DAVIS, Calif. — The second-ranked University of Hawai'i women's water polo team will face No. 15 UC San Diego in the semifinals of the Big West Championship on Saturday, April 27 at the Schaal Aquatics Center in Davis, Calif. The matchup between the No. 1-seeded Rainbow Wahine and No. 4-seeded Tritons is set for noon Pacific Time / 9 a.m. Hawai'i time. The winner will earn a spot in Sunday's tournament final and a shot at claiming the Big West's automatic berth to the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship.
 

No. 2 HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (20-3) vs. No. 15 UC SAN DIEGO TRITONS (18-11)
Date | Time				Saturday, April 27, 2024  | 12 p.m. Pacific Time (9 a.m. Hawai'i Time)
Location				Davis, Calif. — Schaal Aquatics Center
Live Stream				ESPN+ — Greg Mescall (play by play), Brenda Villa (analyst)
Live Stats				The FOSH
Game Notes				Hawai'i
Championship Central				BigWest.org

HEAD COACH MAUREEN COLEAt Hawai'i: 223-95 (13th year)

ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDUC San Diego
SERIES HISTORY: Hawai'i leads 30-4
LAST MEETING: UH 18-8 (March 29, 2024, Honolulu)

BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULEFriday, April 26
Quarterfinals
No. 1 seed Hawai'i 19, No. 8 seed Cal State Fullerton 6
No. 4 seed UC San Diego 18, No. 5 seed CSUN 11
No. 2 seed UC Irvine 9, No. 7 seed UC Davis 6
No. 3 seed Long Beach State 8, No. 6 seed UC Santa Barbara 6

Saturday, April 27
Semifinals
Hawai'i vs. UC San Diego — 12 p.m. PT (9 a.m. HT)
UC Irvine vs. Long Beach State — 2 p.m. PT (11 a.m. HT)

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

OPENING SPRINT
• UH defeated eighth-seeded Cal State Fullerton 19-6 in the quarterfinals on Friday and enters the semifinals with an eight-game winning streak. UH senior Alba Bonamusa Boix finished with three goals and three assists and earned a place in program history by becoming the first Rainbow Wahine player to surpass 200 goals and 100 assists in a career.

• UH defeated UC San Diego 18-8 in their regular-season meeting on March 29 in Honolulu and leads the all-time series 30-4.

• UH has won the last six meetings with UC San Diego. The Tritons' last win in the series came on March 10, 2021, 10-9, in the opener of the abbreviated season.

• UCSD advanced to the semifinals with an 18-11 win over CSUN in the first round. Caroline Christl, Abigail Schechter and Kendall Thomas posted hat tricks in the win over the Matadors.

• The Hawai'i-UC San Diego winner will face defending champion UC Irvine or Long Beach State in the championship match on Sunday at noon PT/9 a.m. HT.

• The 'Bows' win on Friday gave the UH program its 11th 20-win season overall and fifth under head coach Maureen Cole.

• UH is 20-6 in the Big West Championship and has advanced to the title match in each of the last five tournaments.

• UH is 8-2 in semifinal games in the conference tournament, including a 14-12 win over UC San Diego in 2022 in the lone meeting between the teams in the Big West Championship.

• The Rainbow Wahine entered the tournament as the top seed and Big West regular-season champion after going 7-0 in conference play.

• 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.

• UH is seeking its fifth tournament title and first since 2021.