Welcome to this edition of USA Weekly by Total Waterpolo.
This past weekend, the top teams in the nation continued to shine, with Stanford, UCLA, USC, and Hawaii adding more victories to their season records.
Looking ahead, make sure you’re ready for an electrifying weekend at the Stanford and the San Diego Invitationals, which promise to bring some intense competition.
As ever, stay up-to-date with all the action, schedules, and streams by tuning in to your one-stop destination for water polo news – USA Weekly by Total Waterpolo.
Weekend Highlights
The only three teams to ever win the NCAA title all started their seasons successfully, and enjoyed perfect records in Riverside and Berkeley, respectively.
John Tanner, Stanford’s long-time coach, picked up his staggering 600th career win with a 25-8 win over Fresno State at the Cal Cup this weekend, with double Olympic Champion Aria Fischer scoring six goals. Stanford also defeated San Jose State 21-2 and bagged a big victory over the Cal Bears, 9-6.
Also at the Cal Cup was UCLA, which won its 6th consecutive game with a 21-7 victory over UC Davis in which Emma Lineback, a new regular on the American national team, hit five strikes.
USC also started its season with a clean slate, winning 4 of 4 at the Cal Baptist Invitational. They beat Pacific (16-6), Long Beach State (17-7), Biola (20-6) and Cal Baptist University (16-6). Team USA’s Bailey Weber and Paige Hauschild scored four goals each.
Away from some of the MPSF teams, Hawaii continues its hot start to the season over the weekend, defeating two teams directly below them in the rankings, Michigan (15-6) and Fresno (13-6), with Brazilian Bia Mantellato Dias leading the scoring for Wahine with hat-tricks in both games.
UC Irvine had a decent run over the weekend, taking three win’s from four. But the Anteaters did drop a thrilling 12-11 game to the Pacific Tigers, a team ranked thirteen places below them, with Hungarian native, Dora Alaksza, scored the decisive goal with eleven seconds from time.
Long Beach (ranked 8th) had mixed fortunes in LA, falling 17-7 to USC, but defeating the hosts Cal Baptist 16-8, as former Terrassa player, and Spanish junior international, Martina Cordona, bagged five scores.
What to look out for this weekend
Get ready for an electrifying weekend of intense competition as there are two exciting events that are well worth following. On the one hand, we have the Stanford Invitational, where top teams like Arizona State, Michigan, and San Jose State will clash in a fierce battle for glory. And, in a much-anticipated rematch, the Cardinal will have a shot at taking down their rivals, the Cal Bears. Schedules and streams from the Stanford Invitational are available here.
But the action doesn’t stop there. Down south in San Diego, the Canyonview Aquatic Centre will be the stage for a jaw-dropping showdown as fourteen teams, including six top-10 powerhouses like USC, UCLA, and Irvine, come together for the San Diego Triton Invitational. A detailed schedule is available via the Triton website.
Last weekend’s results
Saturday 28th January
Stanford 21 – 2 San Jose State
UC Irvine 11 – 12 Pacific
Wagner 11 – 12 UC Santa Barbara
Stanford 25 – 8 Fresno State
USC 17 – 7 Long Beach State
UCLA 21 – 7 UC Davis
Cal Bears 15 – 4 San Jose State
Indiana 14 – 8 Havard
Sunday 29th January
Cal Bears 6 – 9 Stanford
Fresno State 9 – 7 San Jose State
Cal Bears 14 – 7 UC Davis
UC Davis 12 – 8 San Jose State
Princeton 10 – 8 UC Santa Barbara
This weekend’s top picks
Friday 3rd February
UC Santa Barbara vs Indiana
Saturday 4th February
Michigan vs Cal Bears
Stanford vs Arizona State
Fresno State vs Hawaii
Cal Bears vs Arizona State
Long Beach vs UC Irvine
Stanford vs Michigan
Sunday 5th February
Michigan vs San Jose State
Stanford vs Cal Bears
Arizona State vs San Jose State
CWPA Poll (1st February)
The Stanford Cardinal is still at the top of the Women’s Varsity National Top 25 in Week 3 of February 2023 with 99 points, 3 points ahead of USC (96 points). UCLA (91 points), Cal Bears (88 points), and University of Hawaii (84 points) hold positions 3 to 5.
Michigan (77 points), Long Beach State (71 points), and Fresno State (69 points) move to 6th to 8th place, while UC-Irvine (68 points) drops to 9th in front of Arizona State (65 points) in the Top 10.
The University of Pacific sees the largest rise this week, going from 19th to 11th with 61 points. UC-Davis moves to 12th (51 points), Indiana University remains at 13th (50 points), and Princeton and Wagner are tied at 14th (47 points).
UC Santa Barbara (46 points), San Jose State (38 points), and San Diego (28 points) hold positions 16 to 18, tied with Long Island (27 points) and Harvard (34 points) at 18th.
San Diego State (18 points), Loyola Marymount (16 points), Marist (15 points), CSU Northridge (11 points), and Brown (6 points) complete the Top 25.
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