HONOLULU – The No. 11 University of Hawaii women's water polo team returns to action at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex with a pair of matches this weekend. The Rainbow Wahine do battle with  No. 6 UC Irvine in a critical Big West contest on Friday, March 28 before taking on No. 2 UCLA in a non-conference match on Saturday, March 29. Both matches begin at 6:00 p.m. and admission is free.
 
UH (13-6, 1-0 BWC) successfully began defense of its 2013 Big West title when it defeated No. 12 Long Beach State in a 9-8 overtime thriller at home this past Friday. Now the Rainbow Wahine face its biggest league test of the year in the Anteaters (16-6), who shared last season's regular-season title with UH.
 
The team's already have met once this year with the Anteaters defeating UH, 9-4, during a non-conference match at the Stanford Invitational on February 1. UH defeated UCI twice on the road last year with both matches going into overtime. The Raibow Wahine squeezed out a 12-11 win during the regular-season, then defeated the Anteaters again, 5-4, to clinch the Big West Tournament championship.
 
Following its match versus UCI, Hawai'i will face former conference rival UCLA who are off to an 18-2 start. It will be a re-match of last year's NCAA Tournament third-place match won by the Bruins, 13-8.
 
Sophomore Paula Chillida Esforzado has netted a team-high 38 goals for UH, while senior utility Danielle Lewis had scored 37 goals. UH has also seen the emergence of freshman Claire Nixon who notched a pair of hat tricks this past weekend versus LBSU and No. 14 Indiana. Senior Amy Carlson has recorded 141 saves in the cage, including 11 in UH's overtime win over the 49ers and a career high 14 against Indiana.
 
This Week's Schedule
Friday, March 28
Hawai`i vs. UC Irvine, 6:00 p.m.
              
Saturday, March 29
Hawai`i vs. UCLA, 6:00 p.m.