HONOLULU — The University of Hawai'i women's water polo team placed third in two national polls to post the highest final ranking in the history of the Rainbow Wahine program and the Big West.
The Rainbow Wahine were voted No. 3 in the final 2024 polls released on Wednesday by the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) and the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC).
UH had previously finished as high as fourth in the national polls, most recently in 2020. This season's finish is also the highest for a Big West team since the conference began sponsoring women's water polo in 2009. No school outside the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation had broken into the top 3 over that span.
The Big West champion Rainbow Wahine finished 23-4 in
Maureen Cole's farewell season as head coach and advanced to the semifinals of the Women's National Collegiate Water Polo Championship last week in Berkeley, Calif. UH set a program record with an .852 overall winning percentage and became the first Big West school to reach the NCAA tournament's final four since the 'Bows' semifinal appearance in 2013.
National champion UCLA and runner-up California topped the final polls followed by UH. Stanford placed fourth and USC fifth. The Big West placed three teams in the top 10 in both polls with Long Beach State (T6 CWPA, 8 ACWPC) and UC Irvine (8 CWPA, 9 ACWPC) joining UH.
UH trio Named to NCAA All-Tournament Team
The Rainbow Wahine placed three players on the Women's National Collegiate Water Polo Championship All-Tournament Team. Center
Bia Mantellato Dias and attacker
Bernadette Doyle were named to the seven-player all-tournament first team and senior attacker
Alba Bonamusa Boix made the second team following the NCAA Championship at Spieker Aquatics Complex in Berkeley, Calif.
Doyle led UH with five goals in the NCAA Tournament and closed the season with a hat trick against California in the semifinals. She also had two assists and two steals in a quarterfinal win over Princeton. Mantellato Dias scored three goals in the tournament, two coming in the semifinals against California. Bonamusa Boix had two goals and an assist against Princeton and also scored against Cal.
Women's National Collegiate Water Polo Championship All-Tournament Team
| First Team |
|
| Anna Pearson |
UCLA |
| Bia Mantellato Dias |
Hawai'i |
| Hannah Palmer |
UCLA |
| Maryn Dempsey |
California |
| Sophie Wallace |
Stanford |
| Bernadette Doyle |
Hawai'i |
| Lauren Steele |
UCLA |
|
|
| Second Team |
|
| Nina Flynn |
California |
| Hailey Andress |
Fresno State |
| Tina Hicks |
Stanford |
| Ava Striker |
USC |
| Alba Bonamusa Boix |
Hawai'i |
| Kayla Yelensky |
Princeton |
| Isabel Williams |
California |
|
|
| Most Valuable Player |
|
| Lauren Steele |
UCLA |
#HawaiiWWP
