Women’s water polo ready to make weekend waves against Hawai’i, LMU and Fresno State

The Bruins are playing at their home pool for the first time this season.

No. 3 UCLA women’s water polo (7-0) will face No. 5 Hawai’i (4-0) on Friday, and will also host the UCLA minitournament, at which it will face No. 15 Loyola Marymount (2-0) and No. 14 Fresno State (2-6).

“Here we are in the third weekend of games, and after the first two weeks we gathered a lot of information about ourselves,” said coach Adam Wright. “I think the girls have done a nice job from weekend to weekend as far as figuring out things we need to concentrate on.”

Hawai’i is fresh off a 10-7 win against then-No. 5 Arizona State. With the victory, the Rainbow Wahine and the Sun Devils traded places in this week’s updated rankings.

Hawai’i’s attacker Irene Gonzalez is entering Friday’s contest with a four-game streak of at least three goals. Six other players have posted at least one multigoal game, including attacker Maxine Schaap, who is second on the team in goals behind Gonzalez.

Hawai’i has found the back of the net on over half of its shot attempts and is 14-for-20 on power play opportunities. Despite this being the first top-five matchup of the season for the Bruins, junior attacker Emily Skelly said UCLA stresses the idea of having the same routine for every game, especially in big games.

“I think it really comes down to the fundamentals, specifically how we play on defense,” Skelly said. “It’s all about consistency, and defense wins games, so if we shut down how (Hawai’i) works, they won’t be able to get shots up and we’ll be able to put it away from there.”

In their only matchup last season, UCLA handled LMU 11-2. Current junior attackers Maddie Musselman and Bronte Halligan as well as sophomore attacker Roxy Wheaton all found the back of the net twice.

The Lions started their season last weekend, and scored goals at will in their first two games. LMU blew out Chapman 18-1 thanks to four goals from driver Hana Vilanova and a hat trick from driver Brianna Quade. The success continued against Pomona-Pitzer after seven different Lions scored, including attacker Marialena Seletopoulou who dropped five on the way to a 13-6 win.

This weekend will be round two between the Bruins and Bulldogs this season. UCLA took round one Sunday in a 14-9 win with hat tricks from freshman attackers Val Ayala and Bella Baia.

In order to complete another weekend sweep and the sweep of Fresno State, Wright said the Bruins need to improve on their power play opportunities.

“If we want to make our lives easier, then we have to do a better job on our 6-on-5,” Wright said. “There’s been a lot of times where we don’t even get a shot off and that’s impossible. We’re working so hard to earn those ejections and then we’re turning the ball over and just making our lives difficult.”

In 6-on-5 opportunities, the Bruins were just 3-of-10 against No. 13 UC Davis – their worst man-up performance this season. UCLA followed that by finishing 4-of-8 on power play chances in its win against Fresno State to close out the Cal Cup.

With these next three games being the first time the Bruins are competing at home, Baia wants the Spieker Aquatic Center to be packed and loud this weekend.

“We would love all the support,” Baia said. “We’re so excited to be playing at our home stadium for the first time this season and I know I am too for my first home games (at UCLA) ever.”

Weekend in Preview: Track and field record-breaker prepares for next meet, swim and dive heads north

Women’s tennis
Dylan D’Souza, Daily Bruin reporter

The Bruins will face their first ranked opponent this weekend.

No. 13 UCLA women’s tennis (2-0, 0-0 Pac-12) will travel to Oklahoma this weekend to face No. 7 Oklahoma State (4-1, 0-0 Big 12) and No. 24 Tulsa (5-3, 0-1 AAC) on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

“I’m excited to see our team get tested at every spot,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “It’s a great opportunity for us to play teams outside our conference.”

The Bruins fell 2-4 to the Cowgirls last season at home. UCLA dropped four straight points in singles, after winning the doubles point and first singles point.

“At this point, we just have to figure out which doubles pairings are the best for our team,” Sampras Webster said. “Right now, our one and two doubles teams have really proven themselves. It’s really about figuring out our third doubles team and which combination works best.”

Freshman Taylor Johnson paired with senior Alaina Miller and won on court three 6-3 against Minnesota on Jan. 26. The following day, Johnson played with sophomore Abi Altick on third court for a 6-2 win against Loyola Marymount.

The Bruins are the only team in the nation to have two doubles teams ranked in the top 12. No. 6 senior duo of Gabby Andrews and Ayan Broomfield are 11-3 on the season, while No. 12 combo of freshman Elysia Bolton and redshirt junior Jada Hart are 12-3 so far this year.

“We have some of the best doubles teams in the country,” Sampras Webster said. “I think our singles players from No.1 to No.7 can play anywhere in the lineup. We have a lot of depth and we’ll find out a lot about our team over the next couple of weeks.”

