DAVIS, CALIF. — The top-seeded University of Hawai'i women's water polo team opens the Big West Championship by taking on Cal State Fullerton in a quarterfinal game on Friday at the Schaal Aquatics Center in Davis, Calif. The tournament opener is set for 9 a.m. Pacific Time / 7 a.m. Hawaii time.

The Rainbow Wahine enter the three-day tournament as the Big West regular-season champion after going 7-0 in conference play. UH is seeking its fifth tournament title, and first since 2021, along with the Big West's automatic berth to the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship.

NO. 2 HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (19-3, 7-0 BIG WEST) vs. CAL STATE FULLERTON TITANS (10-18, 1-6)
Date | Time				Friday, April 26, 2024  |  10 a.m. Pacific Time (7 a.m. Hawai'i Time)
Location				Davis, Calif. — Schaal Aquatics Center
Live Stream				ESPN+ — Greg Mescall (play by play), Jamie Neushul (analyst)
Live Stats				The FOSH
Game Notes				Hawai'i | Cal State Fullerton | Big West
Championship Central				BigWest.org

HEAD COACH MAUREEN COLEAt Hawai'i: 222-95 (13th year)

ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDCal State Fullerton
SERIES HISTORY: Hawai'i leads 2-0
LAST MEETING: UH 20-4 (March 22, 2024, Honolulu)

BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULEFriday, April 26
Quarterfinals
No. 1 seed Hawai'i vs. No. 8 seed Cal State Fullerton — 10 a.m. PT ( 7 a.m. HT)
No. 4 seed UC San Diego vs. No. 5 seed CSUN — Noon PT (9 a.m. HT)
No. 2 seed UC Irvine vs. No. 7 seed UC Davis — 2:30 p.m. PT (11:30 a.m. HT)
No. 3 seed Long Beach State vs. No. 6 seed UC Santa Barbara — 4:30 p.m. PT (1:30 p.m. HT)

Saturday, April 27
Semifinals
Hawai'i/Cal State Fullerton winner vs. UC San Diego/CSUN winner — 12 p.m. PT (9 a.m. HT)
UC Irvine/UC Davis winner vs. Long Beach State/UC Santa Barbara winner — 2 p.m. PT (11 a.m. HT)

Sunday, April 28
Championship — 12 p.m. PT (9 a.m. HT)

OPENING SPRINT• UH is coming off a bye week after closing the regular season with a 12-3 win over UC Santa Barbara on April 13 and carries a seven-game winning streak into the Big West Championship.

• The Hawai'i-Cal State Fullerton winner will face UC San Diego or CSUN in the semifinals on Saturday at noon Pacific Time (9 a.m. Hawai'i time). The championship game is set for Sunday, also at noon PT.

• UH went undefeated in the Big West regular-season schedule for the third time since joining the conference and claimed its sixth regular-season championship.

• The Rainbow Wahine never trailed in conference play and outscored its Big West opponents 100-39.

• UH is a victory away from the program's 11^th 20-win season overall and fifth under head coach Maureen Cole.

• UH is 19-6 all-time in the Big West Championship and 5-0 in first-round games. The Rainbow Wahine have advanced to the title match in eight of 11 tournament appearances, including each of the last five years.

• UH has spent 10 weeks at No. 2 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Women's Varsity Top 25, including the last five in a row. The ranking is the highest in program history and the highest for a Big West team since the conference began sponsoring the sport in 2009.

• The 'Bows have 17 wins over teams ranked in this week's CWPA poll. UH's three losses this season have come against current No. 1 UCLA (twice) and No. 3 California.

• Only three schools have won the Big West tournament title — UC Irvine (nine), Hawai'i (four) and UC Santa Barbara (one).

THE MATCHUP: CAL STATE FULLERTON

• UH is 2-0 against Cal State Fullerton, which is in its second year as a water polo program. UH has outscored the Titans 40-7 in those meetings.

• The Titans posted the first Big West win in program history on April 7 against CSUN.

• UH defeated eighth-seeded Cal State Fullerton 20-4 in their regular-season meeting on March 22 at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex. Bia Mantellato Dias scored four goals for the Rainbow Wahine and Jordan Wedderburn added three.
 

SHARING THE WEALTH• Three UH players have scored at least 30 goals to lead the UH attack and another three have at least 20. In all, 16 players have at least one goal and 20 have at least one assist.

• Alba Bonamusa Boix enters the week as UH's points leader with 69. Bonamusa Boix has 38 goals and 31 assists. She is two goals and one assist away from becoming the first player in program history to record 200 goals and 100 assists.

• Lucia Gomez de la Puente is next with 65 points with 34 goals and 31 assists. She has 115 goals for her career and ranks second in program history with 119 assists.

• Center Bia Mantellato Dias leads the team with 49 goals. She scored in 18 of 19 games and has at least three goals in nine games this season, at least four goals in five games and scored five goals three times this season.

• Attacker Bernadette Doyle ranks third on the team with 59 points (26 goals, 33 assists) and leads the 'Bows with 30 steals.

DEFENDING THE NET• UH has allowed a Big West-low 156 goals overall this season, holding opponents to 7.1 goals per game, down from 8.2 goals per game last season.

• UH allowed a total of 39 goals in Big West play for an average of 5.6 per game.

• UH has held its last nine opponents to single-digit scoring and allowed double-digit goals in three games this season, the last time coming on Feb. 25 against No. 1 UCLA.

• Freshman goalkeeper Daisy Logtens leads the conference with a .602 save percentage and a 7.75 goals-against average.

• Senior Bernadette Doyle is second in the league lead with 39 steals and her average of 1.9 steals per game ranks first in the Big West.

• Alba Bonamusa Boix leads the team and is second in the conference with 14 field blocks.

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