HONOLULU — University of Hawai'i women's water polo head coach James Robinson announced that Rebekka Williams has been elevated to the role of assistant coach after serving as a graduate assistant the last two years with the Rainbow Wahine.
 
Williams will be part of Robinson's inaugural coaching staff along with newly hired associate head coach Candice Vorbeck.
 
"We are excited to have Bekka back as an assistant coach," Robinson said. "She has been with this program for two years and played a part in our successes. Bekka understands the standards, expectations and culture of our program and the department and I know she will continue to assist in the development of our student-athletes." 
 
Williams joined the UH program in 2022 as a graduate assistant under previous head coach Maureen Cole and contributed to the 'Bows' 44-10 run over the 2023 and '24 seasons, the latter highlighted by Big West regular-season and tournament championships and a spot in the semifinals of the Women's National Collegiate Water Polo Championship.
 
Prior to arriving at UH, Williams played a role in growing the sport as a student-athlete. Originally from Poway, Calif., Williams was a standout goalie at Poway High School and San Diego Miramar College, and also coached the junior varsity team at San Pasqual High School. She transferred to the University of Hawai'i-Hilo and founded the school's Aquatic Club (which included water polo) while also serving as head coach at Waiākea High School from 2018 to '20. She closed out her collegiate playing career as part of the inaugural team at Mount St. Mary's as a graduate student in 2021. She posted 137 saves — with a high of 17 against La Salle ­— 25 steals and six assists and was named to the Collegiate Water Polo Association All-Academic team.
 
She transitioned into coaching as a volunteer assistant at Mount St. Mary's for the 2022 season before returning to Hawai'i to join the Rainbow Wahine staff. She holds a Masters of Teaching degree from Mount St. Mary's and is working toward a Masters in Communicology at UH. As part of her studies at UH, she has developed an intra-team water polo communication training program and conducted research on the coach-athlete relationship in collegiate sports. Her thesis project is focused on enhancing water polo statistics through analytics and communication.
 
COACHING EXPERIENCE

• Hawai'i, Graduate Assistant (2022-24)
• Mount St. Mary's University, Volunteer Assistant Coach (2021-22)
• Waiakea HS, Head Coach (2018-20)
• San Pasqual HS, JV Head Coach (2017-18)
• Pacific Polo Water Polo Club, Goalie Coach (2017-18)

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• Part of the inaugural DI program at Mount St. Mary's University in 2020-21
• Started water polo club at the University of Hawai'i at Hilo 
• Competed for San Diego Miramar College in 2017 and named to PCAC All-Conference team

HOMETOWN

• Poway, Calif.

EDUCATION

• University of Hawai'i, M.A. (Communicology, in progress)
• Mount St. Mary's University, M.A.T. (Teaching, 2022)
• University of Hawai'i at Hilo, B.A. (Mathematics, Data Science, 2020)
• San Diego Miramar College, A.A. (Social & Behavioral Science, 2018)