For many UCLA students, week 10 signifies finals week is on the horizon, and academic pressure starts to bubble up.

For the Bruins, week 10 means less practice and more play, with a stacked weekend slate.

No. 2 UCLA women’s water polo (12-2, 2-1 MPSF) will host a triple threat of conference and non-conference opponents, facing No. 14 Princeton (15-2, 3-1 CWPA) on Thursday, No. 17 San Jose State (6-11, 0-4) on Saturday and No. 11 Fresno State (10-8, 1-1 GCC) on Sunday. After these contests, the Bruins only have four more games left before shifting gears for the MPSF and NCAA tournaments.

And, this weekend may allow them to prepare for April’s tournament season.

“(It) will be a long week with school, but it’s always fun playing games,” said senior utility Lily Gess. “It’s really good for us to get this competition and play these amazing teams. It helps us get better and work on our chemistry every time we play a game. I’m excited – I know we’re all excited to play a lot of games this week.”

The Cardinal proved to be a tough opponent for the Bruins once again last weekend, as the Westwood squad fell by one score for the second time this season.

UCLA opened the game strong – and the score was tied seven times throughout the match – but lost momentum in the last quarter. However, it was a defensive battle. Junior goalkeeper Lauren Steele put up eight saves for the Bruins, and Stanford goalkeeper Christine Carpenter shielded five stops.

“The main thing for me was the confidence in our shooting because I told them I fully expect Stanford to be back in the zone and try and dare us to shoot,” said interim co-head coach Jason Falitz. “We were able to hit some shots early in the game. On the flip side, the frustrating thing is that our approach at the end changed, and that’s something we really got to look at.”

Late-game execution is a priority Falitz intends to instill in the Bruins, especially with postseason play approaching, which will likely pit a UCLA against Stanford once again.

Despite the loss, the Bruins had standout offensive performances from senior attacker Taylor Smith and Gess, who finished with two goals apiece. Gess leveled the scores in the second quarter, and Smith gave the Bruins their first lead in the third quarter.

Smith said that the game felt rushed and that the Bruins’ rhythm was not consistent across all four quarters.

“Playing at our pace, playing in control, setting each other up – we need to get better defensively,” Smith said. “That’s something I want to take into the next game – get better as a team on defense and offensively. Stepping up, playing a full four quarters of high intensity, high energy, high confidence.”

UCLA will begin the weekend against a non-MPSF opponent, facing Princeton. The last time the Bruins faced the Tigers, the former walked away with a 9-7 win on March 13th, 2025, relying heavily on strong defense. Gess and Smith were among the eight Bruins that scored to help secure the win.

After less than 24 hours for recovery, UCLA will face San Jose State for the first time in the 2026 campaign. Australian center forward Bridget Cranley recently scored four goals in a game against Cal State Monterey Bay on March 1 and was recognized as a 2025 ACWPC Honorable Mention All-American while scoring 41 goals last year. Attacker Darcy Spark and Cranley are a dynamic duo, as both players scored four times each against Pacific on March 8th. Spark ended the 2025 season with 119 goals, placing her as No. 17 on San Jose State’s all-time goal leaderboard.

To finish the weekend, the Bruins will face Fresno State again this season after beating them in the 17-10 first round of the Barbara Kalbus Invitational on Feb. 13. Hailey Andress poses a threat to the Bruins, as she has scored 51 goals so far this season.

“I think it’s so great because we’re going to go into two big tournaments where it’s game after game,” Smith said. “This is a great chance to play a game, then have one day to recover and then have to go at it again. We need to take advantage of this opportunity.”

With the postseason quickly approaching, since the women’s water polo season was moved forward by two weeks, UCLA may look to take a fresh approach with a refined defensive line while familiarizing themselves with the pace of back-to-back games.