HONOLULU — University of Hawai'i attacker Ema Vernoux was named Big West Women's Water Polo Player of the Week on Wednesday after scoring a team-high 14 goals over four matches at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational.

Vernoux helped the Rainbow Wahine to a 3-1 record and a third-place finish at the tournament in Irvine, Calif., while facing three of the top four teams in the nation.

The freshman opened the weekend with a four-goal performance in a 10-6 win over No. 17 Indiana. She then scored the game-winning goal with 42 seconds left and tallied a team-high four goals in an upset victory over fourth-ranked California. She added two goals against top-ranked USC in the semifinals before capping the weekend with another four-goal effort in UH's historic 8-5 victory over No. 3 UCLA — the program's first win over the Bruins since Feb. 24, 2011 — in the third-place match.

The freshman finished the tournament shooting 51.9% from the field. Vernoux currently holds a team-high 43 goals which ranks third in the Big West.

UH moved up two spots to No. 3 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association and the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches polls released on Wednesday, their highest ranking of the season. The Rainbow Wahine (10-3) will begin Big West play on Friday, Mar. 7 against UC Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara, Calif.

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