The No. 6 Cal women's water polo team continues its grueling 2020 schedule this weekend when it travels South to take part in the Stanford Invitational. The Bears will play three familiiar opponents on The Farm, having already knocked off No. 7 Michigan and No. 11 UC Davis this season. Cal will also play No. 2 Stanford in a precursor to the Big Splash during MPSF play on April 11. Every opponent except one on Cal's 2020 schdule is ranked in this week's CWPA top-25. The Bears are ranked No. 6 nationally for the second consecutive week.

STANFORD INVITATIONAL
Saturday, Feb. 1
10 a.m.: No. 6 Cal vs. No. 7 Michigan
6 p.m.: No. 11 UC Davis vs. No. 6 Cal
Saturday, Feb. 2
11 a.m.: No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 6 Cal

TOUGHEST SCHEDULE
The Bears have the toughest schedule in the nation in terms of nationally ranked opponents. All but one of Cal's opponents this season are ranked in this week's CWPA Top-25, and the only team that isn't ranked - Cal State East Bay - is receiving votes. No other team can make that claim. Among the teams the Bears will play are nine teams currently ranked in the top-10, and that doesn't count potential opponents at next month's Barbara Kalbus Invitational, which features the top-16 teams in the country.

GARCIA COMES ON
Senior Kristina Garcia exploded on to the scene at last weekend's Cal Cup in Berkeley, scoring five goals and helping the Bears knock off No. 3 UC Irvine and No. 12 UC Davis. She scored two goals each against the Anteaters and Aggies, including back-to-back goals to break a second-half tie against UC Davis. Garcia entered the season having scored just one career goal during her first three years at Cal.

NEW-LOOK BEARS
In addition to losing its six seniors from last year, Cal is playing this season without Emma Wright, Kitty Lynn Joustra and Elli Protopapas - three of the Bears' top four scorers from a year ago who each are taking this season off to train with their respective national teams in preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Wright, a three-time ACWPC All-American, has already helped Canada qualify for the Summer Games while Joustra (The Netherlands) and Protopapas (Greece) is looking to do the same. Joustra, along with alums Anna Illes (Hungary), Carla Carrega (Italy) and Roser Tarrago (Spain), recently competed in the 2020 European Championships, with The Netherlands and Hungary falling just short of an Olympic bid. Spain has already qualifed for the 2020 Summer Games. The final chance to earn a ticket to Tokyo comes in the Olympic Qualification Tournament in March. Joustra is a two-time All-American while Protopapas was named to the 2018 MPSF All-Newcomer Team and ranked fourth on the the Bears with 31 goals last year.

SONNE SHINES
Junior Claire Sonne, coming off a busy summer in which she played for Team USA at the World University Games and served as an alternate for the U.S. at the World Junior Championships, has led the way for the Bears so far this season. She enters the weekend ranked third in the MPSF with 16 goals and tied for second with eight assists. Sonne also has 14 earned exclusions, five steals and four field blocks.

USHERING IN NEW FACES
The Bears have 10 freshmen on the 2020 roster, a handful of whom are already seeing extensive playing time. Attacker Sophie Leggett has 10 goals in five games and was named the MPSF Newcomer of the Week on Jan. 21. Cecily Turner has six goals in seven games with a team-high seven field blocks while Shea Salvino was the MPSF Newcomer of the Week on Jan. 14. Ruby Swadling has also seen a lot of playing time and has recorded four steals in seven games.

ABOUT NO. 7 MICHIGAN
• Fell to the Bears 8-7 on Jan. 19 on a last-second goal by Claire Sonne
• JR Maddie O'Reilly is the reigning CWPA Player of the Week
• GK Heidi Ritner is the CWPA Defensive Player of the Week
• CAL ALL-TIME VS. MICHIGAN: 13-1

ABOUT NO. 11 UC DAVIS
• Fell to the Bears 12-8 at last weekend's Cal Cup
• 2019 Big West Freshman of the Year Noelle Wijnbelt already has 20 goals in six games
• Aggies will play three top-10 teams at Stanford Invitational
• CAL ALL-TIME VS. UC DAVIS: 43-2

ABOUT NO. 2 STANFORD
• Like Cal, Stanford has lost a handful of players to Olympic training this season
• JR Sarah Klass is the reigning MPSF Player of the Week
• Klass ranks second in the MPSF with 17 goals
• CAL ALL-TIME VS. STANFORD: 22-58