IRVINE, Calif. — The No. 1 seed University of Hawai'i water polo team defeated No. 8 seed Cal State Fullerton 16-6 in the quarterfinal round of the Big West Championship on Friday at the Anteater Aquatics Complex in Irvine, Calif.
Seven UH players scored at least two goals led by Jordan Wedderburn's 13th hat trick of the season and the Rainbow Wahine improved to 19-4 overall. Bernadette Doyle scored two goals and posted an assist to become the second player in program history to reach triple-digits in career goals, assists and steals.
The defending champion 'Bows will next face fourth-seeded UC San Diego in the semifinals on Saturday at noon Pacific Time (9 a.m. Hawai'i Time). The match will be broadcast on ESPN+. UCSD advanced with a 15-10 win over UC Davis in Friday's second quarterfinal match.
Freshman
Gabrielle Doyle scored twice and set a season high with four assists, one shy of the program's single-match record.
Daisy Logtens made four saves in less than three quarters and
Nalani Yim finished out the match in goal.
UH defeated Cal State Fullerton (11-21) in the conference tournament for the second straight year and improved to 7-0 all-time in the tournament's quarterfinal round.
Bernadette Doyle opened the scoring off an assist from Logtens and
Ema Vernoux converted on a penalty shot to give UH a 2-0 lead at the 4:49 mark of the first quarter.
Jordan Wedderburn and
Silvanne Slot scored on consecutive possessions and UH took a 4-0 lead into the second quarter. The 'Bows defense held the Titans to just four shot attempts in the first eight minutes.
The teams went scoreless through the first six minutes of the second quarter before Vernoux converted on a power play. Cal State Fullerton broke up the shutout with 1:21 left before halftime and UH took a 5-1 lead into the break.
The Titans scored early in the third quarter but the combination of
Bernadette Doyle and Wedderburn extended the UH lead. Wedderburn was credited with an assist on
Bernadette Doyle's second goal of the morning, and
Bernadette Doyle returned the favor by posting her 100th career assist in feeding Wedderburn to push the lead to 7-2.
Slot scored her second goal and
Stevilyn Griffin scored twice in a span of 34 seconds and UH surged ahead 11-3 heading into the fourth period.
Wedderburn earned a hat trick after she capitalized on a power play opportunity and moved into ninth place in program history with 154 career goals, passing Carmen Eggens (2008-11).
Esmee Roijen followed with goals on back-to-back possessions, and
Emilia Schorr and
Gabrielle Doyle each found the back of the net to cap the match, and UH punched its ticket to the semifinals.
UH and UC San Diego will meet in the semifinals for the second straight year. The winner will earn a spot in the championship game set for Sunday at noon PT ( 9 a.m. HT). The 'Bows won last year's tournament matchup with the Tritons 17-10 in Davis, Calif., and claimed this year's regular-season meeting 12-7 on April 10 in La Jolla, Calif.
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