Women's Water Polo Hosts Indiana, Michigan This Week

Friday, February 27

Los Angeles, Calif.

1:00 PM (PT)

UCLA

No. 8 Indiana

Emma Lineback (Photo: Steve Urbatsch)

Women's Water Polo Hosts Indiana, Michigan This Week

February 25, 2026 | Women's Water Polo

The second-ranked UCLA women's water polo team returns home this week for a pair of games. The Bruins (10-1) first welcome No. 8 Indiana (12-1) to Spieker Aquatics Center for an MPSF contest Friday at 1 p.m. PT. No. 12 Michigan (10-6) then stops in Saturday, with that one also scheduled for a 1 p.m. start. Overnght is set to air live video of both games, with 6-8 Sports providing live scoring. Admission is free.

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Opponent: No. 8 Indiana
Venue: Spieker Aquatics Complex
Date: Friday, Feb. 27
Time: 1 p.m. PT
Watch: https://www.overnght.com/
Live Stats: https://scores.6-8sports.com/scoreboard

Opponent: No. 14 Michigan
Venue: Spieker Aquatics Complex
Date: Saturday, Feb. 28
Time: 1 p.m. PT
Watch: https://www.overnght.com/
Live Stats: https://scores.6-8sports.com/scoreboard

SERIES HISTORY
Series vs. Indiana: UCLA leads 21-0
Most Recent vs. Indiana: UCLA won 19-9 on March 9, 2025 (Recap)
Series vs. Michigan: UCLA leads 30-0
Most Recent vs. Michigan: UCLA won 7-6 on Feb. 13, 2022 (Recap)

LAST TIME OUT
Second-ranked UCLA beat No. 4 California 19-18 in an overtime thriller Feb. 21 at Spieker Aquatics Complex. The game represented both teams' MPSF opener. Taylor Smith provided the game-winning goal with 1:46 remaining in the second overtime period. She scored four times in total. Bia Mantellato added four goals of her own for the Bruins. Genoa Rossi also had a hat trick. Emma Lineback and Elektra Urbatsch added two goals apiece. Joey Niz piled up seven saves across the fourth quarter and overtime. The Golden Bears were paced by Maria Bogachenko's five goals.

TAYLOR MADE
Just 11 games into her senior campaign, Taylor Smith is nearing a single-season career high for goals. She currently leads the team with 35. Smith's personal best is 40, across 26 games, in 2025. She has scored in all but one game, logging eight hat tricks along the way. Smith's performance at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational was one to remember, as she matched her single-game career high with six goals in a 15-8 win versus No. 6 Arizona State (Jan. 31) and scored five times in a 12-9 victory against No. 2 USC (Feb. 2). She would receive the MPSF Player of the Week award for her role in the Bruins' runner-up finish. Smith logged four goals in UCLA's MPSF opener at No. 4 California, which the Bruins won by a 19-18 score in overtime. She accounted for three of her team's last four goals, including the game winner with 1:46 remaining in overtime.

MANTELLATO MAGIC
Bia Mantellato was a force for the Bruins as they earned a runner-up finish at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Irvine, Calif. The senior's finest moment of the weekend came in a thrilling semifinal-round win versus third-ranked USC. Mantellato piled up a season-high six goals – including UCLA's final two of a 10-9 result – while adding five earned exclusions and a pair of assists against the Trojans. She finished the tournament with 10 goals, five assists, 11 earned exclusions and one steal across three games. Mantellato ranks second on the team with 28 goals. She's logged five hat trick and eight multi-goal games.

TOUGH COMPETITION
Across UCLA's first 11 games, it has faced off with eight teams ranked in the top 10 of that week's CWPA Women's Varsity Top 25: No. 1 Stanford (Feb. 15 – 7-8), No. 2 USC (Feb. 1 – 12-9), No. 3 USC (Feb. 14 – 10-9), No. 4 California (Feb. 21 – 19-18 OT), No. 5 Hawai'i (Jan. 31 – 14-5), No. 6 Arizona State (Jan. 31 – 15-8), No. 6 Long Beach State (Jan. 25 – 18-7) and No. 9 Fresno State (Jan. 25 – 14-6). The Bruins are 7-1 in these games with an average goal differential of plus-4.8 (13.6-8.8). They have also beaten No. 12 UC Irvine (Feb. 7 – 15-10), No. 13 Fresno State (Feb. 13 – 17-10) and unranked Cal State Fullerton (Jan. 30 – 22-4).

UCLA IN THE CWPA POLL
UCLA remained at No. 2 in the latest CWPA Women's Varsity Top 25, released Wednesday. The Bruins held steady at No. 3 in the first three editions before moving up a spot following their championship run at the Triton Invitational. They have received 96 points in four straight weeks. Rounding out the top five were No. 1 Stanford (100), No. 3 USC (92), No. 4 California (88) and in a tie for No. 5, Arizona State (82) and Hawai'i (82). To view the full poll, click HERE.

SMITH VOTED MPSF/DEFINA PLAYER OF THE WEEK FEB. 3
Taylor Smith was named MPSF/Delfina Player of the Week Feb. 3 after leading her team to the Triton Invitational championship. The senior attacker from Newport Beach, Calif. led the Bruins with 16 total points across four games. Of Smith's 16 points, 15 were goals. She opened play with a hat trick against Cal State Fullerton (Jan. 30). Smith then piled up a career-high six goals to help third-ranked UCLA defeat No. 6 Arizona State 15-8 before tacking on another the same day versus No. 5 Hawai'i (Jan. 31). The Bruins completed their run with a 12-9 upset of No. 2 USC in which Smith collected five more goals and assisted on another (Feb. 1). Over the three day-tournament, Smith added three steals, one field block and won five of six sprints. Smith has now won three MPSF Player of the Week awards in her career, also winning one in 2025 and another in 2024. She also earned a pair of Newcomer of the Week honors in 2023.

RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
A total of six All-Americans will be suiting up for UCLA in 2026. The Bruins return all five of their All-Americans from the 2025 season, including First-Team selection, senior utility Anna Pearson (Irvine, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS). Junior goalkeeper Lauren Steele (Old Greenwich, Conn./Orange Lutheran HS) and RS-senior attacker Emma Lineback (Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach HS) both earned Second-Team All-American honors last year and are joined by Honorable Mention picks, senior center Bia Mantellato (São Paulo, Brazil/Newport Harbor HS) and senior utility Genoa Rossi (Laguna Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS). The Bruins also retain the services of 2023 Third-Team All-American, senior attacker Taylor Smith (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor HS).

RETURNING ALL-MPSF PLAYERS
The list of returning all-league players is basically the same as the All-Americans list with one addition. Three Bruins earned Delfina All-MPSF First-Team accolades last year, and that included Anna Pearson, Emma Lineback, and Lauren Steele. Two Bruins landed on the Delfina All-MPSF Honorable Mention team, which included Genoa Rossi and Bia Mantellato. Sophomore attacker Tali Stryker (Lafayette, Calif./Miramonte HS) was the lone Bruin on the MPSF All-Newcomer Team a year ago. Taylor Smith was also named Second-Team All-MPSF in 2024.

EXPERIENCE BETWEEN THE POSTS
UCLA returns three goalkeepers who have all seen action in the cage for the Bruins. That list is headlined by two-time All-American, Lauren Steele. Also in that group is senior Izzy Rosensitto (Newport Beach, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic HS), and junior Joey Niz (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos HS).

INFLUX OF YOUTH
Six true freshmen have arrived in Westwood and look to make an immediate impact in 2026. The class is bolstered by three redshirts from last year, putting the total number of freshmen to nine on this year's roster. The six true freshmen include Presley Jones (Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach HS), Ally Larsen (Orinda, Calif./Miramonte HS), Katherine O'Dea (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson HS), Jailynn Robinson (Dallas, Texas/Orange Lutheran HS), Alison Sagara (Orinda, Calif./Miramonte HS), and Sienna Steiner (Sarasota, Fla./Venice HS). The three redshirt freshmen are Ryan Chalupnik (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor HS), Aubrey Graham (Mountain View, Calif./Mountain View HS), and Ana Pieper (Orinda, Calif./Campolindo HS).

TRANSFER PORTAL
The Bruins' 2026 roster has been bolstered by three transfers from inside the MPSF. Janna Tauscher (Sunset Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS), the redshirt senior center from California has one year remaining, as does the senior defender from Arizona State, Zoë Frangieh (Los Gatos, Calif./Los Gatos HS). Also with one year remaining is senior attacker Fanni Muzsnay (Budapest, Hungary/Szabo Lorinc Bilingual HS), who transferred in from USC.

MORE BRUINS LOOKING TO MAKE AN IMPACT
UCLA also returns nine players from its 2025 roster that all made significant contributions last season. That group includes sophomores Jenna Human (El Cajon, Calif./Santana HS) and Jojo Walters (Dallas, Texas/Southlake Carroll HS), redshirt sophomores Dania Innis (Orinda, Calif./Miramonte HS), Alexsa Gimenez (Commerce, Calif./Downey HS), juniors 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), and seniors Lily Gess (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor HS) and Carly McMurray (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic HS), The Bruins will redshirt junior Natasha Kieckhafer (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic HS) and sophomore Maile Turner (Danville, Calif./Monte Vista HS), who are both recovering from undisclosed injuries.

COACHING CHANGES
With two-time reigning MPSF Coach of the Year, Adam Wright, stepping away from day-to-day operations as UCLA's head women's water polo coach in 2026, two current Bruins coaches have been elevated to the post of interim co-head coach. Jason Falitz, who has been the associate head coach on the men's side since 2017 and at that same post with the women's team since the 2022 season, will serve as one of the co-head coaches. Matt Kubeck, who just completed his second season as an assistant coach with the Bruins' men's squad will also serve as a co-head coach with the women in 2026. The duo is currently 7-0 at UCLA. Additionally, UCLA completed its coaching staff with former Stanford standout Ryann Neushul to the post of assistant coach. Neushul is a four-time NCAA Champion, a four-time All-American, a two-time World Champion, and the 2025 Peter J. Cutino Award winner.

RECAPPING 2025
Overall Record: 20-6 (.769) | MPSF Record: 5-1 (.833) | Final Ranking: 3rd | NCAA Finish: T-3rd | MPSF Tournament Finish: 2nd
The UCLA Bruins finished the season with the No. 1 seed heading into the MPSF Championship Tournament for the second straight year. But the Bruins were unable to successfully defend their MPSF and NCAA Tournament titles from a 26-0 season in 2024, falling in overtime, 11-9, to No. 1 Stanford at home in the MPSF final. Seeded second for the NCAA Championship, the Bruins fell to No. 3 USC, 15-13, in the semifinals.