Women’s water polo defeats Cal, advances to NCAA championship game

PALO ALTO — During the NCAA semifinal game, the California Golden Bears were closing in on UCLA women’s water polo’s lead with three consecutive goals. In the third quarter, an exclusion on the Bears gave the Bruins a six-on-five advantage and the ball settled into the hands of junior Rachel Fattal. The attacker’s skip shot […]

Women’s water polo parallels 2009 team as it prepares for NCAAs

Upsets and unlikely heroes characterized the 2009 NCAA women’s water polo tournament as UCLA finished with its fifth consecutive national title. On paper, the No. 3 seed Bruins were not expected to win. After capturing their third NCAA title in the last three seasons, UCLA seniors Anne Belden, Tanya Gandy, Katie Rulon and Brittany Fullen […]

Women’s water polo to begin NCAA championship run against UC San Diego

The UCLA women’s water polo team enters this weekend as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation champions with hopes of earning an even greater title. No. 1 UCLA (24-2) will begin its run to the NCAA championship Friday at Stanford’s Avery Aquatic Center with a game against No. 20 UC San Diego (19-18). A victory on […]

Women’s water polo parallels 2009 team as it prepares for NCAAs

Upsets and unlikely heroes characterized the 2009 NCAA women’s water polo tournament as UCLA finished with its fifth consecutive national title. On paper, the No. 3 seed Bruins were not expected to win. After capturing their third NCAA title in the last three seasons, UCLA senior attackers Anne Belden, Tanya Gandy and Katie Rulon had […]

Women’s water polo embarks on journey to end MPSF title drought

As his sixth year leading the UCLA women’s water polo team approaches its conclusion, coach Brandon Brooks reflects on the season and the team he’s built. “I’ve had the privilege of being here a long time, and every year is special. The standard of excellence here is really high,” Brooks said. “This year, we have […]

Women’s water polo looks to secure MPSF title rematch against Stanford

Two years ago, the UCLA women’s water polo team ended its regular season with two losses to Stanford and went on to fall to the Cardinal twice more in the postseason. One year ago, the Bruins entered the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament with two regular-season losses to the Cardinal and were once again defeated […]

UCLA women’s water polo crushes USC, maintains perfect home record

USC women’s water polo coach Jovan Vavic screamed a slew of inaudible words in the waning moments of the fourth quarter, as he had been during every intermission in Saturday’s game. However, Vavic was no longer yelling at his team, which was down 8-5 to UCLA with a minute to go. He had moved on […]