{"id":253338,"date":"2017-04-29T10:00:23","date_gmt":"2017-04-29T17:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=253338"},"modified":"2017-05-13T10:37:55","modified_gmt":"2017-05-13T17:37:55","slug":"mpsf-tournament-central-catching-uclas-maddie-musselman-rachel-fattal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/mpsf-tournament-central-catching-uclas-maddie-musselman-rachel-fattal\/","title":{"rendered":"MPSF Tournament Central: Catching Up With UCLA\u2019s Maddie Musselman and Rachel Fattal"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Michael Randazzo, Swimming World Contributor<\/em><\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES, CA. After knocking off longtime rivals Stanford and USC in successive games the last two weekends, UCLA has risen to the top <\/a>of women\u2019s water polo this season. Driving this success has been four fifth-year seniors\u2014headlined by Rachel Fattal<\/strong>\u2014and a dynamic freshman named Maddie Musselman<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Musselman burst on to the public scene last summer as an 18 year-old at the Rio Olympic Games. Along with another precocious newcomer\u2014Makenzie Fischer<\/strong>\u2014Musselman was a key contributor to the U.S. Women\u2019s National Team\u2019s gold-winning effort, notching 12 goals. Despite a transition to college life, she has continued her offensive onslaught, with 55 goals this season to lead the Bruins.\u00a0 Musselman has captured a record seven Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Newcomer of the Week<\/em> awards, including an unprecedented twin billing: Newcomer<\/em> and Player of the Week<\/em> awards for her performance last Saturday in an 11-7 win over USC, notching five goals as the Bruin clinched first place in the MPSF regular season.<\/p>\n

If Musselman has been a freshman phenom, Fattal has be a dependable but dynamic contributor over her four years at UCLA. Like Musselman she was a member of the U.S. team that struck gold at Rio. Considered one of the world’s top players, Fattal is now UCLA\u2019s all-time leader in steals, number three all-time in goals scored (210), and an acknowledged leader of the team that is the odds-on choice to win the 2017 NCAA Women\u2019s Water Polo Tournament<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Prior to the Bruin’s MPSF semi-final game Saturday against Cal at UCLA\u2019s Spieker Aquatics Center, Swimming World<\/em> spoke with Musselman and Fattal about their shared Olympic experiences, the challenge of playing against Olympic teammates Fischer and Maddie Steffens, now with Stanford, and their drive to bring a national championship to Westwood.<\/p>\n

How has your Olympic experience inform this season at UCLA?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Fattal_Rachel_20170226_WWP_RQ01.jpg\"

Rachel Fattal. Photo Courtesy: Richard Quinton<\/p><\/div>\n

Rachel Fattal:<\/em> The Olympic experience was amazing\u2014we can both attest to that. It\u2019s unreal to represent our country and do something bigger than ourselves. Being able to come back [to UCLA] and play here again was awesome.<\/p>\n

We have amazing players on our team. it\u2019s been great to come back to UCLA and fit right back in.<\/p>\n

Bringing what we learned over years of training on the national team here to the girls on this team, being able to teach them, that\u2019s been one of the biggest things that Maddie and I tried to bring this year.<\/p>\n

Maddie Musselman:<\/em> Definitely eye-opening, especially coming from high school. Going to the Olympic team was a big jump. To experience so many different challenges and adversity\u2014it was amazing.<\/p>\n

At the Olympics you play against the best players in the world. To have the skills you develop [from that experience] and to bring them back to college and your new teammates and the team you get to be a part of\u2014that\u2019s super fun.<\/p>\n

You are now a fifth-year senior and part of a group of four other seniors who have never won an NCAA championship, Talk about your expectations for this year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fattal<\/em>: Our goal is always to win a national championship\u2014no matter what year, what team. It\u2019s about putting together our best team and our best games during the season. That\u2019s the goal this year and that\u2019s the goal every year I\u2019ve been here.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve definitely had some heart-breaking losses, but as a fifth-year senior, and someone who has experienced those losses, we carry them with us and bring them into practice.<\/p>\n

If that\u2019s what\u2019s going to push us to be our best, thinking that we have gotten really close and almost made it to the national championship and then lost in the last few seconds [to Stanford in 2015].<\/p>\n

We bring that with us and hope that\u2019s going to be able to push our team. Maybe Maddie wasn\u2019t there but I bet you if I said: \u201cHey Mads, this is what happened,\u201d [she\u2019d say]: \u201cWe\u2019re not going to let that happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

I know that every other person on our team feels the same way. Just because people have experienced being there and losing doesn\u2019t mean they don\u2019t feel the same desire to win.<\/p>\n

\"Musselman_Maddie_20170225_WWP_RQ02.jpg\"

Maddie Musselman. Photo Courtesy: Richard Quinton<\/p><\/div>\n

As a freshman you bring a fresh\u2014and perhaps vital\u2014perspective to Bruins water polo. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Musselman<\/em>: It fuels the fire, definitely. Learning from my teammates’ experiences here at UCLA makes me want to win for them.<\/p>\n

