Former North Allegheny water polo star counts blessings after California wildfires

Becca Melanson looked out the window of her apartment near the UCLA campus, gasped and grabbed her cellphone.

“It was insane,” said Melanson, the top girls water polo player in North Allegheny history. “I have a few photos from my apartment, and I see flames. … I was scared. We were all scared.”

Preparing for her sophomore season with the defending national champion UCLA women’s water polo team, Melanson was suddenly uprooted by last month’s Los Angeles wildfires.

She evacuated for about a week — the fire evacuation and warning zone touched the northwest end of UCLA’s Westwood campus — and stayed at a teammate’s house in Irvine, roughly 60 miles south of the deadly Palisades fire that erupted Jan. 7.

“I could see the flames, and we could smell the smoke,” Melanson said. “It was a very traumatic and scary experience.”

Melanson returned to campus in mid-January following a week of remote classes and training at pools and gyms in Irvine with her UCLA roommate Izzy Rosensitto.

The Palisades wildfire, which burned nearly 23,500 acres, killed 11 people and destroyed more than 6,500 structures, spared a UCLA water polo team dotted with Los Angeles natives.

“Luckily, none of my teammates or their families were affected,” Melanson said. “That was a blessing.”

But not before some tense moments for Melanson’s parents, Tony and Jeannine.

“That first day when the fires were starting, all that you are hearing is 80-mph winds and it could change in any direction at any moment,” Jeannine Melanson said. “That was very concerning. I called her immediately.”

Now, Melanson, a left-handed attacker, is looking to build on her freshman season in which she scored 18 goals and ranked third on the team with 25 assists during a perfect 26-0 campaign.

Melanson, North Allegheny’s all-time leader with 322 career goals, had seven goals and three assists through seven games for the Bruins (6-1 as of Feb. 8).

“Well, Pittsburgh is not known for water polo,” UCLA coach Adam Wright said. “Becca made a clear decision that she wanted to play and throughout the course of her high school career, she came to California to play club, and there’s no doubt she got a specific skill set. … Her shooting abilities will help us, and we’re excited to watch her continue to grow and develop.”

Melanson said while her freshman season looked great “on paper,” she struggled with her adjustment to a national power 2,500 miles from home. One of only a handful of players on the 29-woman roster who isn’t from California, the three-time high school All-American felt pressure to prove her worth and became isolated.

“It was just a lot of pressure on me, and I didn’t know how to handle it at the time,” she said. “It was very, very difficult for me. … I was definitely homesick. I felt a little alone, a little lost. I kind of kept to myself.”

But Melanson stuck it out, helping the Bruins to the national championship. It was the first NCAA title in 15 years for a program that dominated the sport from 2001-09.

The crown continued a decorated career for Melanson, who started playing in sixth grade at the urging of her older sister Sophia’s water polo coach.

Melanson, who initially thought everything about the sport was “weird,” developed a love for it. She used her strength and speed — she was part of two WPIAL gold medal-winning 200 freestyle relay teams at NA — to become a first-team high school All-American. She earned a gold medal at the 2022 Junior Pan Am Games, where she was the lone non-Californian on the Team USA roster, and committed to UCLA, her dream school, one month later, in August 2022.

But after her trying freshman year, she returned to Pittsburgh. It was a rare summer at home for Melanson, who in recent years spent those months training in California with club or national teams. Back home, she worked as a lifeguard while also swimming and lifting. She gained perspective on the things that bothered her as a freshman.

“Last year, I was so serious, and it caused a lot of issues,” she said. “It kind of tore me apart from the sport a little bit. The offseason gave me clarity that I really do enjoy this. It’s going to be a smoother sail this time around. I’m grateful to be here, and I’m more excited than I am nervous.”