Women’s golf
Michelle Murakami, Daily Bruin contributor

The Bruins will be starting their spring season one player short.

Lilia Vu recently earned her LPGA Tour card and will not be playing with the team for the upcoming spring season.

Sophomore Patty Tavatanakit said Vu being gone would not affect the Bruins’ individual performances but that the team will miss her leadership.

“Individually, I don’t think there will be an impact, but for the team, definitely,” Tavatanakit said. “If the four of us can pull through with good numbers, we should be fine, but there’s a lot of pressure to do well. With (Vu) gone, it won’t be who is replacing who (as a leader), but (more so) we have to believe in each other’s abilities.”

UCLA women’s golf starts out its spring season at Palos Verdes Golf Club for the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge on Sunday. In 2018, the Bruins took first place at the tournament, finishing with a 15-over 867 to beat No.15 Alabama by four strokes. Vu earned first place, shooting a 1-under 212, and then-junior Beth Wu came in fifth place with a 2-over 215.

Tavatanakit said she expects the course at the Palos Verdes Golf Club to be difficult.

“The greens are definitely a challenge,” Tavatanakit said. “It’s a beautiful course, but the slopes are high and I know it’s going to be tough. But it will contest where our game is at. Wind can also be a challenge (in terms of our performance).”

The Bruins will be playing in the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge at the Palos Verdes Golf Club from Sunday to Tuesday.

Track and field
Peter Frederick, Daily Bruin contributor

The Bruins are at the halfway point of their indoor season.

UCLA track and field will send five athletes: redshirt sophomore thrower Nate Esparza and the pole vaulting team of freshman Sondre Guttormsen, sophomore Tate Curran, senior Melissa Maneatis and redshirt senior Elleyse Garrett to compete in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Friday and Saturday.

“I’m really excited to see how the pole vaulters do this weekend,” said senior thrower Justin Stafford. “(Guttormsen’s) performance was crazy; it was a lot of fun to watch.”

Guttormsen established a UCLA school record, a Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge meet record and a Norwegian national record in his Bruin debut with a 5.71-meter mark. Sophomore thrower Alyssa Wilson also said she was looking forward to Guttormsen following up his debut performance.

Curran finished third in the men’s pole vault with a jump of 5.10 meters, while Garrett finished second in the women’s pole vault with a jump of 4.20 meters and Maneatis finished 20th with a mark of 3.15 meters.

Esparza is returning to competition after sitting out last week’s Columbia Challenge. In Esparza’s last appearance at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Collegiate Invitational, also in Albuquerque, he finished third in the men’s shot put.

Swim and dive
Claire Britton, Daily Bruin contributor

Rain or shine, the undefeated Bruins will race.

No. 20 UCLA swim and dive (8-0, 4-0 Pac-12) will travel up north Friday to face No. 3 Stanford (4-0, 4-0), followed by No. 4 California (5-1, 4-0) on Saturday.

Before Stanford’s meet against Arizona (3-4, 2-4) and Arizona State (2-5, 2-4) , the Cardinal had not raced since November because of wildfires.

“There’s no weakness with Stanford, they’re so deep,” said coach Cyndi Gallagher. “We’re racing against the best, but we just have to stay in our own lane.”

Stanford beat Arizona 195-99 and Arizona State by a score of 198-96. Cal also beat both teams over the weekend.

“We’re preparing for the end of the season,” Gallagher said. “Not really Stanford or Cal, we have less than 30 days left in the season.”

Gallagher said the team has been working hard these past couple of weeks, as it has been the entirety of the season.

“This team works very intentionally,” Gallagher said. “They are really into making changes as a team and individually.”

Going into these meets, Gallagher noted everyone has been performing well and they have been focusing a lot on their relays.

“It’s all about earning our point in the meet,” Gallagher said.

The Bruins will face the Cardinal and Golden Bears on Friday at the Avery Aquatic Center and Saturday at the Spieker Aquatics Complex, respectively.

Following double win on road, women’s basketball aims to double up at home

The Bruins are coming off their first Pac-12 road sweep and will have the opportunity to do it again at home.

“I think if you prepare well, you play well,” said senior guard Kennedy Burke. “So, if we keep preparing like champions, we will be champions of the weekend again.”

After being named the NCAA Team of the Week, UCLA women’s basketball (11-9, 4-4 Pac 12) will host Washington State (7-13, 2-7) on Friday and Washington (8-13, 1-8) on Sunday.

The Cougars and the Huskies have four and five consecutive losses, respectively, heading into the weekend and sit among the bottom four teams in the conference. UCLA has also yet to lose to Washington State at home, boasting a perfect 30-0 record.

