HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i women's water polo team begins their 2022 campaign this weekend from January 29th to the 30th in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the Michigan Invitational.
 
The Rainbow Wahine look to build off a strong 2021 performance, where they claimed both the Big West Conference regular-season and tournament titles, marking the fourth time they have accomplished each of those feats since joining the conference in 2013.
 
UH returns nine out of its ten starters from last year's roster, including top scorer Lucia Gomez de la Puente, who scored 21 goals and added 24 assists. Another top returner is goalkeeper Molly DiLalla, as she tallied 78 saves in 13 starts a year ago.
 
Joining the list of returnees are Elyse Lemay-Lavoie, Alba Bonamusa Boix, and Bridget Layburn, each who took time off over the previous season or two. Lemay-Lavoie sat out the last two years off to train and compete for the Canadian National team, earning her a trip to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. When she last played for UH, she was second in goals scored with 53, earning a First Team Big-West selection, and an ACWPC Second Team All-American.
 
Alba Bonamusa Boix took last season off but was a First Team All-American in the 2020 season, where she posted a team-high 55 points, including 37 goals and 18 assists.
 
Returning to pool for the first time since 2020 is Bridget Layburn, as she took off last season due to Covid-19 concerns. In her most recent season, she had 10 games in goal, with six wins, and tallied 46 saves.
 
The Rainbow Wahine are currently ranked sixth nationally, the highest of Big West schools. The top 25 includes all seven Big West teams.
 
Matchups for the Michigan Invitational begin with No. 7 Michigan and Marist on Saturday. Sunday's matches include No. 11 Indiana and Salem.
 
The first sprint is slated for 4:00 a.m HT against Michigan on Saturday.