing eight goals.
- From FSUย game recap: A total of 10 different Bruins scored against Fresno State, paced by a career-high of six goals for juniorย Anna Pearson. Three other Bruins scored multiple goals in the win, which included two scores each from juniorย Lily Gess, redshirt juniorย Emma Lineback, and sophomore goalkeeperย Lauren Steele.ย Steele got the start in the cage and played all of the first half and six minutes of the second half, tallying five saves, two steals, and scoring both goals on 7-on-6 plays at the end of the first and fourth quarters, while allowing 10 goals. Sophomoreย Joey Nizย played the other 10 minutes in the cage, recording two stops and one steal while giving up four goals.
Juniorย utilityย Anna Pearsonย was named the MPSF/Delfina Player of the Weekย as announced by the league office (Jan. 28).ย UCLA went 3-0 this past week at the California Cup with a 17-8 win over No. 15 UC Davis and a 12-7 win over No. 8 Long Beach State on Saturdayย (Jan. 25)ย and an 18-14 win over No. 9 Fresno State on Sunday (Jan.26). The three wins to open the season extended the Bruins' winning streak to 29 games.ย Pearson (Irvine, Calif. / Orange Lutheran HS) led the team in scoring on the weekend with 11 goals. She scored a hat trick and drew five exclusions and added one steal in the win over the Aggies and then tallied two goals, two earned exclusions, and one steal against the Beach. She closed out the tournament with a career-high six goals (on six shots) to go with three earned exclusions and one assist.ย For the weekend, she shot 11-for-12 (.917), drew 10 exclusions, had two steals, and tallied one assist.ย This is Pearson's fourth career MPSF award and the second time she has been named Player of the Week (Jan. 30, 2024).
RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
A total of seven All-Americans will be suiting up for UCLA in 2025. The Bruins return three of their five All-Americans from the 2024 season, including two first-teamers, and picked up another one from the transfer portal for the 2025 campaign. Sophomoreย goalkeeperย Lauren Steeleย (Old Greenwich, Conn./Orange Lutheran HS) and junior utility Anna Pearson (Irvine, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS) both earned First-Team All-America honors last year and are joined by First-Team All-America transfer from Hawai'i, Bia Mantellatoย (São Paulo, Brazil/Newport Harbor HS). Steele, who was named the MVP of both the NCAA and MPSF Championship Tournaments,ย was also the 2024 ACWPC Player of the Year. The 2024 MPSF Newcomer of the Year, Steele started every game last year in the cage, going 26-0 with 268 saves (ranks fourth on UCLA's single-season charts). Pearson led the team in goals (39) and drawn exclusions (82) in 2024. Mantellato, a two-time Big West Player of the Year (2023 and 2024), led the Rainbow Wahine in goals (64) and drawn exclusions (60). Like Steele, Mantellato was also a Cutino Award finalistย (two of the three from 2024 are now Bruins). Junior attacker Taylor Smith (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor HS)ย earned Third-Team All-America accolades a year ago after finishing third on the team in goals (35) and in total points (53) with 18 assists to her credit and returns to the lineup. UCLA is also fortunate to have two Honorable Mention All-Americans from 2023 returning in redshirt sophomore utility Sienna Green (Mosman, Australia/SCEGGS Darlinghurst) and redshirt junior attacker Emma Lineback (Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach HS). Green won a silver medal with Australia at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and was third on the team in goals (39) in 2023. Lineback paced the Bruins' offense in 2023 with a team-high in goals (52), assists (27), total points (79), and in steals (24).ย Senior attacker Molly Renner earned Honorable Mention All-America honors in 2022 and was sixth on the team last year in goals (22) and returns for her final season.ย The Bruins lost the services of First-Team All-American Hannah Palmer (26ย goals) and Third-Team All-American Malia Allen (33 goals). UCLA also lost the services ofย utilityย Panni Szegediย (Budapest, Hungary/Kolping Katolikus Iskola), who was the lone Bruin to receive Delfina All-MPSF Honorable Mention accolades a year ago after tying Pearson for the team lead in goals (39).
EXPERIENCE BETWEEN THE POSTS
All four of UCLA's goalkeepers on the 2025 roster saw playing time last season. The Bruins have a wealth of experience in the cage and National Player of the Year, Lauren Steele, headlines a group that includes juniorย Izzy Rosensitto (Newport Beach, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic HS), seniorย MJ Bailey (Sarasota, Fla./Pine View School), andย sophomoreย Joey Niz (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitosย HS).ย Sydney Chiang (Temple City, Calif./Temple City HS) was the lone loss (graduation) at this position.
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ANOTHER INFLUX OF YOUTH
The Bruins had 11 true freshmen join the ranks in 2024 and welcome in another eight this season. That class is bolstered by two redshirts from last year, putting the total of freshmen and sophomores to 18 on the 2025 roster. That is a total of 18 of the Bruins' 29 student-athletes (62.1 percent) on the roster with only one year or less of collegiate experience. The eight true freshmen include Kenya Cassidy (Atherton, Calif./Menlo School), Ryan Chalupnik (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor HS), Aubrey Graham (Mountain View, Calif./Mountain View HS), Jenna Human (El Cajon, Calif./Santana HS),ย Ana Pieper (Orinda, Calif./Campolindo HS), Tali Stryker (Lafayette, Calif./Miramonte HS), Maile Turner (Danville, Calif./Monte Vista HS), and Jojo Walters (Dallas, Texas/Southlake Carroll HS). The class is joined by redshirts Alexsa Gimenez (Commerce, Calif./Downey HS) and Camille Greenlee (Carlsbad, Calif./The Bishop's School).