Redshirt senior forward Lajahna Drummer, however, said the Bruins are not concerned with statistics and will prepare for the Cougars the same way that has been bringing them success.

“I just think it’s staying on that path and that competitive spirit that we brought this past week,” Drummer said. “(It’s) just doing the little things and not taking it for granted because a team is not ‘this’ or a team is not ‘that.’ We can’t use that as an excuse to not play how we know how to play.”

The last time UCLA faced Washington State, the Cougars hit 60 percent of their shots in the first quarter and took a seven-point lead into the second period.

The Bruins overtook the Cougars in the second quarter, outscoring them 25-14 and taking a 38-34 lead into the half. UCLA never trailed for the remainder of the contest, securing a 79-71 victory.

The Bruins out-rebounded the Cougars 51-29 in the game, allowing UCLA to capitalize on 19 second-chance points off of 21 offensive rebounds.

Coach Cori Close said rebounding will be just as important this time around.

“If we don’t dominantly get rebounds, we have a hard time,” Close said. “We need to create extra possessions with rebounding. So, honestly, any night that we are not a dominant rebounding team, we are going to be putting ourselves in a difficult position.”

Washington State is coming off a season low in scoring, putting up just 35 points against No. 9 Oregon State on Sunday. The Cougars shot 14-of-55 from the field and went 3-of-17 from beyond the arc.

UCLA will face Washington on Sunday for its second matchup of the weekend.

The last time the Bruins and the Huskies met, UCLA claimed an 86-69 victory.

Twenty of the Huskies’ points in that game came from guard Amber Melgoza – who leads Washington in scoring – and has scored in double figures in all but two games this season.

“We just try to make people feel uncomfortable,” Drummer said. “So, (we’re) just trying to make shots hard for (Melgoza) and trying to make her do what she usually doesn’t do.”

UCLA will take on Washington State at 7 p.m on Friday night for an opportunity to win its third consecutive game.

Men’s basketball given opportunity to end Washington’s win streak at matchup

The Bruins have a chance to do something no other Pac-12 team has done this season – beat the Huskies.

UCLA men’s basketball (12-9, 5-3 Pac-12) will visit Washington (17-4, 8-0) in the final leg of its two-game trip to the Northwest on Saturday. The Bruins have won each of the last three meetings between the schools, including a 41-point victory the last time they were in Seattle.

Washington, however, enters this weekend’s matchup with a perfect conference record of 8-0 for the first time since the 1952-1953 season.

Despite four of Washington’s first five Pac-12 wins coming against bottom-six schools in the standings, they have strung together three straight wins over Oregon, Oregon State and USC.

Washington’s success has been fueled by guard Jaylen Nowell, who ranks sixth in the conference in scoring, at 16.7 points per game – one point behind UCLA sophomore guard Kris Wilkes who ranks third at 17.7 points per contest.

Forward Noah Dickerson has also put together a strong season for the Huskies, averaging 13.2 points and a team-leading 6.9 rebounds per game.

While Washington owns just the 10th-ranked offense in the Pac-12, it boasts the conference’s second-ranked defense. The Huskies have not allowed more than 70 points to an opponent since Jan. 1 and have only allowed more than 80 twice.

The Bruins on the other hand, have scored 80 or more points in 11 of their 21 games this season, and have done so in five of their eight Pac-12 matchups. UCLA is also undefeated during conference play in games in which at least four different players score in double figures, and winless in games in which there are three or fewer.

Wilkes, freshman center Moses Brown and redshirt junior guard Prince Ali each scored 16 points in UCLA’s 87-67 win over Washington State on Wednesday night, while sophomore guard Jaylen Hands added another 10 points.

If the Bruins are going to have a chance at knocking the Huskies off, they will likely need to get similar contributions from the same four players, given the Huskies’ suffocating defensive numbers this season.

UCLA and Washington will tip off from the Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Gymnastics vaults into weekend meet against Oregon State aiming for higher goals

Valorie Kondos Field has a new goal for the Bruins.

“I haven’t shared it with the team yet,” the coach said. “I want to (hit) a meet where we get one 10 on every event. It can happen this weekend.”

No. 3 UCLA gymnastics (3-0, 2-0 Pac-12) will take on No. 20 Oregon State (1-1, 1-1) in Corvallis, Oregon, on Saturday. Oregon State is coming off of a 196.100-point victory against No.12 Washington (1-2, 1-1) – a score 1.125 points below UCLA’s season low.

“I shared (the goal) with (junior Madison) Kocian,” Kondos Field said. “When I shared it, she thought I was telling her she needed to get one 10 on every event, and I said, ‘Not just you! The whole team. Spread them out!’”

