The culmination of UCLA's team's hard work and dedication over the past two and a half quarters was made evident on the weekend of April 23rd and 24th. Hosting Southern Division Regionals, the season's final tournament, these UCLA Bruins took to the pool for the last time.
Despite their desire to win, these Bruins faced some formidable opponents from USC, UCI, UCSB, and Cal Poly SLO. Starting the tournament off early Saturday morning, UCLA B played Cal Poly SLO A and took a rough loss of 13-0. However, UCLA didn't show up to give up, and we saw their A team snap-back with a decisive 9-1 win against Cal Poly B. Later that day, UCLA B faced off against both Cal Poly B and UCSB, unfortunately losing both games and ending the tournament in eighth place. Following shortly after, UCLA A went head-to-head with Cal Poly A, and after an intense four quarters, UCLA A was just shy of victory.
On Sunday, UCLA A faced their final opponent: USC. In a battle of wills against their rival school, UCLA A toiled under the direction of Coach McCarthy. The Bruins faced an additional challenge of playing without one of the team's leaders, External Vice President Keianna Pineda, who was taken out due to a leg injury a mere day before the tournament. After going back and forth in a close game, we saw USC overcome UCLA in this final match-up much to the dismay of Bruin fans everywhere. Despite these losses, UCLA A's previous victories allowed them to maintain standing and they ended the tournament in fourth place.
While the Bruins found pride in their achievements, this celebration was made bittersweet by the looming graduation of multiple seniors from UCLA's team. Having played this final tournament with their fellow Bruins, we now say goodbye and good luck to Kristina Rizo, Mia Lauer, Kiera Crandall, and Josie Thorp.
"Thank you to all our seniors, whose dedication and friendship has pushed us to become better players and better people. Thank you for the late practices, the long tournaments, the laughs we've shared and all the moments in between. We'll miss you."
~UCLA Women's Club Water Polo Team 2021-2022
