{"id":363563,"date":"2019-04-09T18:32:27","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T01:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=363563"},"modified":"2019-04-10T14:19:04","modified_gmt":"2019-04-10T21:19:04","slug":"young-bruins-leading-ucla-womens-water-polo-revival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/young-bruins-leading-ucla-womens-water-polo-revival\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Bruin Val Ayala Powering A UCLA Women’s Water Polo Revival"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES, CA. As the proud UCLA women\u2019s water polo program, now under the leadership of head coach Adam Wright,<\/strong> seeks to recover some of its former luster, it will take more than Wright\u2019s successful record on the men\u2019s side to reinvigorate the most successful women\u2019s program in NCAA history.<\/p>\n

\"ucla\"The Bruins graduated four red-shirt seniors after the 2017 season, the culmination of a talent pipeline that had advanced them to title matches in 2014, 2015 and 2017. On each occasion UCLA lost to Stanford\u2014and coach Brandon Brooks<\/strong> abruptly resigned that May following the latest NCAA letdown.<\/p>\n

[UCLA\u2019s Brooks Steps Down after 8 Seasons; Stanford is Likely Culprit]<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Wright, who has led the UCLA men since 2010\u2014including NCAA titles in 2014, 2015 and 2017\u2014stepped into the coaching breach that July and has spent the past season and a half addressing a talent deficit. Midway through his second year as women\u2019s coach, he\u2019s reaping the bounty of early recruiting efforts, including freshman Val Ayala<\/strong>, who in March was named MPSF\/KAP7\u00a0Newcomer of the Week.<\/p>\n

The rapid maturation of freshmen Ayala, Bella Baia<\/strong> and Ava Johnson,<\/strong> who complement an experienced core of players that includes Maddie Musselman<\/strong>, Bronte Halligan<\/strong>, Lizette Rozeboom<\/strong> and others, gives the young Bruins a puncher\u2019s chance to surprise #1 Stanford or #2 USC on their way to the 2019 NCAA Women\u2019s Water Polo Tournament.<\/p>\n

\"UCLA

Adam Wright, UCLA head men’s and women’s coach and his staff. Kodi Hill is on the left. Photo Courtesy: Don Liebig<\/p><\/div>\n

Wright, who not only won titles as UCLA\u2019s men\u2019s coach but also back-to-back national championships as a Bruins player in 1999 and 2000, knows the expectations in Westwood are high.<\/p>\n

\u201cUCLA women\u2019s water polo is the country\u2019s most storied program\u2014and the first,\u201d Wright said from deck of the Spieker Aquatics Center pool after his #3-ranked squad had captured a 10-7 win over #7 Pacific. \u201cYou look at this program\u2019s past\u2014it\u2019s incredible what\u2019s happened, and the players that have come out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to NCAA championships, UCLA, with 116, ranks second only to the Cardinal of Stanford (119). No collegiate program in America can match the school\u2019s reputation for athletic excellence, starting with a record 10 NCAA men\u2019s basketball titles captured by John Wooden<\/strong>-coached teams from 1964 to 1975.<\/p>\n

The Bruin women\u2019s water polo program has contributed 11 trophies, including seven since the sport was recognized by the NCAA in 2001, to that collection of championship hardware.<\/p>\n

Ah, but none since 2009.<\/p>\n

Given that winning is always the goal in Westwood, Wright knows what he must do\u2014and for that he needs players, including his prized recruiting class.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a great group that was already here, but now adding this freshman class has been big,\u201d he said. \u201cAt any given point there will be four freshmen in the water playing for us. We know if we want to have a chance to be successful, these players have to get experience\u2026and one of those is Val.\u201d<\/p>\n

A precocious freshman arrives<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Entering this high-pressure environment last September was Ayala, one of Wright\u2019s first recruits. Ironically, Ayala was not originally sold on the Bruins\u2014her allegiance lay crosstown with UCLA\u2019s archrival, USC.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no lifeline towards UCLA; my whole family is a huge USC family,\u201d Ayala said after the Pacific match. \u201cA couple of family members had gone to USC, so I was a die-hard Trojan fan.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that was before she met with the persuasive Wright, who convinced Ayala that her future lay in Westwood.<\/p>\n

