Total-waterpolo-blog-logo-238×48Total-waterpolo-blog-logo-retina-104×96Total-waterpolo-blog-logo-238×48Total-waterpolo-blog-logo-238×48
  • News
  • CroMasters 2024
  • SHOP NOW
  • Livescore
    • Champions League
      • Champions League 2023/24
      • Women’s Champions League 2023/24
      • Champions League 2022/23
    • AUSTRIA 🇦🇹
      • Bundesliga Women
      • Bundesliga Men
      • Supercup
      • Cup
      • Regionalliga Ost
      • U-21 Women
      • U-19
      • U-17
      • U-15
      • U-13
      • U-12
      • U-11
    • SLOVENIA 🇸🇮
      • Slovenian championship 2022/23
      • Slovenian Cup 2022/23
    • Nordic League
      • Nordic league 2022/23
      • Nordic League 2021/22
      • Nordic Women’s League 2022
    • Alpe Waterpolo League
    • BWIPA
      • Next Generation 2023 – Men
      • Next Generation 2023 – Women
      • Barcelona Masters Cup
        • 30+ Women
        • 40+ Women
        • 30+ Men
        • 40+ Men
        • 50+ Men
      • HaBaWaBa Spain Plus
      • HaBaWaBa Easter U12
      • HaBaWaBa Easter U10
    • Tournaments
      • Herceg Novi Masters 2023 “30+”
      • Herceg Novi Masters 2023 “40+”
      • Budva Masters 2023
      • Duisburg 98 Cup 2023
      • Tintilinić 2023
      • Ruhr Games 2023
      • Sunčana Kapica 2023
      • Total Waterpolo Trophy U-15
      • Montenegro Cup 2022 (U16)
  • National
    • Hungarian League
    • French League
    • Spanish League
  • International
    • Tokyo 2020 Olympic Water Polo
    • World Championships
      • Fukuoka 2023
        • Fukuoka 2023 Men
        • Fukuoka 2023 Women
      • WC U20 Men 2023 – Romania
      • Budapest 2022 Men
      • Budapest 2022 Women
      • Gwangju 2019
      • Budapest 2017
    • European Championships
      • Split 2022 Men
      • Split 2022 Women
      • Budapest 2020
      • Barcelona 2018
    • Other
      • World Cup 2023
      • WL Belgrade 2019
      • World Cup – Berlin 2018
      • Junior WC Prague 2021
      • Junior EC Podgorica 2022
  • Total Player Award
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
✕

USA Weekly: UCLA and Cal start strong; USC and Stanford open this weekend

January 25, 2023

UCLA's Taylor Smith. Photo: Minette Rubin

The women’s college water polo scene was ablaze this weekend as teams across the country kicked off their seasons with a bang.

The UCLA Bruins, ranked No. 3, led the charge with five victories, including a crucial first MPSF Conference victory over Indiana (Match report below). They also defeated Wager, Santa Barbara, and UC San Diego (twice). 

The Cal Bears, led by former Olympian Coralie Simmons, also made a strong start to their season over the weekend at the Bulldog Fest in Fresno. The Bears achieved three thrilling victories against top-10 opponents, including a nail-biting 13-10 victory over Michigan Wolverines, a decisive 15-10 victory over UC Irvine, and a well-deserved 16-10 win against the host team, Fresno State. Cal’s Shea Salvino’s impressive display (seven goals) earned her the MPSF player of the week award. 

Hawaii Wahine continues to make waves in the college water polo scene, impressing with two significant and dominant victories. On Saturday, they took down the No. 7 ranked Michigan with a commanding 15-6 victory, and on Sunday, they followed up with an even more impressive 13-6 victory over the No. 8 ranked Fresno State Bulldogs. These victories solidified their undefeated streak, as they remained unbeaten in five contests against ranked opponents.

UC Irvine fell 15-10 to California, but bounced back well to defeat Fresno State 16-9, led by redshirt Elena Flynn’s seven goals.

Long Beach State kicked off their 2023 season with a bang, dominating their opponents at the Beach Invite on Saturday. They crushed Claremont with a score of 21-3 and decimated Whittier with a staggering 26-2 victory. Tougher things are certainly to come for Shana Welch and her coaching staff – which includes Rachel Fattal. 

 

Match report, MPSF Conference, UCLA 15 – 6 Indiana 

The UCLA Bruins, ranked No. 3, delivered an impressive victory against the 14th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers in the first MPSF conference game of the season opener at Dirks Pool.

