Defending the status that comes with being a national champion is not only daunting. It’s a privilege.

But the Bruins may just do so in a crucial tournament against some of the country’s best.

No. 1 UCLA women’s water polo (3-0) will have the opportunity to extend its 29-game win streak with its first-round matchup in the Triton Invitational against Concordia University Irvine (0-2) on Friday. Traveling to San Diego, the Bruins will partake in a three-day tournament that features some of the nation’s top-ranked teams.

Having won the tournament last season, the Bruins will rely on a reconstructed roster to retain the title.

“If we can have a balanced attack, it becomes difficult to defend us,” said coach Adam Wright. “With (junior utility) Anna Pearson and Bia (junior center Bia Mantellato), they’re the anchors down there in the middle of the pool and drawing so much attention. They had a good weekend. We also had some true freshmen doing a really nice job, with (attacker) Tali Stryker, (attacker) Jojo Walters and Elektra (sophomore attacker Elektra Urbatsch), who didn’t play much last year.”

This year, the Bruins boast a roster that features eight true freshmen and just three seniors. In contrast, last year’s group included six seniors or graduate students.

Key to another successful season may be putting trust in these new roster additions, despite inexperience in the collegiate pool. Across the team’s first three games, three freshmen have already scored goals, led by attacker Jenna Human’s three goals and Walters – who’s yet to miss a shot this season.

“We’re trying around different combinations,” Wright said. “I’m trying to put out the new players who have zero experience. Mistakes are going to be made, and that’s part of the process.”

Wright also has new weapons to deploy outside of just incoming freshmen. Mantellato – a transfer from Hawaiʻi – opened the season with seven goals against UC Davis – a team-high for individual goals in a game this season. She is also performing at a 0.563 shot percentage so far this year.

Although Wright can depend on younger players to make early contributions, veteran leadership and returners may remain key to steering the Bruins toward a repeat NCAA championship.

Among this group is sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Steele, who holds a 0.500 save percentage on the year, and junior utility Lily Gess, who’s riding on a 2-for-2 shot and three-assist performance against Fresno State.

“We always go in with a mindset of building and growing each game and learning from our mistakes,” Gess said. “Taking one game at a time and just growing, that’s how we look at seasons, and since it’s a long season, we trust the process.”

The Bruins will begin their weekend slate of matches against an Eagles defense fortified by goalkeeper Jaden Soto, who delivered a 0.531 save percentage last year as a freshman.

Should they advance, UCLA will enter the latter rounds of the bracket filled with competition against ranked opponents. A potential second-round matchup could be against No. 7 Arizona State (6-1) or No. 14 UC San Diego (3-3) – the latter of which was one of the few teams that lost to the Bruins by a singular point in 2024.

“We need to be tough and disciplined,” Wright said. “Tough to our details. Tough to the way we want to play physically. Being a smart team, we’re going to have to do that next weekend because next weekend is a real tournament. There are a lot of great teams there. It’s a great opportunity and we’re going to be tested.”

The third round could pit UCLA against its crosstown rivals in No. 3 USC (4-0), which employs a rotation that includes eight players with shot percentages each over .500.

One of that lot is center Tilly Kearns, who leads the Trojans with 16 goals this year. In 2023, Kearns was nominated to the All-American and All-MPSF First Teams, before stepping away from collegiate competition in preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics with Australia.

The other side of the bracket continues the trend of challenging foes, headlined by No. 5 Hawaiʻi (4-1), whose leading scorer – attacker Ema Vernoux – is only a freshman. Hawaiʻi arguably came the closest to jeopardizing UCLA’s perfect record last season, as the Rainbow Warriors were the only team to force a game beyond regulation and into double overtime.

Regardless of who is across the pool though, the Triton Invitational is just another leg of the marathon to retrieve the national trophy.

“We treat everyone the same and we focus on ourselves and we prepare,” Mantellato said.