For Wright, after a decade immersed in the UCLA men\u2019s program, it took a sprint to get up to speed with the women. Saying that he had to \u201cquickly make some calls\u201d upon assuming the job, one of the first was to Kodi Hill<\/strong>, a red-shirt senior who fortunately stayed around to assist the new coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cVal was one of the players Kodi said I absolutely had to see,\u201d Wright said of his now-assistant coach. \u201cI knew from the first moment [I saw her]. With players, I\u2019m looking if they\u2019re a student of the game, are they interacting with their teammates\u2026. She stood out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe plays both sides of the pool,\u201d Wright explains. \u201cShe\u2019s a right-hander playing on the right side of the pool where the left-handers play. Part is that, because she plays really good defense, she sees the game. This side of the pool is always watching or playing the ball to the center, to Maddie or the other people who are playing the movement side.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ayala-good-apr19\"

Val Ayala. Photo Courtesy: Minette Rubin<\/p><\/div>\n

Wright, who played Ayala\u2019s same position in the field in his collegiate days, let her know she was a top target and that he felt she was just \u201cscraping the surface\u201d of where she could go.<\/p>\n

And so, said Ayala, \u201c[W]hen I came here and spoke to Adam\u2026I fell in love with UCLA and knew I had to come here.\u201d<\/p>\n

A match was made, to everyone\u2019s satisfaction\u2014and, given the current turmoil at Southern Cal, the stability at UCLA is a bonus for a freshman seeking to find her way. Certainly, Wright is appreciative of his new freshman class, acknowledging that \u201cIt\u2019s a big jump\u2014they\u2019re starting for UCLA and playing massive minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

[After a Quarter Century in Troy, Jovan Vavic Fired as USC Men\u2019s & Women\u2019s Head Water Polo Coach]<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

And producing: Ayala has 31 goals, good for second on the squad, while Baia has 17 and Johnson 16.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis group that we brought in, we\u2019re in a different position than we were last year at this point,\u201d Wright said with relish.<\/p>\n

Managing expectations<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The challenge for any newcomer is to learn her role and then carry it out. In this Ayala is refreshingly honest, given the expectations for UCLA polo. \u201cI came here for a reason and I know what my job is,\u201d she said. \u201cYou just step up to the plate and do what you know how to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

An important part of her transition to the Bruin way has been working with Musselman, who, in a little more than two seasons in Westwood, has scored 171 goals, good for tenth in the Bruins\u2019 all-time record book. In 2018, Ayala was a precocious high school senior when she was named to the U.S. Senior National team that competed in the FINA International Cup in Auckland, New Zealand. While there, she missed the opportunity to play with an injured Musselman, who has been a stalwart contributor to U.S. Head Coach Adam Krikorian\u2019s<\/strong> roster since a break-out performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaddie\u2019s incredible\u2014she\u2019s one of the best teammates I\u2019ve ever had,\u201d Ayala said. \u201cYou always [think]: I want to be like Maddie\u2014I want to do what she\u2019s doing. Her work ethic and attitude are contagious.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"UCLA

Bruin pride is all about the team. Photo Courtesy: Don Liebig<\/p><\/div>\n

In a season where Southern Cal, the reigning national champions, have been rocked by scandal, perhaps Wright\u2019s young squad can surprise the polo world and produce an NCAA title for UCLA. But the Bruin coach is savvy enough to stay focused on the next match, which is Saturday at #1 Stanford\u2014and he acknowledges the program\u2019s ultimate goal, while articulating the underpinning technique.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to create here are students of the game,\u201d Wright said. \u201cSomebody makes a move in chess and you have to counter. I want to give that to all these players.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES, CA. As the proud UCLA women\u2019s water polo program, now under the leadership of head coach Adam Wright, seeks to recover some of its former luster, it will<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4875,"featured_media":363587,"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":[3,12],"tags":[3384,383,75870,75956,4368,61256,10498,61960,66523,37598,60192,61959,63503,73753],"class_list":["post-363563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-water-polo","tag-adam-krikorian","tag-adam-wright","tag-ava-johnson","tag-bella-baia","tag-brandon-brooks","tag-bronte-halligan","tag-john-wooden","tag-kodi-hill","tag-lizette-rozeboom","tag-maddie-musselman","tag-michael-randazzo","tag-ucla-water-polo","tag-usc-water-polo","tag-val-ayala"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nYoung Bruin Val Ayala Powering A UCLA Women's Water Polo Revival - 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