University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Anna Pearson (left) and Lauren Steele
Photo by: Ross Turteltaub
Six Bruins Earn All-MPSF Women's Water Polo Honors
April 09, 2026 | Women's Water Polo
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. โ Six members of the UCLA women's water polo team were honored Thursday by the MPSF, which announced its Delfina All-Conference selections. Emma Lineback, Bia Mantellato, Katherine O'Dea, Anna Pearson, Taylor Smith and Lauren Steele were recognized. UCLA's five players across the first-team, second-team and honorable-mention lists were most of any MPSF program. Six overall tied for the league lead.
Pearson and Steele were voted onto the first team. Lineback and Smith made the second team. Mantellato received honorable mention. O'Dea earned a spot on the All-Newcomer Team. Lineback, Pearson and Steele each collected All-MPSF acclaim for the third time, while Mantellato and Smith each became two-time honorees.
Pearson, a senior utility from Irvine, Calif., has 10 multi-goal games this season. She has 41 goals to rank third on the team, as well as a conference-leading 72 earned exclusions. Pearson matched her career high with six goals in a Feb. 28 home win against No. 12 Michigan. She also made the first team in 2024 and 2025. Steele has accumulated 164 saves over more than 14 games in the cage. The junior from Old Greenwich, Conn. holds a goals against average of 8.17. She has twice hit 14 single-game saves in 2026, with one of those performances coming in a Feb. 14 victory versus No. 3 USC. Steele was previously voted onto the first team in 2024 and the second team in 2025.
Lineback closed out the regular season with multi-goal games in six of the last seven. She logged three hat tricks in four days against No. 14 Princeton (March 12), No. 18 San Jose State (March 14) and No. 12 Fresno State (March 15) and added another versus No. 5 Arizona State (March 28). The redshirt-senior attacker from Laguna Beach, Calif. is tied for second among MPSF players with 42 assists. She was a first-teamer in 2025 and made the second team in 2023. Smith scored a team-high 59 goals during the regular season. The senior attacker has found the back of the net in all but one game, recording 11 hat tricks. She matched her career high with six goals against No. 6 Arizona State (Jan. 31) and added five more in a Triton Invitational championship triumph over No. 2 USC (Feb. 1). The Newport Beach, Calif. native also made the second team in 2024.
Mantellato's 50 goals rank second on the team. Of the São Paulo, Brazil native's 17 multi-goal games, 16 came in the final 17 regular-season contests. She scored six times in a 10-9 win versus No. 3 USC (Feb. 14) and has eight total hat tricks on the year. The senior utility was also honorable mention in 2025. O'Dea finished her debut regular season with 13 goals. The freshman attacker from Long Beach, Calif. recorded three two-goal games, including one against No. 2 USC to help win the Triton Invitational championship (Feb. 1).
Pearson and Steele were voted onto the first team. Lineback and Smith made the second team. Mantellato received honorable mention. O'Dea earned a spot on the All-Newcomer Team. Lineback, Pearson and Steele each collected All-MPSF acclaim for the third time, while Mantellato and Smith each became two-time honorees.
Pearson, a senior utility from Irvine, Calif., has 10 multi-goal games this season. She has 41 goals to rank third on the team, as well as a conference-leading 72 earned exclusions. Pearson matched her career high with six goals in a Feb. 28 home win against No. 12 Michigan. She also made the first team in 2024 and 2025. Steele has accumulated 164 saves over more than 14 games in the cage. The junior from Old Greenwich, Conn. holds a goals against average of 8.17. She has twice hit 14 single-game saves in 2026, with one of those performances coming in a Feb. 14 victory versus No. 3 USC. Steele was previously voted onto the first team in 2024 and the second team in 2025.
Lineback closed out the regular season with multi-goal games in six of the last seven. She logged three hat tricks in four days against No. 14 Princeton (March 12), No. 18 San Jose State (March 14) and No. 12 Fresno State (March 15) and added another versus No. 5 Arizona State (March 28). The redshirt-senior attacker from Laguna Beach, Calif. is tied for second among MPSF players with 42 assists. She was a first-teamer in 2025 and made the second team in 2023. Smith scored a team-high 59 goals during the regular season. The senior attacker has found the back of the net in all but one game, recording 11 hat tricks. She matched her career high with six goals against No. 6 Arizona State (Jan. 31) and added five more in a Triton Invitational championship triumph over No. 2 USC (Feb. 1). The Newport Beach, Calif. native also made the second team in 2024.
Mantellato's 50 goals rank second on the team. Of the São Paulo, Brazil native's 17 multi-goal games, 16 came in the final 17 regular-season contests. She scored six times in a 10-9 win versus No. 3 USC (Feb. 14) and has eight total hat tricks on the year. The senior utility was also honorable mention in 2025. O'Dea finished her debut regular season with 13 goals. The freshman attacker from Long Beach, Calif. recorded three two-goal games, including one against No. 2 USC to help win the Triton Invitational championship (Feb. 1).
Players Mentioned
ATK
/ Women's Water Polo
CTR
/ Women's Water Polo
ATK
/ Women's Water Polo
UTL
/ Women's Water Polo
ATK
/ Women's Water Polo
GK
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