No. 2 UCLA women’s water polo headed to Santa Barbara this weekend for a preliminary test early in the 2016 season. By Sunday afternoon, the Bruins had staunchly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
Going toe-to-toe with strong opponents at the UCSB Winter Invitational, the Bruins (4-0) swept their competition with four decisive victories.
On the first day of the tournament, UCLA won both of its games, first beating No. 7 Hawai’i 13-8. The Bruins then followed up with an 8-5 victory over the No. 14 UCSB Gauchos in Saturday’s second round.
Redshirt junior center Alexa Tielmann notched a team-high five goals for the day, making a triumphant return to the team following a year of training with the Canadian Women’s National Team. Sophomore attackers Devin Grab and Grace Reego also tallied points against the Rainbow Wahine and Gauchos.
“We had a whole mix of people scoring,” said coach Brandon Brooks. “We had some really nice goals out of center, and some really big 5-on-6 stops when we needed them.”
The Bruins continued their strong performance Sunday morning, with a dominant 11-4 performance against No. 17 Long Beach State. Key scorers included junior utility Mackenzie Barr putting up four points and senior attacker Charlotte Pratt who added an additional two.
That afternoon, UCLA handed No. 12 Michigan an 11-7 loss, finishing the invitational undefeated. Senior center India Forster, Barr, Grab and Reego each contributed two goals, with Tielmann and junior attacker Ashley Zwirner also netting one apiece.
Despite many key players graduating last year, a number younger players have been working hard to step up and fill large roles. Eager to see how this new team stood up to the competition, the Bruins sailed through the weekend with high spirits and positive attitudes.
SEASON PREVIEW: Read the full breakdown of the 2016 season.
“We didn’t want to come out and be too excited and let the nerves get to us, but we also didn’t want to come out and not meet the energy of our opponents,” Zwirner said. “We were trying to focus on having a steady, consistent energy throughout the games, no matter who was in which lineup.”
Although the weekend ended with four solid wins, the tournament helped highlight areas in need of improvement. Now, the team said it has a much better sense of what to focus on during practice.
“I think the biggest thing is getting used to playing with each other,” Pratt said. “We’re a pretty different team than we have been in past years, so it’s just gonna take time learning everyone’s tendencies, which will come with more experience.”
The Bruins will host a USA Scrimmage on Saturday at Sunset Recreational Center.