Led by the incredible hat-trick performance by Katrina Drake, and supported by USA international Ava Johnson, Aussie Stinger Sienna Green, and USA pipeline athlete Anna Pearson, who each added two goals, the Bruins dominated the game.

The victory underscored UCLA’s rich tradition of starting the season well, with this being the 24th consecutive opening day victory for Adam Wright’s side dating back to 1999. 

The game was intense from the start, with Genoa Rossi of UCLA scoring the first goal, followed by Indiana’s Lanna Debow and Zoe Crouch who quickly answered back, tying the score at 2-2. But the Bruins were determined to take the lead, with Pearson and Johnson scoring back-to-back goals in the first quarter. 

The second quarter belonged to Sienna Green and Katrina Drake, who added two more goals for the Bruins.

The game was far from over, with the Hoosiers showing their own determination with Sophia Sollie scoring the first goal of the third quarter, but the Bruins were not going to let them catch up. Johnson, Green, Drake, Ayala, Lineback, and Allen added six more goals in the third quarter, while Indiana’s Holcomb and Downs scored one goal each. 

The fourth quarter was a true showcase of the Bruins’ dominance though, with Anna Pearson, Hannah Palmer, Molly Renner, and Malia Allen adding four more goals, with Indiana’s Zoe Crouch scoring the final goal of the game. 

 

What to look out for this weekend

The first and second-ranked teams, Stanford and USC, are set to begin their seasons this weekend.

USC will start at the Lancer Joust meet in Riverside with their Saturday morning clash with Long Beach, one of four games they play over the weekend, including Pacific, Biola, and Cal Baptist.

Stanford has a slightly tougher assignment as they head to Berkeley, facing San Jose and Fresno before a highly-anticipated clash with the Cal Bears on Sunday morning.

Last weekend’s results (20th-22nd January)

Friday 20th January

UCLA 15 – 6 Indiana – MPSF Conference fixture 

 

Saturday 21st January

UCLA 14 – 7 Wagner

UC Santa Barbara 13 – 10 Indiana 

Indiana 12 – 10  UC San Diego 

Cal Bears 15 – 10 UC Irvine 10

UCLA 21 – 5 UC San Diego 

Michigan 6 – 15 Hawaii

Fresno State 9 – 16 UC Irvine

 

Sunday 22nd January

Cal Bears 13 – 10 Michigan

Indiana 19 – 5 CS Fullerton 

UCLA 16 – 2 UC San Diego 

California 16 – 10 Fresno State

UCLA 11 – 6 UC Santa Barbara 

Fresno State 6 – 13 Hawaii

This weekend’s top picks (27th-29th January)

 

Saturday 28th January

Stanford vs San Jose 

USC vs Long Beach 

San Jose vs Cal Bears

UCLA vs UC Davis 

Stanford vs Fresno State 

 

Sunday 29th January

Stanford vs Cal Bears

UCLA vs Fresno State

San Jose State vs Fresno State 

UC Davis vs California

San Jose State vs UC Davis

Read more about water polo in the USA

Read more about Women’s water polo

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

 

 

James Spencer-Boyce
James Spencer-Boyce

Related posts

Gergelyi Burian Photo by Laszlo Balogh/Total Waterpolo

September 28, 2023

Favorites earn away victories in Hungary


Read more

Denes Varga Photo by Dj. Kostic/VK Novi Beograd

September 27, 2023

Ferencvaros and Jadran Split collect points after late comebacks


Read more

Nikola Jaksic scored six goals today Photo by Slobodan Sandić

September 26, 2023

Two thrillers open new Champions League season; title holder and runner-up with no mercy


Read more

Featured Projects

01 - 06 July, 2024 - Limited Availability

Book NowLearn More

SUPPORT US ON PATREON

If you share our passion for water polo worldwide, consider becoming a cherished contributor to our cause, with as little as 5$/month.

SUPPORT US

Learn More

Custom Team Gear

LEARN MORE

Shop Now

Looking for something?

✕
  • Italian League 2023 – Women
    September 28, 2023
  • Italian League 2023 – Men
    September 28, 2023
  • 0
    Favorites earn away victories in Hungary
    September 28, 2023
  • Home
  • Water Polo News
  • WearWaterpolo Shop
  • Contact Us
  • Project Superstar – TW Camp
  • BIWPA
  • Custom Team Equipment
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
© 2021 Total Waterpolo. All Rights Reserved.
Total Waterpolo Arena

We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience and provide personalized content. By clicking "Accept All Cookies" or continuing to browse this website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT