FRESNO, Calif. — The fifth-ranked University of Hawai'i water polo team will open the season with a doubleheader in the Polo-Palooza hosted by Fresno State on Saturday, Jan. 20.

The first matchup is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time (7:30 a.m. Hawai'i Time) against No. 13 Michigan and will be played at Clovis North High School. UH will be back in the water to face two-time defending national champion Stanford at 6 p.m. PT (4 p.m. HT) at the Fresno State Aquatics Center.
 
UH and Michigan met early last season which resulted in a 15-6 victory for the Rainbow Wahine. Stanford enters the season tied for the top spot in the Collegiate Water Polo Association poll after claiming another national title last year. The Cardinal have won eight of the last 12 national championships.
 
The Rainbow Wahine will close the weekend with an exhibition match with No. 4 California on Sunday at 3 p.m PT (1 p.m. HT).  

GAMES 1&2: NO. 5 HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (0-0) vs. NO. 13 MICHIGAN (0-0)  |  NO. 1 STANFORD (0-0)
Date | Time				Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024 Michigan: 9:30 a.m. PT / 7:30 a.m HT  |  Stanford: 6:00 p.m. PT / 4:00 p.m. HT
Location				Fresno, Calif. — Michigan: Clovis North High School  | Stanford: Fresno State Aquatics Center
Live Stream				Mountain West Network
Live Stats				Hawai'i vs. Michigan  •  Hawai'i vs. Stanford

HEAD COACH MAUREEN COLEAt Hawai'i: 203-92 (13th year)

ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDSOverall: Hawai'i leads vs. Michigan 18-5
Last meeting: Hawai'i 15, Michigan 6 (Jan. 21, 2023; Fresno, Calif.)

Overall: Stanford leads vs. Hawai'i 36-0
Last meeting: Stanford 12, Hawai'i 9 (Feb 22, 2020; Irvine, Calif.)

OPENING SPRINT

• UH enters the season coming off of a 21-6 campaign and runner-up finishes in the Big West regular-season standings and conference championship.

• The Rainbow Wahine finished the 2023 season ranked No. 6 in the final CWPA poll. They are tied for with UC Irvine for fifth in this year's preseason poll.

• UH finished 9-3 in neutral-site games last season.

• The Rainbow Wahine return 12 letterwinners from last season, featuring All-America honorees Bia Mantellato Dias and Alba Bonamusa Boix.

• Mantellato Dias' standout freshman season was recognized with second-team All-America and Big West Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors. She was voted to this season's Preseason All-Big West team.

• Bonamusa Boix's junior campaign earned her honorable mention All-America and All-Big West first team honors.

• Emma Gurasich makes her UH debut at goalie after playing five seasons at La Salle, where she was named to the All-MAAC first team in 2022 and second team in 2023.

• The Rainbow Wahine were voted second in the Big West preseason poll.

ALOHA SEASONMaureen Cole plans to soak in everything her final season as UH head coach has to offer.

Cole announced in November she will retire from coaching following the conclusion of this season, her 18^th with the Rainbow Wahine program overall and 13^th as head coach.

Cole joined the UH program as an assistant coach in 2007 and was elevated to head coach prior to the 2012 season. She's the winningest and longest tenured coach in program history and has led the 'Bows to five Big West regular-season titles, four tournament crowns and four NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
While change is on the horizon for the program, Cole maintains the perspective she's carried into each of her previous 17 seasons at UH.
 
"Maybe I'll be a little more appreciative of all the momentsm" she said."But in terms of preparation or how we go about practice, that all stays the same."

INTERNATIONAL FLAVORThe Rainbow Wahine again feature an international lineup with eight countries represented on the 21-player roster. A team dinner with players preparing a dish from their respective countries annually highlights "aloha week" leading up to the season opener.
 
Blending various styles in the pool has also been a longstanding staple of the UH program and the 'Bows enter the season looking to integrate nine newcomers into the mix.
 
"It's exciting," Cole said. "We have a good core of returners, but we're also really different. Not necessarily young, but just a very different team than we were a year ago."
 
ON THE ATTACKThe list of returnees includes center Bia Mantellato Dias, last year's Big West Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. The sophomore from Brazil led UH with 82 goals and 15 hat tricks and was named to the AWPCA All-America second team.
 
"She's a competitor, she's talented, and has a great work ethic," Cole said. "She's definitely going to be a big piece, but there are a lot of great pieces around her. … I think it's going to be really balanced."
 
Senior Alba Bonamusa Boix (Spain) returns for her fifth year after scoring 57 goals last season and earning All-Big West second-team and honorable mention All-America recognition.
 
In all, the Rainbow Wahine return their top five scorers from last season, including seniors Lot Stertefeld (Netherlands, 36 goals) and Lucia Gomez de la Puente (Spain, 22 goals, 37 assists) and junior Jordan Wedderburn (South Africa, 40 goals).
 
Junior Bernadette Doyle scored 30 goals for UH in 2019 and '20 and rejoins the program this season after spending the last couple of years back home in New Zealand.
 
DEFENSIVE MINDEDEmma van Rossum anchored the UH defense over her five years in the program and ended her career as an honorable mention All-America and second-team All-Big West selection. Now that she's completed a decorated college career, a group of contenders are poised to step forward, including sophomores Tara Logan and Alia Burlock, junior Morgan Rios and newcomers in Stevilyn Griffin (a transfer from Arizona State) and freshman Agatha Weston.
 
"They've learned a lot from (van Rossum) and they're eager to get more reps in big games," Cole said. "There are a number of people who have gotten tremendously better in the last three or four months of training and they'll only get better as we start to play games."
 
PROTECTING THE NETBridget Layburn finished her career in goal by coming up with 184 saves in a senior year that included a length-of-the-pool buzzer-beating goal in a thrilling win over Cal last season.
 
Two newcomers are vying for goalkeeping duties this season in graduate transfer Emma Gurasich and freshman Daisy Logtens. Gurasich was an All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference pick at La Salle and Logtens brings with her extensive interntional experience from the Netherlands. Logtens and fellow UH freshman Esmee Roijen helped the Netherlands capture bronze at the U20 Water Polo Championships in September.
 
"Emma and Daisy are both doing a really good job and they'll probably split time for a good portion," Cole said. "We just have to see them more in game situations, but they both are really good goalies."
 
EARLY TESTS AHEADThe Rainbow Wahine will face a high-powered schedule right from Day 1 of the 2024 season. UH will face 11 of the top 13 teams in the CWPA preseason poll, starting with No. 13 Michigan and co-No. 1 Stanford in the Polo-Palooza. The Cardinal share the top spot in the poll with USC, which visits Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex on March 16.
 
UH opens its home schedule Jan. 26 and 27 with the Rainbow Invitational which includes No. 8 Princeton, No. 9 Fresno State and Azusa Pacific.
 
"We want to put together the toughest schedule we can so that we've been put in as many tight-game situations as we can going into the conference season," Cole said.