After two weekends on the road, the Bruins are finally home – and facing their toughest slate yet.

No. 1 UCLA men’s water polo (7-0) will host No. 8 UC Irvine (6-0), Harvard (4-3) and No. 12 Pepperdine (3-2) this weekend in its home opener at Spieker Aquatics Center.

A trio of back-to-back three-game weekends awaits the Bruins, who will face their second slate of top-10 opponents of the year and solidify their lineup before next week’s MPSF Invitational.

“We’ve had quick turnarounds,” said coach Adam Wright. “These first few weeks are so impacted. To try and prep for two teams in one day and then another the next – it’s not easy.”

Wright pointed to shot-blocking, transition defense and counterattack execution as the team’s biggest points of emphasis heading into the weekend. The Bruins have allowed double-digit goals just once this season, and redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Nate Tauscher has already notched 53 saves across seven starts.

UCLA has dominated the all-time series against all three opponents, but each enters Westwood with early-season momentum.

The Anteaters are currently undefeated, including wins over No. 16 LMU and No. 14 California Baptist. Attacker Cole Francisco leads the squad with 12 goals through six games.

Harvard, meanwhile, enters the weekend fresh off an overtime road win against Bucknell. The Crimson have finished with 25 or more wins in three of the last five seasons.

Sophomore utility Bode Brinkema said the approach remains the same regardless of who’s across the pool.

“We kind of just treat everything the same,” Brinkema said. “If we’re treating the weekend where we have one game differently than when we have two or three, that’s when things start to fall off.”

Pepperdine rounds out the weekend slate, arriving with experience against four top-20 opponents this fall. The squad suffered back-to-back losses to No. 2 USC and No. 11 UC Davis and is averaging over 11 goals per game.

Redshirt senior attacker Chase Dodd said that weekends like this one – crowded with games, ranked teams and quick turnarounds – help prepare the squad for the championship slate later in the season.

“It helps us build some sort of reserve, … some sort of endurance for the bigger games,” Dodd said. “Every time we can be tired and still uphold our standard, that’s a good sign.”

With high-level opponents and the MPSF Invitational on deck, Wright said the focus remains internal – not just on who UCLA plays, but on how it plays.

“Our focus has to be on ourselves getting better each and every opportunity,” Wright said.