Coming to UCLA as a freshmen, everyone has a desire to win four national championships. Not a lot of people have gotten an opportunity to do that.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s amazing to hear the experience people have\u2014winning or losing. That\u2019s why I wanted to come here, obviously was to win all four years. If it doesn\u2019t come down to that it\u2019s Bruin pride and who we get to play for.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll be playing this weekend against Stanford\u2019s Maggie Steffens and Makenzie Fischer\u2014who you played with for Team USA in the 2016 Olympics. Is there a bond that continues to exists because of that experience?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Musselman<\/em>: Away from the pool we have this relationship\u2014we spent a year training for one of the hardest experiences ever, the Olympics\u2014that brought us together.<\/p>\n

Going our separate ways and representing a different team in the water, it\u2019s super competitive. At the same time that\u2019s what makes it so great. You get to compete against your former teammates; that\u2019s the best competition out there.<\/p>\n

Fattal<\/em>: The second we hit the water it\u2019s game time for us and for them. It doesn\u2019t matter that we played together; it\u2019s: “I\u2019m going to beat you.” That\u2019s the mentality that you have to have coming into these games.<\/p>\n

Outside the water, we\u2019ll say \u201cHi\u201d and I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll mess around a bit. But when you get on deck, the second it\u2019s game time and you\u2019re playing them, it\u2019s do or die. You are with your team, not them.<\/p>\n

What is it about these college rivalries? It\u2019s almost more intense than representing your country!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Musselman<\/em>: SC vs. UCLA is one of the biggest rivalries in all of sports. That\u2019s always a big game to go into, the known rivalries of the schools. Us against Stanford\u2014we lost the national championship to them two years in a row (2014, 2015).<\/p>\n

Rivalries are big but when it comes down to it we\u2019re just focusing on ourselves. That\u2019s what we need to do to be successful and that\u2019s what we\u2019ve done the past two weekends and we\u2019ve come out with some pretty big wins.<\/p>\n

If we can do that again this weekend we\u2019re going to be fine.<\/p>\n

How have your roles on the 2017 UCLA differed from what you were responsible for on Team USA?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fattal<\/em>: I not a major leader on the national team [but] I enjoyed my role there as I enjoy my role here. It\u2019s a good growing experience when you have to step up to the plate more [here].<\/p>\n

I might not be the captain of the national team and we don\u2019t have captains here but being more of a vocal leader goes back to being able to share the knowledge of the game that I\u2019ve accumulated over the past few years\u2014which is the biggest thing I can bring to my team.<\/p>\n

Musselman<\/em>: Definitely a big change for me. On the national team I obviously wasn\u2019t very vocal. I didn\u2019t step up in big moments and scream and bring the whole group together! I was leading in the water.<\/p>\n

Everyone on that team had a role and doing your role is how you led. Coming to this team was different. Rachel\u2019s helped me a lot leading and not being afraid to step up and say something when I have to.<\/p>\n

You were a break-out star at the 2016 Rio games and now you\u2019re a leader on the nation\u2019s top women\u2019s water polo team. How has your life been changed by all of this?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Musselman<\/em>: I didn\u2019t do this on my own and obviously my support system allowed me to achieve the things I did. The advice I gained from my family and friends helped me stay within the system of the national team and not want to quit or give up and that\u2019s a testament to the way I\u2019ve persevered through a lot of things.<\/p>\n

Obviously the hard work and dedication shows in the Olympics and my time here at UCLA, but it isn\u2019t just because of me personally but the people I\u2019m surrounded with.<\/p>\n

One thing great about UCLA is that in every single game we\u2019ve played no one\u2019s shining over anyone else. Everyone contributes, scoring or making a big block. That\u2019s what makes it so great and fun to be a part of.<\/p>\n

You scored half of your team\u2019s goal in a win last week over USC. Is it fair to say that your finding your way at UCLA at the right moment?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Musselman<\/em>: I\u2019m just playing my role, and it\u2019s my role to be aggressive on offense and defense. I put away the shots I had to put away\u2014because I got great passes from my teammates. It wasn\u2019t all me.<\/p>\n

When I had to finish, I did.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Michael Randazzo, Swimming World Contributor LOS ANGELES, CA. After knocking off longtime rivals Stanford and USC in successive games the last two weekends, UCLA has risen to the top<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4875,"featured_media":253350,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12],"tags":[50558,61243,57766,37598,39337,60192,32490,60862,52775,60863],"class_list":["post-253338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-water-polo","tag-2016-rio-olympic-games","tag-2017-ncaa-womens-water-polo-tournament","tag-mackenzie-fischer","tag-maddie-musselman","tag-maggie-steffens","tag-michael-randazzo","tag-rachel-fattal","tag-stanford-womens-water-polo","tag-u-s-womens-water-polo","tag-ucla-womens-water-polo"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nMPSF Tournament Central: Catching Up With UCLA\u2019s Maddie Musselman and Rachel Fattal - 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