Undefeated through 10 games, the Bruins will have to persevere through a gauntlet to win the MPSF Invitational this weekend.

No. 1 UCLA men’s water polo (10-0) will kick off the tournament against Redlands (1-7) at the Spieker Aquatics Center in Westwood on Friday. The Bruins will play two additional matches – one Saturday and one Sunday – against seeded opponents to determine their ranking out of the tournament’s 16 total teams.

The Bulldogs are ranked fifth in the Division III polls, but they come into Friday’s matchup on a three-game losing streak, having lost in their last matchup 7-14 against UC Irvine – the same team that UCLA defeated 13-7 last Friday.

If the Bruins win their first matchup against the Bulldogs, they will face either No. 11 UC Davis or No. 12 Pepperdine, two teams that UCLA has already defeated once this season by a double-digit margin in each game.

Should the Bruins advance to the final four, No. 4 Stanford would be their most likely matchup, assuming the Cardinals win their first two tournament matches. No. 2 USC and No. 3 UC Berkeley sit on the other side of the bracket, meaning that all four of the nation’s current top-ranked squads will battle for the tournament victory this weekend.

“I’m looking forward to having challenging games,” redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Nate Tauscher said. “When we make mistakes, I’m looking forward to how our team adjusts to those mistakes.”

The four top-ranked teams boast perfect winning records heading into the weekend, but at least three of these streaks will inevitably be cut short. And the top-ranked Bruins will likely have a target on their back.

UCLA had its most challenging match of the season thus far last weekend, capturing a six-point triumph against UC Irvine. Coach Adam Wright and his players emphasized defensive improvement as well as the importance of strong communication after last weekend’s slate.

“They brought the energy, they came to play, but we gave them a lot of opportunities, and there were definitely some goals that we wish we could have back,” sophomore utility Peter Castillo said. “There’s stuff on our end that we could have fixed, and instead, they used it to their advantage.”

California freshman attacker Beso Akhvlediani and USC junior attacker Robert López Duart have both scored at least 20 goals through their first seven games of the season, and Stanford’s attacking pair, redshirt freshman Max Zelikov and sophomore Botond Balogh, have recorded a combined 27 goals across their first five contests.

UCLA has only forfeited double-digit scorelines on two occasions this season, and in both games, it still won by at least 11 goals. But a water-tight defense is especially needed to earn victories against top opponents.

Wright discussed how tournament preparation is difficult when the opponents are unknown beforehand, and he said teams are going to use different defenses to foster confusion amongst his squad.

“Moving forward in the tournament, we are going to see more of that – whether it’s team splitting, running creative zones or even trying to suppress us longer so we don’t have the opportunities to shoot,” Wright said.