No. 1 UCLA Heads to UC Irvine's Kalbus Cup

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LOS ANGELES – No. 1 UCLA (15-0, 2-0 MPSF) heads to UC Irvine for the 2022 Kalbus Cup this weekend. The Bruins will open with No. 10 UC Davis (9-5) at 9:30 a.m. PT on Friday, Feb. 25 at Anteater Aquatics Complex. The Bruins will then conclude Group A play with No. 11 UC San Diego (8-4) at 1:30 p.m. PT. Should the Bruins win both games on Friday, they will win Group A and play in the first semifinal at 2:45 p.m. PT on Saturday, Feb. 26, against the winner from Group D, which includes LMU, Hawai'i, Indiana, and Michigan. The championship game is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. PT on Sunday, Feb. 27. UC Irvine will provide live stats for every match.

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Friday, Feb. 25 (Kalbus Cup – UC Irvine Anteater Aquatics Complex)
9:30 AM PT – No. 10 UC Davis vs. No. 1 UCLA | LIVE STATS
1:30 PM PT – No. 11 UC San Diego vs. No. 1 UCLA | LIVE STATS

Saturday, Feb. 26 (Kalbus Cup – UC Irvine Anteater Aquatics Complex)
TBD – TBD vs. No. 1 UCLA

Sunday, Feb. 27 (Kalbus Cup – UC Irvine Anteater Aquatics Complex)
TBD – TBD vs. No. 1 UCLA

SERIES HISTORY
This is the 21st meeting between UCLA and UC Davis with the Bruins leading the series 19-1. The Bruins won the last meeting with the Aggies, 6-3, on Feb. 9, 2019 at the Triton Invitational. This will be the 37th meeting all-time and the third this year with UC San Diego with UCLA leading the series 33-3. The Bruins posted an 11-6 win over the Tritons on Jan. 23 at the UCSB Winter Invitational and then followed with a 13-6 win at the Triton Invitational on Feb. 12.

MUSSELMAN MAKING HER MOVE
After a two-year hiatus to train for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games with Team USA, senior attacker Maddie Musselman has returned to complete her senior season at UCLA. Musselman tied for the team scoring lead with 18 goals in the Olympics, leading Team USA to its third-straight gold medal and was named the MVP of the Olympic Games. It is the fourth time in her career that she has been named the MVP of a major international tournament as she was named the MVP of the FINA World League Super Final in 2019 and again in 2021. She was also named the MVP of the FINA World Championships in 2017. Additionally, the three-time First-Team All-American was also named the 2021 Women's Total Player of the Year by (Total Waterpolo). Musselman has 221 career goals which ranks third all-time on the UCLA career charts. She needs 15nmore to move into second place (2. Coralie Simmons - 235). She needs 17 goals to become the all-time leader in UCLA history (1. Kelly Rulon, 237). She also ranks 4th in career steals with 142, needing 26 to pass Katie Rulon for third place (167). The all-time leader at UCLA is Rachel Fattal with 188.

RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
Four of UCLA's seven 2021 ACWPC All-Americans return for the 2022 season. Senior center Ava Johnson headlined the list of Bruin selections as the lone First-Team honoree. Junior attacker Hannah Palmer was the only Bruin to earn Second-Team honors. The Bruins landed two on the Third-Team list which included senior attacker Val Ayala and goalkeeper Jahmea Bent (graduated). Three more Bruins earned Honorable Mention All-America accolades that included defender Brooke Maxson (graduated), junior utility Abbi Hill and attacker Lexi Liebowitz (graduated). Maddie Musselman is also a three-time All-American (2017-19).

Johnson was fifth on the team in scoring with 34 points (28 goals, six assists). Her 28 goals ranked tied for second on the team. She led the squad in drawn exclusions (32) and field blocks (nine) and tied for fourth on the team in steals (nine). Palmer led the team in scoring with 62 points (9th in the MPSF) with a team-high 36 goals and 26 assists (tied for fifth in the MPSF). She was second on the team defensively with 14 steals. Ayala was fourth on the team in scoring with 36 points (20 goals, 16 assists). Her 20 goals ranked fifth on the squad while the 16 assists ranked third. She led the Bruins defensively with a team-high 17 steals while ranking second with eight field blocks. Hill finished second on the team in scoring with 47 points (28 goals, 19 assists). The 28 goals and 19 assists each ranked second on the team. She also had nine steals (tied for fourth on the squad), six drawn exclusions, and three field blocks.

RETURNING ALL-MPSF SELECTIONS
Four of the Bruins' five players that earned All-MPSF plaudits in 2021 return for the 2022 campaign. The group includes First-Team selections senior center Ava Johnson and junior attacker Hannah Palmer. Johnson was also named to the 2021 MPSF/KAP7 All-Tournament Team. Senior Brooke Maxson was named honorable mention for the second straight year and graduated out of the program at year's end. Two Bruin sophomores landed on the MPSF All-Newcomer Team last year, which included attackers Malia Allen and Anneliese Miller.
 
TENDING GOAL
The Bruins have three goalkeepers on the 2022 roster that all saw action last season, led by redshirt junior Georgia Phillips who played in 10 games (starting eight) while going 5-3 on the year. Junior Quinn Winter and sophomore Sydney Chiang each only played a quarter in the Bruins' season-opening win at No. 11 Fresno State (Feb. 14) a year ago.
 
CALIFORNIA RAISED
For the third-consecutive season, the UCLA women's water polo roster is completely made up of student-athletes that are from the state of California (28).

WRIGHT ON DECK
Adam Wright is in his fifth season as UCLA's head women's water polo coach in 2022 with an overall record of 96-22 (.814) and an MPSF mark of 19-8 (.704). On July 20, 2017, then-UCLA Director of Athletics, Dan Guerrero, announced that Wright would guide both the UCLA men's and women's water polo teams.
 
RECAPPING 2021
Overall Record: 15-5 | Final Ranking: 2nd | NCAA Finish: 2nd | MPSF Tournament Finish: 3rd

UCLA finished the season at 15-5 overall and 9-3 in the MPSF in the COVID-limited season of 2021 in head coach Adam Wright's fourth season at the helm of the program. The Bruins went defeated every team it played at least once, including handing NCAA Champion USC its only loss of the season at home, 13-6, on the UCLA's "Senior Day" (April 25). The Bruins also split a pair of games at No. 2 Stanford, dropping the first one 11-12 (Mar. 27) before rallying to win the second meeting, 11-10 (Mar. 28). Stanford beat UCLA in the semifinals of the MPSF Championiship, 13-8 (May 1), but the Bruins beat the Cardinal in the semifinals of the NCAA Champioinship, 9-7 (May 15) before falling to the Trojans in the title match. UCLA would capture third place at the MPSF Championship with a 12-7 win at No. 5 Arizona State (May 2).

UCLA IN THE CWPA POLL
The Bruins remained remained at No. 1 for the second straight week in the 2022 CWPA National Women's Varsity Top 25 Poll (100 points), released on Feb. 23.