HONOLULU — The fourth-ranked University of Hawai'i water polo team opens a four-game homestand against No. 5 USC on Saturday, March 16 at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatics Complex.

UH defeated USC on Feb. 4 in the Triton Invitational which was one of two wins against a No. 1-ranked opponent this season for the Rainbow Wahine. The victory was the 'Bows' first over the Trojans since April 29, 2006 and snapped a 27-game losing streak.

The 'Bows are returning from a weekend in Northern California where they split a road trip against two Collegiate Water Polo Association Top-25 opponents. UH opened the weekend by defeating No. 16 UC Davis 12-7 on Friday, March 8 at the Schaal Aquatics Center in Davis, Calif. The Rainbow Wahine closed the road trip with a 9-8 loss to No. 4 California on Sunday, March 10 at the Spieker Aquatics Complex in Berkeley, Calif.

NO. 4 HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (12-3, 1-0 BIG WEST) vs. NO. 5 USC TROJANS (13-3, 0-0 MPSF)
Date | Time				Saturday, Mar. 16, 2024 | 6 p.m. Hawai'i Time
Location				Honolulu — Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex
TV				Spectrum Sports
Live Stream				ESPN+
Live Stats				theFOSH.net
Game Notes				Hawai'i

PROMOTIONS

• Keiki Night – Keiki can receive stickers and face tattoos at Saturday's game.
 

HEAD COACH MAUREEN COLEAt Hawai'i: 215-95 (13th year)

ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDNo. 5 USC
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads 48-4
LAST MEETING: Hawai'i, 10-6 (Feb. 4, 2024; La Jolla, Calif)

OPENING SPRINT

• UH defeated USC 10-6 on Feb. 4 in the Triton Invitational in La Jolla, Calif., which was one of two wins against a No. 1-ranked opponent this season for the Rainbow Wahine.

• The 'Bows defeated the Trojans for the first time since April 29, 2006 snapping a 27-game losing streak.

• USC lead the all-time series vs. Hawai'i 48-4.

• USC last defeated UH on March 17, 2023 (16-7) at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.

• The 'Bows are 0-20 all-time against USC at home.

• UH has a four-game home winning-streak dating back to last season.

• USC won its last match against St. Francis (PA) (22-6) on Saturday, March 9 extending its winning streak to seven.

UH CLAIMS 4 BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARDS

UH claimed the Big West Women's Water Polo Player of the Week award four times this season, marking the first time four different Rainbow Wahine players have been selected for the honor since UH joined the Big West in 2013.

• Sophomore Bia Mantellato Dias won this season's first award on Jan. 24 after helping the Rainbow Wahine to a historic opening weekend in the Polo-Palooza in Fresno, Calif.

• Junior Bernadette Doyle made it back-to-back Big West honors for UH on Jan. 31 following UH's 3-0 weekend in the Rainbow Invitational.

• Senior attacker Lucia Gomez de la Puente picked up UH's third straight Big West honor on Feb. 7 following the Triton Invitational.

• Goalkeeper Daisy Logtens earned her first Big West Women's Water Polo Player of the Week award after helping lead the Rainbow Wahine to a runner-up finish in the Barbara Kalbus Invitational.

• The freshman from the Netherlands recorded 37 saves over four tournament matches to help UH finish 3-1 and post its highest finish in 17 appearances in the event.
 

ALOHA SEASONUH head coach Maureen 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.

ROBINSON SELECTED AS NEXT HEAD COACH
• UH associate head coach James Robinson has been selected as the next Rainbow Wahine head coach starting with the 2024-25 season, UH athletics director Craig Angelos has announced.

• Robinson joined the UH staff in 2022 and will be the fourth head coach to lead the Rainbow Wahine since the UH water polo program made its debut in 1998, following in the line of Shari Smart (1998-2002), Michel Roy (2003-11) and Cole (2012-present).

• Robinson, 29, is a graduate of UCLA and was a member of three national championship teams with the Bruins (2014, '15 and '17).

• He was hired as UH associate head coach in 2022 and assisted Cole in leading the Rainbow Wahine to a 21-6 season in 2023.

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.

A total of nine Rainbow Wahine representing six countries competed in the recently completed FINA World Championships in Doha — Mirella Coutinho (Brazil, 2014), Elyse Lemay-Lavoie (Canada, 2018-19, '22), Camille Radosavljevic (France, 2022-23), Szonja Kuna (Hungary, 2020), Maartje Keuning (Netherlands 2017-18), Maxine Schaap (Netherlands, 2019), Bernadette Doyle (New Zealand, 2019-20, present), Libby Gault (New Zealand, 2019-23) and Bridget Layburn (New Zealand, 2019-23)