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MORE BRUINS LOOKING TO MAKE AN IMPACT
UCLA also returns nine players from its 2024 roster that all made significant contributions to the Bruins' undefeated NCAA title run last season. That group includes sophomoresย Dania Innis (Orinda, Calif./Miramonte HS), Natasha Kieckhafer (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic HS),ย 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), juniors Lily Gess (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor HS), Carly McMurray (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic HS), and Genoa Rossi (Laguna Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS), and senior Nicole Struss (Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach HS),
WRIGHT ON DECK
Adam Wright is in his eighth season as UCLA's head women's water polo coach in 2025 with an overall record of 155-36ย (.812) and an MPSF mark of 31-12 (.721). He won his 100th game at the helm of the women's program with a 9-8 victory at No. 4 California (Mar. 5, 2022).ย Top-seeded UCLA won its first league title since 2017 with a 10-4 win over fifth-ranked USC in the semifinals and a 13-10 win over third-ranked California in the finals of the 2024 MPSF Women's Water Polo Championship, which marked the first MPSF Championship for the Bruin women in the Wright era. Wright guided the Bruins to their eighth NCAA Championship and 12th National Championship in program history in 2024 with a perfect 26-0 record. It marked his first NCAA Championship with the women's program and he now has eight total titles, winning two as a player in 1999 and 2000, five as the Head Coach of the UCLA Men's Water Polo team (2014, 2015, 2017, 2020, and 2024) and last year's title with the Bruin women. Wright was named the MPSF and ACWPC National Coach of the year in 2024 and is the first Bruin Head Coach to earn the honor since Adam Krikorian won it in 2009. It is the eighth time a Bruin mentor has been named the national Coach of the Year.ย Wright guided UCLA to just its third undefeated season in program history,ย joining the 2005 (33-0) and 2008 (33-0) teams. Just five squads have everย had perfect runs to NCAA Championships, with USC doing it twice (2004 and 2016).ย On July 20, 2017, then-UCLA Director of Athletics, Dan Guerrero, announced that Wrightย would guide both the UCLA men's and women's water polo teams.
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RECAPPING 2024
Overall Record: 26-0 (1.000) | MPSF Record: 6-0 (1.000) |ย Final Ranking: 1st | NCAA Finish: 1stย |ย MPSFย Tournament Finish: 1st
The UCLA Bruins (26-0) captured their eighth NCAA Championship and 12th National Championship in program history with a 7-4 win at No. 3 California on May 12. UCLA completed just the third undefeated season in program history, joining the 2005 (33-0) and 2008 (33-0) teams. Just five squads have ever had perfect runs to NCAA Championships, with USC doing it twice (2004 and 2016).ย 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 title. Head coachย Adam Wright, who has guided the UCLA men's water polo program to five NCAA titles (2014, 2015, 2017, 2020, and 2024), did so for the first time at the helm of the women's team.
UCLA IN THEย CWPA POLL
The Bruins remained steady atย No. 1 in theย 2024ย CWPAย National Women's Varsity Top 25 Poll (99 points), released on Jan. 29.
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| 2025 Women's Varsity Top 25 (Week 1/January 22) | |||
| Rank | Team | 2025 Preseason Poll | Points |
| ย 1 | ย UCLA | ย 1 | ย 99 |
| ย 2 | ย Stanford | ย 2 | ย 97 |
| ย 3 | ย USC | ย 3 | ย 91 |
| ย 4 | ย California | ย 4 | ย 89 |
| ย 5 | ย Hawai'i | ย 5 | ย 84 |
| ย 6 | ย UC Irvine | ย 7 | ย 77 |
| ย 7 (T) | ย Arizona State | ย 12 | ย 72 |
| ย 7 (T) | ย Fresnoย State | ย 9 | ย 72 |
| ย 9 | ย Princeton | ย 6 | ย 70 |
| ย 10 | ย Long Beach State | ย 8 | ย 66 |
| ย 11 | ย LMU | ย 10 | ย 62 |
| ย 12 | ย Indiana | ย 11 | ย 56 |
| ย 13 | ย Michigan | ย 13 | ย 52 |
| ย 14 | ย UC San Diego | ย 14 | ย 47 |
| ย 15 | ย UC Santa Barbara | ย 18 | ย 40 |
| ย 16 | ย San Jose State | ย 17 | ย 39 |
| ย 17 | ย CSUN | ย 16 | ย 34 |
| ย 18 | ย San Diego State | ย 19 | ย 28 |
| ย 19 (T) | ย Harvard | ย 21 | ย 24 |
| ย 19 (T) | ย Wagner | ย 22 | ย 24 |
| ย 21 | ย UC Davis | ย 15 | ย 20 |
| ย 22 (T) | ย California Baptist University | ย RV | ย 13 |
| ย 22 (T) | ย Brown | ย 23 | ย 13 |
| ย 24 | ย Pacific | ย 20 | ย 12 |
| ย 25 | ย LIU | ย 24 | ย 10 |
| ย RV | ย Pomona-Pitzer | ย 25 | ย 6 |
| ย RV | ย Marist | ย NR | ย 3 |
| ย RV | ย Biola | ย RV | ย 1 |
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Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Water PoloNo. 4 UCLA vs. No. 3 Hawai'i Highlights
Monday, April 14
Highlights - UCLA W. Water Polo vs. Princeton (March 13, 2025)
Friday, March 14
UCLA vs. Princeton
Thursday, March 13
No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 15 Indiana
Sunday, March 09