LONG BEACH, Calif. - The Hawai'i women's water polo team began Sunday's second day of The Beach Invitational on a positive note, taking an 11-5 win over Pacific, but could not maintain their energy as they fell in their final match of the regular season, losing to UC San Diego, 9-7. The upset loss to the No. 19 Tritons dropped No. 6 Hawai'i's record to a 2-2 finish at The Beach Invite and ended the Rainbow Wahine's regular season with a 12-13 mark.

UH's counterattack and perimeter offense dominated the first half against Pacific (4-22), as the Rainbow Wahine posted seven goals on the board and took a strong 7-3 lead into halftime. However, Pacific fought back behind two early third quarter scores by Virginia McConnell and Julia Snyder, cutting the Hawai`i lead to two with 4:15 left in the period. The Rainbow Wahine quickly extinguished the rally, as Kristy Bagnall buried her second goal of the match a mere 16 seconds later, starting a 3-0 match-closing run which sealed the decisive victory.

However, UH's second match would prove to be an unexpected challenge, as the Rainbow Wahine could not put away a fired-up UCSD (13-19) squad. After a back-and-forth first half, the Rainbow Wahine seemed to regain control of the match in the third quarter, taking the lead briefly at 5-4. The match soon slipped out of UH's grasp as their defense faltered under the pressure of the Tritons' drives and counterattacks. With several Rainbow Wahine in foul trouble, the Tritons hit five second-half goals en route to the upset.

Shannon Carroll and Beth Novick continued their offensive show from yesterday, combining for nine goals as they collected one hat trick apiece. Seven different Rainbow Wahine scored on the day, while goalie Leanna Hahn held down the defensive side with a combined 14 saves in both matches.

Hawai`i returns home briefly before returning to Long Beach to participate in the MPSF Championships, starting on Friday, April 30, at the Los Alamitos Joint Training Center.


Hawai`i vs. Pacific
1-2-3-4=F
Hawai`i 4-3-2-2=11
Pacific 1-2-2-0=5

Hawai`i Scoring: Carroll 3, Anderson 2, Bagnall 2, Molina 2, Mulford, Novick
Pacific Scoring: McConnell 3, Diehl, Snyder
Goalie Saves: Leanna Hahn (Hawai`i) 12, Satori (Pacific) 4

Hawai`i vs. UC San Diego
1-2-3-4=F
Hawai`i 1-3-2-1=7
UC San Diego 1-3-3-2=9

Hawai`i Scoring: Novick 3, Carroll 2, Bagnall, Whitford
UCSD Scoring: Lyman 2, Bantilan-Smith, Hockett, Jackson, Kledon, LaRochelle, Nordstrom, Wong
Goalie Saves: Leanna Hahn/Amber Lumb (Hawai`i) 2, Lombardo (UCSD) 8



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