NO. 4 CAL (12-3) AT NO. 19 SAN JOSE STATE (7-8)
SATURDAY, MARCH 23 | 12 P.M. | WEST VALLEY COLLEGE AQUATIC CENTER | SARATOGA, CALIF.




The No. 4 Cal women's water polo team returns to MPSF play this week when it visits No. 19 San Jose State at West Valley College. The Bears opened the MPSF on March 3 with a 9-7 loss at UCLA and then played nonconference tilts against No. 5 Hawai'i and No. 6 Michigan, winning both. Cal has just one nonconference game remaining - March 29 at Hawai'i. Each of Cal's next two matches are on the road before finishing the season with four straight home matches.


 

LAST TIME OUT
The Bears completed a grueling stretch with their sixth consecutive game against a top-6 opponent, and improved to 4-2 during that span with an 11-7 victory over No. 6 Michigan. Cal fell behind early but put the clamps down defensively in the second half, then scored five straight goals to end the game. Goalie Madison Tagg was terrific in the cage, recording nine saves and anchoring a defense that allowed just a singular goal in the second half. Junior Emma Wright was spectacular, recording two goals, six assists, three steals and three field blocks. Sophomore Brigit Mulder sparked the offense with three goals and now ranks second on the team with 24 on the season.

GETTING TESTED
Of the top-four teams in the CWPA Top 25 - USC, Stanford, UCLA and Cal - no team has had a tougher schedule than the Bears in terms of top opponents. Cal has faced six teams ranked in the top-5 nationally - more than any of the other three teams in the top-four, and is 3-3 during those matches. The Bears recently completed a stretch of six straight games against top-6 opponents and went 4-2. Overall, Cal has faced off against nine opponents in the top-10 and is 6-3 during those matches.

THE WRIGHT STUFF
Junior All-American Emma Wright is known for her prolific scoring, but Sunday against No. 6 Michigan she put together arguably her finest all-around game as a collegian. Not only did she score two goals to give her a team-best 37 on the season, she recorded a whopping six assists while adding three steals and three field blocks. Wright, a two-time ACWPC Honorable Mention All-American, ranks second in the MPSF in scoring at 3.08 goals per game.

NEW CONTRIBUTORS
With the departure of nearly half of their scoring from last season, the Bears are turning to some less-usual suspects to carry some of the load this season. Sophomore Brigit Mulder has emerged as a top threat with 24 goals after scoring eight times in 14 games last year. Senior Sarah Siepker and junior Hannah DeRose have also responded, combining for 34 goals so far. Each has already eclipsed her career-high in scoring, with Siepker tallying 20 goals after previously reaching a high of 10 while DeRose has 14 goals, besting her previous personal mark of nine. 

END OF AN ERA
Last year marked the departure of one of the most accomplished senior classes in program history, as four of the six seniors who graduated were All-Americans. That included Cal's all-time leading scorer Dora Antal, who became just the third player in NCAA women's water polo history to be honored as a four-time First Team All-American. Anna Illes, another four-time All-American, left the Bears ranked No. 7 on the team's all-time scoring list while Carla Carrega and Kindred Paul were two-time All-Americans. Antal and Illes were also Olympians for their native Hungary.

THE ALL-AMERICANS
Despite the loss of four All-Americans from last year's team, the Bears still feature three returning All-Americans. Junior Emma Wright, who led Cal in scoring last year with 47 goals, is a two-time ACWPC Honorable Mention All-American. Senior Madison Tagg excelled last year in her first season as a full-time starter to also earn honorable mention - she ranks seventh on Cal's all-time list with 395 career saves. Sophomore Kitty Lynn Joustra also was named an ACWPC Honorable Mention All-American after emerging as one of the top centers in the country.

ABOUT NO. 19 SAN JOSE STATE
• Scheduled to host No. 18 Harvard on Thursday
• Twelve of Spartans' 15 opponents this season have been nationally ranked
• FR Olga Descalzi Portell ranks fifth in the MPSF at 2.47 goals per game
 • CAL ALL-TIME VS. SAN JOSE STATE: 51-1