HONOLULU — The second-ranked University of Hawai'i water polo team continues Big West play and concludes a four-game homestand by taking on No. 12 UC San Diego on Friday, March 29 at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatics Complex. The opening sprint is set for 6 p.m.
 
UH and UC San Diego are two of the three Big West teams still undefeated in conference play. UH enters the game at 3-0 in the Big West with UCSD and Long Beach State at 2-0.
 

NO. 2 HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (15-3, 3-0 BIG WEST) vs. NO. 12 UC SAN DIEGO (14-8, 2-0 BIG WEST)
Date | Time				Friday, March 29, 2024 | 6 p.m.
Location				Honolulu — Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex
Live Stats				thefosh.net
Game Notes				Hawai'i
Promotions				"Get Down at the Duke" — Glow sticks will be distributed to keiki to light up the Duke. Snack packs (chips, candy, water) will be available for students, and fans can receive giveaways (t-shirts and Safeway coupons).

HEAD COACH MAUREEN COLEAt Hawai'i: 218-95 (13th year)

ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDUC San Diego
SERIES HISTORY: Hawai'i leads 30-4
LAST MEETING: Hawai'i, 12-10 (March 30, 2023; La Jolla, Calif.)

OPENING SPRINT

• The Rainbow Wahine moved up a spot to No. 2 in this week's Collegiate Water Polo Association Women's Varsity Top 25, matching their highest ranking of the season. Earlier this season, UH spent five weeks at No. 2, which is also the highest ranking for a Big West team since the conference began sponsoring the sport in 2009.

• UH closes out its longest homestand of the season on Friday. The 'Bows began the homestand with a win over No. 5 USC on March 16 then swept last weekend's Big West meetings with Cal State Fullerton and No. 25 CSUN by a combined score of 32-8 to remain perfect in Big West play.

• UH's 12-4 victory over CSUN  earned the team its 12th victory over a CWPA top-25 opponent this season.

• UH leads the series with UCSD 30-4 and has won the last five meetings with the Tritons. 

• The 'Bows are 14-1 all-time against UCSD at home.

• UCSD brings a seven-game winning streak to Honolulu. Friday's match will be UCSD's first since a 13-8 win over No. 8 Princeton on March 10. 

• UCSD's current streak includes Big West wins over CSUN (16-7) and at UC Irvine (6-5).

• The 'Bows are 46-11 in Big West regular-season games since joining the conference for the 2013 season and 31-4 since 2017.

SHARING THE WEALTH

Three UH players have scored at least 30 goals to lead the UH attack and another two have at least 20. In all, 16 players have at least one goal and 18 have at least one assist.

• Alba Bonamusa Boix enters the week as UH's points leader with 64. Bonamusa Boix has 35 goals and 29 assists. Lucia Gomez de la Puente is next with 62 points with 32 goals and 30 assists. 

• Center Bia Mantellato Dias leads the team with 44 goals. She scored in 17 of 18 games and has at least three goals in eight games this season and at least four goals in four games.

• Attacker Bernadette Doyle ranks third on the team with 53 points (23 goals, 30 assists).

DEFENDING THE DUKE

UH has allowed a Big West-low 132 goals overall this season, holding opponents to 7.3 goals per game. UC Santa Barbara is next at 7.9 goals allowed per game. The 'Bows have allowed a total of 30 goals in six home games this season and held four visitors to the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex to five goals or fewer. 

• UH freshman Daisy Logtens leads the conference with a .591 save percentage and ranks second with 9.3 saves per game. Graduate student Emma Gurasich has 39 saves this season. 

• Junior Bernadette Doyle leads the team with 28 steals followed by Lot Stertefeld with 26. Alba Bonamusa Boix has a team-high 14 field blocks.
 

'BOWS EARN 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.

• 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.

• Junior utility Jordan Wedderburn picked up UH's fifth award on March 20 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)