IRVINE, Calif. – The fifth-ranked University of Hawai'i water polo team (7-1) has a big week ahead, facing off with a slew of ranked opponents with a mid-week one-off at No. 24 Cal Baptist in Riverside, Calif., before heading to Irvine for the Barbara Kalbus Invitational.
 
Opening up at CBU (4-6) on Wednesday, Feb. 21, the Rainbow Wahine return to action for the first time in 17 days and are riding a seven-match win streak. The Lancers have taken in two matches in February, dropping outings at Hartwick and UC San Diego. The Rainbow Wahine are 8-0 lifetime against CBU and are meeting the Lancers for the first time since 2012, with UH pulling out a 9-7 win.
 
Wednesday's match will have live stats provided by CBU, who will also stream the match live.
 
The Rainbow Wahine are paced on offense by junior Irene Gonzalez, who has racked up 19 goals in eight matches. Gonzalez also ranks fourth in the Big West in assists with 11, and fourth with 19 steals. Not to mention she's tied for the league lead with a 5-0 record in sprints.
 
Junior Femke Aan has also been an integral segment of the UH offense, delivering 14 goals and eight assists, along with sophomore Maartje Keuning with 14 goals and four assists. The Dutch tandem have recorded 11 steals apiece.
 
After meeting the Lancers, the Rainbow Wahine move on to battle it out over the weekend at UC Irvine's Barbara Kalbus Invitational. The high-power tournament features a four-pool play, all-ranked field, running Friday-Sunday with competition at UCI's Anteater Aquatics Complex and also the Marian Bergeson Aquatic Center at Corona del Mar High School.
 
The Rainbow Wahine are scheduled to open up Friday against No. 14 (t) San Diego State (5-4). First sprint is scheduled at 1:00 p.m. HT (3:00 p.m. PT) at UCI. UH will face either the winner or loser between No. 4 UCLA (13-1) and No. 17 UC Santa Barbara (9-5) on Saturday (either 6:00 a.m. HT or 7:15 a.m. HT) at CDMHS. The bracket sets up for a second match of the day on Saturday in the afternoon.
 
The tournament concludes on Sunday with matches starting at 7:00 a.m. HT.
 
Live stats for the opening match between UH and SDSU will be provided by UCI. For updated schedules, check out the tournament information page.
 
A very prominent field, competing in the Babara Kalbus Invitational's 16-team field are No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 California, No. 3 Southern California, No. 6 Arizona State, No. 7 UC Irvine, No. 8 Pacific, No. 9 Michigan, No. 11 Loyola Marymount, No. 13 UC San Diego, No. 14 San Diego State, No. 17 UC Santa Barbara, No. 18 San Jose State, No. 19 (t) CSUN and No. 19 (t) Long Beach State.

After this weekend's action, the Rainbow Wahine next return home to open the month of March with the Big West opener at home against UC Irvine on March 3, followed by a March 8 hosting of Southern California at Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex. 
 

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Wednesday, Feb. 21
Opponent: Cal Baptist
Live Stats: FOSH
Live Stream: Cal Baptist
Time: 1:00 p.m. HT
Where: Lancer Aquatics Center (Riverside, Calif.)
 

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2018 Barbara Kalbus Invitational (Irvine, Calif.)
Match #1
Date: Friday, Feb. 23
Opponent: No. 14 San Diego State
Live Stats: FOSH
Time: 1:00 p.m. HT
Where: Anteater Aquatics Complex (Irvine, Calif.)
 
Match #2
Date: Saturday, Feb. 24
Opponent: No. 4 UCLA
Live Stats: FOSH
Time: 7:15 a.m. HT
Where: Anteater Aquatics Complex (Irvine, Calif.) or Marian Bergeson Aquatic Center (Newport Beach, Calif.)
 
Match #3
Date: Saturday, Feb. 24
Opponent: No. 8 Pacific
Time: 11:30 a.m. HT
Live Stats: FOSH
Where: Anteater Aquatics Complex (Irvine, Calif.) or Marian Bergeson Aquatic Center (Newport Beach, Calif.)
 
Match #4
Date: Sunday, Feb. 25
Opponent: No. 6 Arizona State
Time: 8:15 a.m. HT
Live Stats: FOSH
Where: Anteater Aquatics Complex (Irvine, Calif.) or Marian Bergeson Aquatic Center (Newport Beach, Calif.)