HONOLULU - The University of Hawai'i women's water polo team will head to the Big West Tournament this weekend held at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center on the campus of Long Beach State University. The Rainbow Wahine received a first-round bye and will play in the Semifinals on Saturday, April 27 versus the winner of UC Davis or CSUN. The Championship Game is slated for Sunday, April 28.
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Hawai'i (16-5, 4-1 Big West) finished as Big West Regular Season Co-Champions and is the number two seed in the Big West Tournament. Winning the conference tournament would seal an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in program history and the first since 2015.
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The Rainbow Wahine are 12-4 in the Big West Tournament games since their first season in the league in 2013. The 'Bows won the tournament to earn the automatic bid in 2013 and 2015.
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At last year's Big West Tournament at UC Irvine, the top-seeded 'Bows defeated Long Beach State, 9-6, in the semifinals before falling to the host Anteaters, 8-7, in a sudden-death triple overtime period.
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Ranked fifth in the CWPA poll, Hawai'i is led on offense by
Irene Gonzalez and her 52 goals on the season. In goal,
Molly DiLalla and
Bridget Layburn have split time with DiLalla making 135 saves and Layburn tallying 179 saves.
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Hawai'i players have won three Big West weekly awards with Gonzalez winning two (Jan. 30 and Feb. 27) and
Elyse Lemay-Lavoie taking one (Apr. 17).
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Against the potential semifinal opponents this season, UH went 2-0 with a 13-9 win at UC Davis and a 15-2 victory over CSUN at home.
Big West Tournament
Where: Ken Lingren Aquatics Center - Long Beach, Calif.Â
Semifinals: #2 Seed - Hawai'i vs. #3 Seed - UC Davis OR #6 Seed - CSUN
When: Saturday, April 27 - 3:00 p.m PT (12:00 p.m. HT)
Live Stats: The Fosh
Live Video: BigWest.TV
Championship Game
When: Sunday, April 28 - 2:00 p.m. PT (11:00 a.m. HT)
Live Stats: The Fosh
Live Video: BigWest.TV
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