HONOLULU — The No. 3 University of Hawai'i water polo team resumes Big West play this weekend by taking on Cal State Fullerton on Friday, March 22 and No. 25 CSUN on Saturday, March 23 at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatics Complex.

The Rainbow Wahine moved up a spot in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Women's Varsity Top 25 following a 9-8 win over No. 5 USC last Saturday before a lively crowd at the DKAC. The victory was their second over the Trojans this season and their fourth over an opponent ranked in the top five of the CWPA poll.

NO. 3 HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (13-3, 1-0 BIG WEST) vs. CAL STATE FULLERTON (9-12, 0-1 BIG WEST) | NO. 25 CSUN (16-11, 0-2 BIG WEST)
Date | Time				Cal State Fullerton: Friday, March 22, 2024 | 6 p.m. CSUN: Saturday, March 23, 2024 | 6 p.m.
Location				Honolulu — Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex
Live Stats				Cal State Fullerton  |  CSUN
Game Notes				Hawai'i
Promotions				Friday — International Night: Flags will be hung up representing the different countries each player is from

HEAD COACH MAUREEN COLEAt Hawai'i: 216-95 (13th year)

ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDSCal State Fullerton
SERIES HISTORY: Hawai'i leads 1-0
LAST MEETING: Hawai'i, 20-3 (March 31, 2023; Fullerton, Calif.)

No. 25 CSUN
SERIES HISTORY: Hawai'i leads 20-4
LAST MEETING: Hawai'i, 18-7 (April 28, 2023; Santa Barbara, Calif.)

OPENING SPRINT

• UH is in the midst of a four-game homestand, the team's longest of the season. The homestand began with last Saturday's win over USC and concludes March 29 against UC San Diego. 

• The win over USC was UH's second over the Trojans this season and first at home in the all-time series. The 'Bows entered the matchup 0-20 against the Trojans at the DKAC

• UH's victory over USC also marked the first time the Rainbow Wahine have defeated the Trojans in consecutive matchups.

• UH enters the week 1-0 in Big West play, defeating UC Davis 12-7 on March 8, 2024 in Davis, Calif.

• The 'Bows are 44-11 in Big West regular-season games since joining the conference for the 2013 season and 29-4 since 2017. 

• UH defeated Cal State Fullerton 20-3 in the first ever matchup between the teams on March 31, 2023 at the Titans Aquatic Center in Fullerton, Calif.

• The 'Bows claimed a 12-3 victory over CSUN on March 12, 2023 in Northridge, Calif. They also won a rematch with the Matadors 18-7 in the Big West Championships on April 28, 2023 in Santa Barbara, Calif.

• Alba Bonamusa Boix and Lucia Gomez de la Puente are tied for the team lead with 56 points each. Bonamusa Boix has 31 goals and 25 assists and Gomez de la Puente enters the week with 30 goals and a team-high 26 assists. Bia Mantellato Dias leads the team with 38 goals. 

• Freshman goalkeeper Daisy Logtens has 132 saves and her save percentage of .587 leads the Big West.
 

UH CLAIMS 5 BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARDS

UH has claimed a program-record five Big West Women's Water Polo Player of the Week awards this season. Jordan Wedderburn earned this week's award, making her the fifth different Rainbow Wahine player selected for the honor and surpassing UH's previous high of four awards 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. She scored six goals and had two assists in a weekend highlighted by UH's first-ever win over then-No. 1 Stanford.

• 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. Doyle scored five goals, assisted on five others, and swiped seven steals in the home-opening tournament.

• Senior attacker Lucia Gomez de la Puente picked up UH's third straight Big West honor on Feb. 7 after accounting for 19 points with 11 goals and eight assists in the Triton Invitational.

• Goalkeeper Daisy Logtens earned her first Big West 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.

• Wedderburn picked up UH's fifth award after posting her third hat trick of the season to lead the 'Bows to their second win over No. 5 USC this season.
 

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 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)