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Day one of the Gaucho Invitational tournament went well for the UCLA women’s water polo team.

Day two, however, did not.

Stanford freshman two-meter Christina Hewko scored with 10 seconds left in regulation, denying the No. 2 Bruins (7-2, 1-0 MPSF) an opportunity to repeat as champions in Santa Barbara.

In the critical semifinal loss to the Cardinal, the Bruins opened up an early 2-0 lead, but ultimately fell 6-5 in a tight, hard-fought contest.

“We jumped on them early and did a solid job defensively in the first half, but we stopped playing aggressively in the second half,” coach Adam Krikorian said. 

“It was disappointing because we felt like we had the game under control, but let it slip out of our hands.”

Sophomore driver Katherine Belden had two goals, while center defender Lauren Heineck and sophomore center forward Kristina Kunkel added one apiece in the loss.

Archrival No.1 USC won the tournament, defeating Stanford 8-5 in the championship game. The Bruins settled for third after defeating No. 4 Long Beach State 9-7. Belden and freshman driver Molly Cahill had hat tricks to lead the Bruins. 

On the first day, the Bruins went on an 11-1 scoring run to defeat Pacific 14-3 to open tournament play. Belden and freshman center forward Kacy Kunkel each had a hat trick.

The Kunkel sisters, Kacy and Kristina, helped the team’s chemistry.

“The team gets along well, and we are all sisters in some respect,” Krikorian said. 

After Kacy scored three goals against Pacific, it was Kristina’s turn when the Bruins faced Hawai’i in a 10-5 victory.

Kristina lived up to her coach’s praise as the team’s most dominant player, scoring a record-tying six goals. Current National team member and former Bruin player Natalie Golda scored six goals a year ago in the same tournament. 

“Although they got the goals in different ways, it was like déjà vu. Both players scored six times in the second round of the same tournament,” Krikorian said.

“It was a hell of a game.”