The UCLA women’s water polo team, currently ranked second in the nation, will play two home games this week at Spieker Aquatics Center. The Bruins (10-1) are set to face No. 8 Indiana (12-1) on Friday and No. 12 Michigan (10-6) on Saturday, with both matches starting at 1 p.m. PT. Fans can watch live video coverage via Overnght and follow live scoring through 6-8 Sports. Admission to both games is free.
UCLA has a strong record against its upcoming opponents, holding a 21-0 series lead over Indiana and a 30-0 advantage against Michigan. In their most recent meetings, UCLA defeated Indiana 19-9 in March 2025 and edged Michigan 7-6 in February 2022.
In their last game, the Bruins secured a narrow overtime victory over No. 4 California, winning 19-18 at home on February 21. Taylor Smith scored the decisive goal with less than two minutes left in the second overtime period and finished with four goals overall. Bia Mantellato also contributed four goals, while Genoa Rossi had three. Emma Lineback and Elektra Urbatsch each added two goals, and goalkeeper Joey Niz recorded seven saves during the crucial final stages.
Taylor Smith has been a standout for UCLA this season, leading the team with 35 goals through just 11 games—approaching her career-best of 40 from last year. She has scored in all but one game so far and has tallied eight hat tricks this season. Her performances at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational included matching her single-game career high with six goals against Arizona State and five more against USC, earning her MPSF Player of the Week honors.
Bia Mantellato ranks second on the team with 28 goals after an impressive showing at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, where she scored six times in a win over USC and totaled ten goals across three games.
The Bruins have faced tough competition early in the season, playing eight teams ranked in the top ten of that week’s CWPA Women’s Varsity Top 25 poll and achieving a record of seven wins and one loss in those contests.
UCLA remains ranked No. 2 nationally according to the latest CWPA Women’s Varsity Top 25 poll, maintaining its position after moving up following its championship run at the Triton Invitational.
Taylor Smith was named MPSF/Delfina Player of the Week on February 3 for her role in leading UCLA to victory at the Triton Invitational. She led her team with sixteen points—fifteen of which were goals—across four games during that tournament.
This year’s roster includes six returning All-Americans: Anna Pearson (First-Team), Lauren Steele (Second-Team), Emma Lineback (Second-Team), Bia Mantellato (Honorable Mention), Genoa Rossi (Honorable Mention), and Taylor Smith (Third-Team). Several players also received All-MPSF honors last season.
UCLA returns experienced goalkeepers Lauren Steele, Izzy Rosensitto, and Joey Niz for this campaign.
The team welcomes nine freshmen—including six true freshmen—and three transfers from within the MPSF: Janna Tauscher from California, Zoë Frangieh from Arizona State, and Fanni Muzsnay from USC.
Nine other returning players made significant contributions last season; however, Natasha Kieckhafer and Maile Turner will redshirt this year due to injury recovery.
There have been changes among UCLA’s coaching staff as well. Adam Wright has stepped away from day-to-day duties as head coach for women’s water polo this season. Jason Falitz and Matt Kubeck now serve as interim co-head coaches; they are currently undefeated at UCLA with a combined record of seven wins without loss so far this year. Former Stanford player Ryann Neushul joins as assistant coach.
Last season, UCLA posted an overall record of 20-6 (.769) with a conference mark of 5-1 (.833). The Bruins entered postseason play as top seed but lost to Stanford in overtime during the MPSF final before falling to USC in NCAA semifinals.
