UCLA Scoresheet (pdf) | Stanford Scoresheet (pdf)

IRVINE, Calif. – The No. 6 University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine water polo team finished fourth in the UC Irvine Invitational after falling in a pair of top-ranked matchups with No. 2 UCLA, 10-6, and No. 4 Stanford, 13-7, Sunday at the Anteater Aquatics Complex.

After defeating No. 3 Cal on Saturday, 7-6, to move on to the semi-final, the Rainbow Wahine (13-4) locked into a tight contest first half with the Bruins, fighting to reach the tournament final.

UCLA's Charlotte Pratt put the Bruins on the board early with an extraman goal at 6:36 in the first quarter, countered with a quick UH score from Barcelona, Spain freshman Irene Gonzalez at 5:59.

The Bruins fired back, reclaiming the lead on Ashley Zwirner's 4:45 score, warranting a goal 37 seconds later from Sabadell, Spain freshman Carla Abellan to tie the game at 2-2.

UCLA built a little cushion coming out of the opening period on consecutive unanswered goals. Although the Rainbow Wahine stopped the Bruins' scoring in the second quarter and trimmed the lead to 4-3 on a second Abellan goal, UH was outscored 5-2 in the third to break open the contest in UCLA's favor.

In the final quarter, UH held strong defensively, but the Bruins locked up the UH offense, both teams only netting one fourth-quarter goal en route to the 10-6 UCLA win.

The two Spanish rookies, Gonzalez and Abellan, paced UH with two goals apiece.

Scoring By Quarters
UCLA     –    4     0     5     1   =  10    
Hawai'i   –    2     1     2     1   =  6
UH Scoring vs. UCLA: Irene Gonzalez 2, Carla Abellan 2, Femke Aan 1, Nikki-Marie Bell 1
 
Moving on to the third place game, the Rainbow Wahine matched up with Stanford just hours after the meeting with the Bruins. The Cardinal proved to be a tough offensive foe early, reeling off four unanswered goals before Abellan snapped the scoring run with 1:53 remaining in the first quarter.

The Cardinal again went on a scoring run in the second quarter, interrupted by Seal Beach, Calif. sophomore Erika Pauley, as the Rainbow Wahine were outscored 9-2 in the opening half.

After halftime, UH tightened up on the defensive end, limiting Stanford's scoring ability, while also picking up the offensive effort. The Rainbow Wahine outscored Stanford 5-4 in the second half, but the deficit was too deep, as UH battled back in the fourth quarter with goals by Weyburn, Canada junior Taylor Molde, Riverside, Calif. junior Nikki-Marie Bell and Oostzaan, Netherlands freshman Femke Aan, ultimately falling 13-7 to the Cardinal.

Seven different players each scored one goal each.

Scoring By Quarters
Stanford   –     6     3     3     1   =  13
Hawai'i     –     1     1     2     3   =  7   
UH Scoring vs. Stanford: Femke Aan 1, Carla Abellan 1, Julia Barton 1, Nikki-Marie Bell 1, Erika Pauley 1, Xanthe Plescia 1, Taylor Molde 1
 
The Rainbow Wahine's fourth-place finish in the prestigious tournament, which featured an all-ranked field this year, is the highest for the program since the 2011 season.

The team will have a 17-day layoff from action before hosting their first match of the season, taking on No. 1 USC at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex on March 17.