California Golden Bears Athletics
California
UC Davis
No. 4 Bears Head to Barbara Kalbus Invitational
2/22/2023 4:15 PM | Women's Water Polo
Cal One of 10 Top-11 Teams In Field
AT ANTEATER AQUATICS COMPLEX | IRVINE, CALIF.
TOURNAMENT PAGE
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24
NO. 4 CAL (9-2) VS. NO. 17 UC DAVIS (7-7) | 1:45 P.M. PT
LIVE STATS
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25
NO. 4 CAL VS. TBD – NO. 5 HAWAII (8-1) or NO. 16 UC SAN DIEGO (4-8) | 9:15 A.M. PT
NO. 4 CAL VS. TBD
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26
NO. 4 CAL VS. TBD
The No. 4 California women's water polo team looks to build on a 9-2 start to the year with four games this weekend at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational at Anteater Aquatics Complex in Irvine. The Bears begin with a rematch against No. 17 UC Davis, which they defeated for the second time this season in their most recent outing at the Aggie Invite earlier this month. Ten of the country's top-11 ranked teams will be competing in what will be Cal's final action before the start of MPSF conference play next week. The Bears enter the weekend having won by double figures while also holding their opponent to five goals or fewer in three of their last four outings.
BEAR NECESSITIES
AGGIE INVITE RECAP
Prior to their bye week, the Golden Bears enjoyed their second undefeated weekend of the season at the Aggie Invite, setting a season-high for goals in a 19-5 win over RV California Baptist before downing tournament host No. 17 UC Davis 15-5. Each game saw two different Bears record a hat trick. Freshman Abbi Magee and redshirt freshman Janna Tauscher totaled five goals each to lead the team. Senior goalkeeper Isabel Williams totaled 16 saves, 12 coming in a single half against the Lancers.
SAVED BY THE ISABEL
After becoming just the second Cal goalie ever to be named a First Team All-American last year, Isabel Williams is off to a strong start again this season. Even after the bye week, the Severna Park, Md. native currently ranks second in the MPSF in saves with 105, thanks to a league-leading 9.5 per game and 11.1 per 32 minutes. She currently sits No. 8 on the Bears' all-time saves list with 397 in her career. In 2022, she led the MPSF with 10.7 per game and amassed 245 saves overall - the fourth-highest single-season mark in program history. After last season, Williams also spent time training with the U.S. National Team.
OFFENSIVE LEADERS
Senior Cecily Turner has been a top threat for the Bears' offense, entering the week with a team-leading 17 goals for the year. She began the month of February by registering five goals, four assists and three drawn exclusions at the Stanford Invitational, leading to an MPSF Player of the Week nomination.
Juniors Maryn Dempsey, Ruby Swadling and Reagan Whitney have all done their part as well, with three Aggie Invite goals apiece bringing their totals to a second-leading 16. Dempsey currently ranks fourth in the MPSF with 13 assists, six of which came in her own stellar Stanford Invitational performance. She currently leads the Bears in total goal contributions with 29.
NEWCOMERS PUTTING IN WORK
Out of the season-best 19 goals the Bears put away in the win over CBU, 11 came from the Cal freshmen. Abbie Magee (4) and Millie Quin (3) did the majority of the scoring, setting season-highs. Redshirt freshman Janna Tauscher followed up a brace against the Lancers with a team-leading hat trick in the win over the Aggies. All three Bears have reached double-figures this season. Tauscher is currently tied for fifth on the team with 14 goals, while Quin has 11 and Magee has 10.
RUBY'S TRIUMPHANT RETURN
Attacker Ruby Swadling opted out of the 2021 season after earning a spot on the MPSF All-Newcomer Team as a freshman in 2020. She returned last season and emerged as one of the top players in the conference, totalling 67 points (35 goals, 32 assists) to go along with 23 steals. Swadling earned ACWPC All-American honorable mention after the season. She has continued growing into one of the team's top contributors in 2023, currently just one goal shy of the team-lead with 16.
UP-AND-COMERS
The Bears were one of only two teams to place two players on the MPSF All-Newcomer last season when Rozanne Voorvelt and Jessie Rose both earned the honor. Voorvelt put up significant numbers during her freshman season, accumulating 14 goals, 17 assists and 16 field blocks. Rose broke into the Bears' starting lineup at the outset of the season and had one of the more memorable Cal goals in recent history when she converted in sudden victory overtime to lift the Bears to a victory over Stanford. Rose had six goals and 13 assists as a freshman last year.
COMING UP ROSES
Sophomore Rozanne Voorvelt followed up a promising freshman campaign with a successful summer playing for The Netherlands National Team. Voorvelt, along with former Cal center and four-time All-American Kitty Lynn Joustra, helped the Dutch win the bronze medal at the 2022 FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Voorvelt scored four goals in three games for The Netherlands.
STRONG START
The 2023 season got off to a promising start when the Bears defeated three top-10 opponents at the Bulldog Fest in Fresno. Cal opened the season by defeating No. 5 UC Irvine 15-10 then followed up with a 13-10 victory over No. 7 Michigan and a 16-10 triumph over No. 8 Fresno State. Seniors Shea Salvino and Cecily Turner and sophomore Rozanne Voorvelt each scored seven goals during the weekend, with Salvino being recognized as the MPSF Player of the Week for her efforts. The Bears had 14 different players score goals during the tournament, including the first career goals for freshmen Millie Quin, Janna Tauscher and Abbi Magee.
AMONG THE ELITE
Cal is one of the top programs in the country, having advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Championship in six of the past seven non-COVID seasons. In each of those seasons, the Bears have finished in the top-4 in the national rankings. The program has also produced 21 Olympians, including six that competed in Tokyo in 2021.
CLASSROOM PROWESS
Not only are the Bears reaching lofty heights in the pool, they are doing so in the classroom as well. Cal had a whopping 20 student-athletes earn ACWPC All-Academic Awards last season, and have had double-digit honorees seven times in the previous eight years. Senior Sydney Hammill, who has also won the Golden Bear Award for having the top GPA on the team in each of the past two seasons, collected her third consecutive ACWPC All-Academic Outstanding honor last year for having a cumulative GPA over 3.71.
WOMEN'S SPORTS AMPLIFICATION CHALLENGE
Cal Athletics is celebrating 50 years of Title IX by joining schools across the country in the Women's Sports Amplification Challenge. To participate, simply find the "Check-In Here" QR Code located just inside the main entrance at Spieker Aquatics Complex and scan to boost Cal's rank and be eligible to win Amazon gift cards.
ABOUT NO. 17 UC DAVIS
• The Aggies are led by first-year head coach Kandace Walthaler
• Initially ranked No. 12 in the ACWPA preseason national poll
• C Noelle Wijnbelt was named to the preseason All-Big West Team
• The Bears have won the last 13 meetings with the Aggies, including two already this season
• CAL ALL-TIME VS. UC DAVIS: 47-2
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal women's water polo, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWWPolo), Instagram (@calwwpolo) and Facebook (CalWomensWaterPolo).
