BERKELEY, CALIF. — After claiming the Big West title, the No. 2 University of Hawai'i women's water polo team will face Princeton in the quarterfinals of the NCAA National Collegiate Championship on May 10 at the Spieker Aquatics Complex in Berkeley, Calif.

The Rainbow Wahine were awarded the No. 2 seed in the nine-team tournament and will make the program's eighth appearance in the National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship and first since 2021.

NO. 2 HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (22-3) vs. NO. 10 PRINCETON TIGERS (23-6)
Date | Time				Friday, May 10, 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: 225-95 (13th year)

ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDPrinceton
SERIES HISTORY: Hawai'i leads 8-2
LAST MEETING: UH 10-6 (Jan. 26, 2024, Honolulu)

NC WOMEN'S WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULEWednesday, May 8
Opening Round
Wagner vs. Biola — 5 p.m. PT (2 p.m. HT)

Friday, May 10
Quarterfinals (NCAA.com)
Game 1: UCLA vs. Wagner/Biola winner, Noon PT (9 a.m. HT)
Game 2: Stanford vs. USC, 2 p.m. PT (11 a.m. HT)
Game 3: Hawai'i vs. Princeton, 4 p.m. PT (1 p.m. HT)
Game 4: California vs. Fresno State, 6 p.m. PT (3 p.m. HT)

Saturday, May 11
Semifinals (NCAA.com)
Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner,  2 p.m. PT (11 a.m. HT)
Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 4 p.m. PT (1 p.m. HT)

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

OPENING SPRINT• UH defeated No. 8 Long Beach State 9-5 in the Big West Championship at the Schaal Aquatics Center Davis, Calif., to earn the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Championship.

• UH claimed its first Big West Championship since 2021 and fifth in program history.

• UH enters 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 5-12 all-time at the NCAA Championships with a quarterfinalist finish in their last appearance in 2021.

• UH is  4-3 all-time in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championship. UH last advanced to the semifinals in 2013.

• 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 will be her sixth trip overall with UH, including 2009 as an assistant coach.

• UH faced six of the other eight teams in the field and went 6-3 in those games. The Rainbow Wahine have wins over Stanford, Princeton, Fresno State and Cal and two against USC. Their three losses have come against UCLA (twice) and California.

• UH's current 10-game winning streak is the team's longest since winning 11 in a row in 2021.

• The Hawaii-Princeton winner will face host California or Fresno State in the semifinals on Saturday at 4 p.m. PT/ 1 p.m .HT.

THE MATCHUP: PRINCETON

• UH defeated Princeton 10-6 on Jan. 26 in the Rainbow Invitational at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.

• Hawai'i senior Lucia Gomez de la Puente scored four goals, putting in three of the last four to seal the win.

• Princeton defeated No. 13 Michigan on April 28 to claim the Collegiate Water Polo Association championship and the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Championship.

• UH holds a three-game winning streak and is 6-2 all-time against Princeton in neutral site games.

• UH enters the tournament on a 10-game winning streak and Princeton on a nine-game winning streak.

• Princeton's last win in the series came on May 9, 2015 in the consolation bracket of the NCAA Women's Water Polo Tournament in Stanford, Calif. That matchup is also the lone meeting between the schools in the NCAA tournament.

• Princeton is making its fifth appearance in the NCAA Championship and is 5-7 all-time in the tournament.

BERKELEY BOUND• The 'Bows are making their second visit to the Spieker Aquatics Complex this season. UH faced host California on March 10 when the Golden Bears jumped ahead 5-0 then held on for a 9-8 win. The Rainbow Wahine have won the 10 games since the loss to Cal.

• Five members of this year's team have previous NCAA tournament experience.

• Alba Bonamusa Boix and Bernadette Doyle were part of the 2019 team that faced California in the quarterfinals at Stanford. Bonamusa Boix scored two goals in a 14-13 loss to the Golden Bears.

• Lucia Gomez de la Puente, Morgan Rios and Lot Stertefeld were freshmen on the 2021 team that faced UCLA in Los Angeles. Stertefeld posted her first career hat trick in the 12-7 loss to the Bruins.

• UH is 4-3 in the quarterfinal round, the last win coming in 2013 against UC San Diego.

• UH's last win overall came in the seventh-place game in 2015 against UC San Diego.

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