Maureen Cole enters her third season as the head women’s water polo coach for the Rainbow Wahine. In her first two years as head coach, the Honolulu native has taken UH to unprecedented heights as the program made the transition from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation to the Big West Conference.
The Rainbow Wahine finished No. 6 in the final 2013 CWPA Poll after enjoying one of the most successful seasons in program history. UH captured both the Big West regular-season and tournament titles in the team’s debut season in the league. It marked the first-time in program history that UH had captured either a regular-season or tournament league title.
The team subsequently earned a berth to its fourth NCAA Championships and advanced to the national semifinals where it eventually fell to No. 1 USC. The team finished with 22 wins, the most since the 2001 squad went 25-10. For her efforts, Cole was recognized as the Big West Coach of the Year.
The team has also excelled in the classroom under Cole. In two years, the Rainbow Wahine have received seven academic citations from the MPSF and Big West and 11 from the American Water Polo Coaches Association. In 2013, Amarens Genee became the first player in program history to earn Academic All-America honors.
Cole has helped the program flourish while recruiting players from far and wide. The 2013 roster included players from six different nations (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Spain and the US) and American student-athletes as far east as Maryland and Florida. This year’s squad will welcome players from Brazil and Great Britain.
Cole was named the program’s fourth coach in July 2011. Cole previously served as a UH assistant the last five seasons, a period of incredible success for the program.
She first arrived on the UH campus in 2007, serving under former head coach Michel Roy. In her five seasons as an assistant, she helped elevate the team as perennial contender in the ultra-competitive Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. In the last five seasons, the Rainbow Wahine have notched 92 victories, including back-to-back third-place conference finishes in 2010 and '11.
In 2009 the team advanced to the NCAA Championships in College Park, Md, and finished fourth in the nation. UH has never finished lower than sixth nationally during her tenure, while the Rainbow Wahine have garnered 15 All-America citations—including multiple picks in each season—during that same stretch.
Prior to coaching, the former Maureen Flanagan, enjoyed a decorated playing career at the high school, collegiate and international levels. She is a 1999 graduate of Punahou School where she was a standout swimmer and water polo player. During her prep career, Cole led the Buffanblu to four straight league titles in water polo and was the team MVP all four years. She was the 1997 and '99 recipient of the Leslie Kerfoot Award presented to the Most Valuable Hawaiian Female in the Hawaiian Invitational Water Polo Tournament. Cole was also a champion swimmer at Punahou, winning the state titles in the 50 free and 100 free.
Cole went on to play collegiate water polo at UCLA where she served as a key member of three Bruin national title teams in 2000, '01, and '03 squad. In 2003 she earned All-America honors. The former defensive specialists and driver also excelled in the classroom and was a four-time Academic All-American.
Still as a collegiate athlete, she enjoyed two successful stints on the national team. She led the junior national team to the Pan-American and Junior World championships from 2000-02. Cole then spent the 2003-04 seasons as a part of the senior national team and made it to the final selections for the 2004 U.S. Olympic team that participated in Athens, Greece.
Cole began her coaching career at the Hawaiian Islands Water Polo Club where she has coached several of the state's top prep water polo players for a dozen years. She gained her first collegiate coaching experience at UCLA, where she remained with the Bruins as an undergraduate assistant for its 2005 undefeated (35-0) championship season. She graduated from UCLA in 2005, earning her bachelors degree in business/economics.
She currently resides in Honolulu, O`ahu with her husband, Doug, and her son, VanZandt.
Cole’s File
Years at UH: Third season
Alma Mater: UCLA (2005)
Coaching Experience
2011-, Hawai‘i, Head Coach
2011-, Hawai‘i, Assistant Head Coach
Cole’s Coaching Records
Hawai‘i (Head Coach, Women's Water Polo)
Season W L Pct. Notes
2012 10 15 .400 Final season in MPSF
2013 22 11 .667 Big West Champions
Totals 32 26 .552
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