The closest UCLA has come to the goal was when it notched 10s on both floor and uneven bars at the Collegiate Challenge on Jan. 12.

The following meet, the only 10 was scored on uneven bars by Kocian.

Despite not yet scoring a 10 in the other two events, the Bruins are not far off. Junior Kyla Ross posted a 9.975 on vault against Nebraska, while senior Katelyn Ohashi twice scored a 9.975 on balance beam both at the Collegiate Challenge and at Stanford.

Freshman Norah Flatley – who scored a 9.825 and 9.900 on uneven bars and balance beam, respectively, in the Stanford meet – said the team’s work in practice should translate into how the Bruins will compete this weekend.

“We just want to do what we do in training,” Flatley said. “(We should) not change anything, not let the scores we get affect us. Just do what we do and stay normal.”

According to Kondos Field, part of taking training into competition is eliminating minor errors in all areas.

“We need to not make little mistakes,” Kondos Field said. “The mistakes we’re making are on their dance because they’re letting their core get loose, and it’s silly to have half a 10th or a 10th deduction on dance.”

Freshman Sekai Wright pinpointed another area that she feels needs improvement.

“Dialing in our landings need the most work,” Wright said.

Wright garnered a 9.875 on vault against the Cardinal.

As UCLA chases its goals, Flatley said the meet against Oregon State will provide another opportunity to grow.

“Overall, we’re getting stronger in competition, getting more comfortable with the format and getting used to traveling,” Flatley said. “Every weekend is a new start and I just love to see what we do every time. It’s exciting.”

Men’s volleyball aces matchup against Loyola Chicago, maintains all-time win record

The Bruins began their stretch of six matches against top-10 opponents with a win.

No. 5 UCLA (7-2) defeated No. 7 Loyola Chicago (6-3) by a score of 3-1 on Thursday night at Gentile Arena. The Bruins advanced to an 8-0 all-time record against the Ramblers.

“The win was really important,” said senior setter Micah Ma’a. “Getting out to a good start and not having to be coming from losing a game, that’s when the pressure starts happening. I’m glad we got this win.”

Junior middle blocker Daenan Gyimah said the matchup with the Ramblers brought out the best in him, as he posted a season-high 18 kills to lead the Bruins in the category for the first time this season.

“As we start playing harder teams, we’re just going to start setting the middle court more, especially when we’re passing well,” Gyimah said. “Earlier in the season, we were just using me as kind of a decoy, but in crunch time, it always goes to me.”

Gyimah also hit for .739, second only to his UCLA-record-setting performance of .917 against McKendree earlier this season. Gyimah led the country in hitting percentage last season, with a mark of .528.

The Ramblers began their night by taking a 6-0 lead in the first set.

“We weren’t executing the game plan like we should have,” Gyimah said. “They capitalized, and we made dumb errors.”

However, the Bruins answered with a run of their own. A pass from Ma’a set up Gyimah for the kill to make the score 14-19. Ma’a led the Bruins to six more points and their first lead of the night, tallying three assists and three aces in the process.

Gyimah said the Bruins were poised to make a run with Ma’a at the service line.

“In my opinion, I think (Ma’a) is by far the best server in the league,” Gyimah said. “So, if we know there’s going to be a guy that gets a run, it’s going to be him.”

Ma’a also added eight kills, twice as many as he has tallied in any other match this season.

“A lot of those kills were reactionary,” Ma’a said. “Most teams pay a lot of attention to the dump, but (Loyola Chicago) didn’t.”

The Ramblers began each of the first three sets with leads, but converted those advantages to a single 25-23 win in the second set.

UCLA altered its lineup following the second-set loss, replacing freshman libero Cole Pender with junior outside hitter Austin Matautia.

Coach John Speraw said moving Matautia to libero for the first time this season was part of a strategy to boost the defense at that position.

“(Pender) didn’t have his best first couple of sets there, and I was just trying to figure out what our best seven guys are,” Speraw said. “(Matautia) can play really good defense from left back. Him moving to libero gives us a better defensive presence than we have right now.”

Speraw said changing the Bruins’ approach at the service line to target the Ramblers’ outside hitter Will Tischler also helped the team secure a win.

“(Tischler) didn’t have his typical match tonight,” Speraw said. “So, later in the match, we definitely made some adjustments and went at him a little more than the original game plan said to.”

The Bruins finished the night with seven service aces, six of which were served to Tischler. Tischler finished the night with the Ramblers’ second-highest total in kills, with 10, but also committed a match-high 11 errors.

The Bruins will travel to Romeoville, Illinois, to take on No. 10 Lewis on Saturday.