BERKELEY, Calif. — A landmark season for the No. 2 University of Hawai'i women's water polo team came to an end with a 9-6 loss to third-seeded and host California in the semifinals of the Women's National Collegiate Water Polo Championship on Saturday at the Spieker Aquatics Complex in Berkeley, Calif.
Playing in Cal's home pool for the second time this season, the Rainbow Wahine fell behind early and the Golden Bears held off UH's comeback attempts to advance to Sunday's national championship game.
UH junior
Bernadette Doyle closed the season with a hat trick and sophomore center
Bia Mantellato Dias scored two of UH's three goals in the first half to finish the season with a team-high 64. Goalkeeper
Daisy Logtens made 11 saves and closed her freshman year with 211, the eighth-highest single season total in program history.
UH's march to the NCAA semifinals capped
Maureen Cole's farewell season as head coach. Cole announced in November that she would retire following the 2024 season and the Rainbow Wahine (23-4) gave her a historic sendoff that included the program's ascent to its highest national ranking and NCAA tournament seed.
The season was also highlighted by UH's first win over Stanford, two over USC, and a perfect run through the Big West season to claim the regular-season and tournament titles. UH posted its highest win total since going 25-10 in 2001 and the 2024 Rainbow Wahine set a program record with an .852 winning percentage.
"I'm just really proud of the Wahine team this year and this game in particular," said Cole, who finished her 13-year head coaching career with a 226-96 record. "It didn't go the way we wanted it to. But they fought until the end and that's just a testament to the people they are, they're a great group do girls, there no (other) group I would want to spend the past nine months with and just proud of their efforts."
Cole spent 18 years in the program, starting with her stint as an assistant coach, and closed her career by leading UH to its eighth NCAA Championship appearance overall and fifth during her head coaching tenure. Associate head coach
James Robinson will step into the role next season.
The semifinal appearance also punctuated the careers of UH seniors
Alba Bonamusa Boix,
Lucia Gomez de la Puente,
Lot Stertefeld and
Emma Gurasich. Bonamusa Boix scored the 208th goal of her career in the third quarter to finish fourth on UH's all-time list.
UH reached the NCAA semifinals for the first time since 2013 and made a bid to become the first team outside the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation to play in the title game since Loyola Marymount's appearance in 2004. But power plays proved to be a key in Saturday's outcome with Cal converting on five opportunities, including a penalty show, in the first half to take an 8-3 lead into the break.
On the defensive end, UH held the Bears to one goal in the second half. But the 'Bows saw scoring opportunities turned away and UH finished 2 for 17 on power plays. Doyle scored twice in the fourth quarter, bringing UH to within three on both occasions, and completed her hat trick with a shot into the low left corner with 4:27 left in the final goal of the game.
"I feel very proud to be a part of this team," Doyle said. "We just tried to make Hawai'i proud and the university. We were right there and we fought right to the end."
Cal's Maryn Dempsey posted a hat trick in the first half, goalkeeper Isabel Williams made 14 saves and the Bears picked up their second win in three meetings with the 'Bows this season.
Cal (19-6) will face top-seeded UCLA (24-0) for the national championship on Sunday at 7 p.m. Pacific Time (4 p.m. Hawai'i Time). The title game will be televised on ESPNU.
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