This post was updated February 26 at 12:16 a.m.

Two record-setting losses defined the last regular season tournament for the Bruins.

“Without a doubt, probably, in my time with the women’s team, one of the toughest weekends just from top to bottom,” said coach Adam Wright. “We didn’t perform, and the standard’s not being met, from in the pool to out of the pool.”

No. 3 UCLA women’s water polo (10-3, 1-0 MPSF) fell to No. 1 Stanford (11-0) on Saturday and No. 5 Hawaiʻi (10-3) on Sunday at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational. Saturday’s loss featured a 14-4 score – the Bruins’ lowest goal tally since 2021 and biggest loss differential since 2010 – while the contest against the Rainbow Wahine finished 8-5.

The 10-point margin is the largest the Bruins have conceded to the Cardinal in their history.

And the same is true for the Bruins’ three-point margin to the Rainbow Wahine.

Hawai’i’s victory marked its first over UCLA since 2011 and just its fourth of all time.

“We’re all disappointed with how we performed, but it’s a reflection of how we’ve been performing at practice throughout the season,” said senior utility Nicole Struss. “It’s about how we use everything from this weekend and this season to move forward and make real changes and come back better, stronger, more motivated, more disciplined, relentless than we ever have before.”

14-3 and 16-8 wins over Pomona-Pitzer and No. 6 UC Irvine, respectively, kicked off UCLA’s weekend, but the reigning national champions and last year’s Barbara Kalbus tournament winners failed to reclaim their title.

Junior center Bia Mantellato recorded a hat trick in the first game, while junior attacker Taylor Smith buried four in the second.

The Bruins kept the Sagehens scoreless until the fourth quarter, running the score up to 11-0 before allowing a single goal.

“Our energy from the start of the games were really good,” said junior attacker Carly McMurray. “We had good energy and good communication, and it was a loud pool for the first two games of the tournament.”

But UCLA’s winning ways fell apart Saturday when it came time to face Stanford in the semifinals.

The Bruins fell behind 6-2 in the first quarter and went scoreless for two out of four to conclude the team’s first loss of the tournament.

Against Hawaiʻi, UCLA got off to the better start, winning the first quarter 2-0.

But the Bruins went on to lose the next three quarters, including a scoreless third, as sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Steele’s 12 saves weren’t enough to keep the team afloat against the Rainbow Wahine.

As for next steps following two big losses, Struss said the team needs to do some introspection.

“Everyone needs to take time and really reflect and reflect upon what we want to get out of this year, out of this season, and do some deep diving,” Struss said. “Personally, I think everybody has places where everyone can improve, including myself, and I think just really diving deep and being willing to change and being willing to listen and be willing to accept the hard truth.”

Wright echoed the need for self-reflection and added that a reset is necessary.

“It’s a reset for all, and it’s a reset to our standards, a reset to showing the new players how much work it truly takes,” Wright said. “There is time, but we have to take action starting Tuesday.”