This post was updated May 9 at 7:16 a.m.

After an overtime loss in the MPSF finals, reigning national champion and No. 2 seed UCLA (19-5, 5-1 MPSF) heads into the NCAA tournament with a chance at its first back-to-back titles since 2009. UCLA will face Loyola Marymount (20-11, 7-0 GCC) in Friday’s quarterfinal in Indianapolis. Before the Bruins open play, the Daily Bruin Sports’ women’s water polo beat predicts how last year’s NCAA champions will fare in this year’s tournament.

Jacob Nguyen
Daily Bruin contributor
Prediction: Runner-ups

My MPSF prediction of falling one game short of a conference title proved successful, but the fact that it took an overtime period for No. 1 seed Stanford to beat them hallmarks the uncertainty of this upcoming NCAA tournament.

It’s safe to say that the 2024 days of perfection are long over. UCLA came out of the MPSF semifinals by a single point before succumbing to a two-point loss in the finals.

The scapegoat answer is to say that the outcome is as uncertain as ever, but if recent memory is any indicator, history can repeat itself for the same reasons that I foresaw a conference second-place finish: inadequate depth.

In the Bruins’ MPSF semifinal victory, only six players met the back of the net. While that number increased to eight against the Cardinal, all scorers but one had a single goal.

Assuming UCLA gets past No. 10 seed Loyola Marymount and No. 3 seed USC, which it beat April 19 to close the regular season, the squad could see a rematch against Stanford or No. 4 seed Hawai’i – teams the Bruins have lost to this season – in the title match.

Across their last two matches, the Bruins took a combined 11 fewer shot attempts than their opponents. Sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Steele garnered 21 saves versus Stanford goalkeeper Christine Carpenter’s 13. And while UCLA likely trusts the reigning ACWPC National Player of the Year to guard its net, a lack of offensive firepower isn’t a good recipe against the nation’s best.

To ensure a victory against either the Rainbow Warriors or the Cardinal, greater aggression has to be shown.

Nonetheless, if there’s anyone who can find a winning strategy to bounce back, it’s the two-time reigning MPSF coach of the year Adam Wright.

Rahaf Abumansour
Daily Bruin staff
Prediction: National champions

Flipping the script has defined UCLA women’s water polo throughout the 2025 season – along with maintaining its new role as underdogs.

The Bruins have made a habit of staging comebacks and going on scoring spurts against MPSF champions like Stanford among many others.

But consistency remains elusive, with five losses across their season, all to teams that they will likely face in the NCAA tournament. Loyola Marymount shouldn’t pose much of a threat in the opening round, and a semifinal matchup against either Harvard or USC should also be manageable – if the Bruins play to their standard and execute with the discipline that they have shown they can possess.

Consistency will be key to another NCAA championship – and now is when this team needs it most.

Their only nail in the coffin comes in a likely title-game rematch against No. 1 seed Stanford, who just edged the squad out in a dramatic overtime finish in the MPSF final and whom UCLA has lost to three times this season.

It’s not a question of if but when the Bruins make it to the final. Then, the choice will be theirs: redemption or collapse under pressure.

And with Steele coming off a season-high 21 saves against the Cardinal, the Bruins may just have the momentum – and the firepower – to finish the job.

Ava Abrishamchian
Daily Bruin staff
Prediction: National champions

The Bruins enter the NCAA tournament as underdogs by ranking – but certainly not by pedigree.

After a heartbreaking loss to Stanford in the MPSF title match, the reigning national champions need to regroup as the No. 2 seed. With a chance at their first back-to-back NCAA title since 2009, the Bruins have to channel what they’ve been doing all year: making crucial comebacks.

Comebacks have been UCLA’s signature this season. The Bruins have a habit of erasing deficits by stringing together last-minute runs to grind out wins.

However, consistency has been harder to pin down. Each of their losses has come against teams in their year’s tournament field, which means comebacks are primed to happen.

The leader of their comebacks? Sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Steele. With a career-best 21 saves in the MPSF final, last year’s ACWPC Player of the Year is the anchor for a championship run. On the other side of the pool, junior center Bia Mantellato consistently finds the back of the net to put points on the board in ways the Bruins will desperately need.

Their opening match against Loyola Marymount should be a tune-up. For the Bruins, the threat lies further down the line. A semifinal against USC may present problems. However, the Bruins were able to defeat the Trojans on April 19 after their crosstown rivals upset them Feb. 2.

When their ticket is punched for the finals, a rematch looms against No. 1 seed Stanford. Having lost to the Cardinal three times this season, the Bruins will demand a comeback to seek redemption.

For me, the weight of the moment won’t crack them. The Bruins will have the opportunity to come back, and they will.

Felicia Keller
Daily Bruin senior staff
Prediction: Loss in the semifinal

Teams have to be nearly flawless in the NCAA tournament in order to win the women’s water polo national championship.

And this season, more than most, the level of play of the three teams at the top of the order – UCLA, USC and Stanford – is incredibly narrow.

With the exception of UCLA beating Stanford, each team has at least a win and a loss on each other.

Last season, the Bruins were quite literally perfect — without a single loss on the year.

But this season has been different — they’ve been fallible.

I see UCLA advancing past LMU in the quarterfinal but losing to USC in the semifinal.

It wasn’t a back-to-back MPSF tournament championship for UCLA, and it won’t be a back-to-back NCAA tournament championship either.