The UCLA women’s water polo team went into the weekend knowing they were going to get tested, and they emerged from the annual gauntlet that is the Stanford Invitational with a forbidding report card. With their first chance of the season to get a glimpse of the nation’s finest competition, the Bruins (5-2) received a fourth-place finish and the program’s first two losses since April of 2007.
A season ago, UCLA won the Stanford Invitational in impressive fashion, including a win over archrival USC in the championship game. This year, they entered the weekend of play with a mark of 4-0, but had yet to face a team ranked in the nation’s top 10.
The No. 3 Bruins won their tournament opener Saturday morning against MPSF conference foe San Jose State by a 13-6 margin. Senior attackers Anne Belden and Tanya Gandy and freshman utility KK Clark each scored 3 goals to help earn the victory in a game in which UCLA started and finished strong, jumping out to a 3-0 lead after the first quarter and closing the game with a 4-1 run in the fourth.
In the Saturday nightcap, the Bruins saw their winning streak snapped in a thrilling 13-12 defeat by No. 4 Hawaii, who outscored UCLA 5-2 in the final quarter. That completed a furious rally by the Rainbow Wahine to overcome four goals apiece from Gandy and senior attacker Katie Rulon.
The heartbreaking defeat for the Bruins snapped a run of 46 consecutive victories by the UCLA program, the longest streak of its kind in the history of the sport at the NCAA collegiate level.
The Bruins were up against a Hawaii team desperate for a victory in the matchup; entering the game, the Rainbow Wahine had never won in the previous 32 contests between the two teams, including three defeats a season ago and an elimination from the MPSF tournament.
The Bruins faced the U.S. Junior National team the next morning, in an exhibition match that factored into tournament standings. UCLA rode a wave of offensive contributions from underclassmen, getting five goals from Clark, two apiece from sophomore defender Kelly Easterday and freshman defender Hannah Sebenaler.
Sophomore center Katie Estrada, sophomore attacker Priscilla Orozco, and sophomore defender Megan Burmeister each tallied one of their own. Senior goalie Brittany Fullen had a busy day in her own right, recording a season-high 12 saves. The back-and-forth match was tied at halftime, with the Bruins using a 4-1 scoring advantage to build a lead and hold on for a 12-8 victory.
By defeating the junior national team, the women advanced to the tournament’s third-place game against host Stanford, the No. 2 team in the country. The Bruins had a tough time against Cardinal goalie Amber Oland the entire match, and Stanford secured a 10-5 victory. Rulon, Belden, Easterday, Clark and freshman center Randi Bresee each scored for UCLA.
This tournament clearly showed the Bruins what it will be like to play in the dangerous MPSF this year.
UCLA will play all three conference opponents again this season, and the weekend matches were a preview of just how stiff the competition will be for the league crown.