BERKELEY, CALIF. — The No. 2 University of Hawai'i women's water polo team will make its first appearance in the National Collegiate Championship semifinals since 2013 when the Rainbow Wahine face third-seed and host California on May 11 at the Spieker Aquatics Complex in Berkeley, Calif. The opening sprint is scheduled for 4 p.m. Pacific Time (1 p.m. Hawai'i Time).

The Rainbow Wahine and Golden Bears will meet for the third time this season with the winner earning a shot at playing for the national championship on Sunday. 

NO. 2 HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (23-3) vs. NO. 3 CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (18-6)
Date | Time				Saturday, May 11, 2024  |  4 p.m. Pacific Time (1 p.m. Hawai'i Time)
Location				Berkeley, Calif. — Spieker Aquatics Center
Live Stream				NCAA.com — Greg Mescall (play by play), Brenda Villa (analyst)
Live Stats				6-8sports.com
Game Notes				Hawai'i
Championship Central				calbears.com

HEAD COACH MAUREEN COLEAt Hawai'i: 226-95 (13th year)

ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDCalifornia
SERIES HISTORY: Cal leads 35-13
LAST MEETING: Cal, 9-8 (March 10, 2024; Berkeley, Calif.)

NC WOMEN'S WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULEWednesday, May 8
Opening Round
Wagner 15, Biola 14

Friday, May 10
Quarterfinals (NCAA.com)
Game 1: UCLA 17, Wagner 7
Game 2: Stanford 8, USC 3
Game 3: Hawai'i 11, Princeton 6
Game 4: California 14, Fresno State 7

Saturday, May 11
Semifinals (NCAA.com)
UCLA vs. Stanford,  2 p.m. PT (11 a.m. HT)
Hawai'i vs. California, 4 p.m. PT (1 p.m. HT)

Sunday, May 12
Championship (ESPNU) — 7 p.m. PT (4 p.m. HT)

OPENING SPRINT• The Rainbow Wahine defeated Princeton 11-6 in the quarterfinals on Friday to earn their first win in the tournament since 2015.

• Jordan Wedderburn scored on all three of her shots to post her fifth hat trick of the season and Alba Bomanusa Boix sparked UH early with two goals and an assist. Bernadette Doyle added two goals, assisted on two others and came up with two steals in the victory. Goalkeeper Daisy Logtens came up with seven saves in three quarters and the UH defense posted 14 steals, led by Lot Stertefeld's four. 

• UH entered the NCAA Championship with its highest seeding in program history at No. 2. The 'Bows' previous high seed was No. 4 in 2005, '06, '09 and '13 and they placed fourth each of those years.

• UH is 6-12 all-time at the NCAA Championship and improved to 5-3 in the quarterfinal round with Friday's win over Princeton.

• UH is 0-4 in the semifinals and last reached the tournament's final four in 2013.

• Cal advanced to the semifinals with a 14-7 win over Fresno State on Friday. Five Cal players scored two goals and goalie Isabel Williams made 17 saves.

• UH is making the program's eighth appearance in the Women's National Collegiate Water Polo Championship and first since 2021.

• UH head coach Maureen Cole will close her career by leading the Rainbow Wahine into the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in her 13-year tenure. It is her sixth trip overall with UH, including 2009 as an assistant coach.

• The Hawaii-Cal winner will face No. 1 UCLA or No. 4 Stanford in the national championship game on Sunday at 7 p.m. PT/ 4 p.m. HT.

THE MATCHUP: CALIFORNIA

• UH and Cal have met twice this season and split their regular-season matchups.  

• UH picked up a 10-6 win on Feb. 24 in the semifinals of the Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Irvine, Calif. Lot Stertefeld and Alba Bonamusa Boix and sophomore Bia Mantellato Dias scored  three goals each and Daisy Logtens recorded 15 saves.

• Cal won the rematch 9-8 on March 10 at the Spieker Aquatics Complex. The Bears scored four goals in the first 3:30 of action and led 5-0 through one quarter. UH rallied behind Agatha Weston's three goals in the second quarter and Bernadette Doyle had two in the fourth quarter. UH closed to within a goal with 1:17 left and a shot to tīe came just after the buzzer.

• UH has won its last 11 games since the loss at Cal. 

•  UH is 1-8 against Cal in Berkeley. The 'Bows' lone true road win over the Bears came on Feb. 7, 2008 (7-6).

• Cal defeated UH 14-13 in the 2019 quarterfinals in the lone previous meeting between the programs in the NCAA Championship.

• UH went 1-1 vs. Cal in 2023 with both games going to overtime. Cal pulled out an 11-10 win in pool play in the BKI in Irvine. UH won the rematch at Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex 9-8 on goalie Bridget Layburn's length-of-the-pool shot as the buzzer sounded.

• Cal head coach Coralie Simmons began her coaching career as an assistant at UH in 2005 and helped the 'Bows reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.

• Simmons and UH head coach Maureen Cole were teammates on UCLA's 2001 national championship team.

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