California
USC
3/9/2023 4:44 PM | Women's Water Polo
Rematch Of 2022 NCAA Semifinal
AT SPIEKER AQUATICS COMPLEX | BERKELEY, CALIF.
SATURDAY, MARCH 11
NO. 2 USC (16-1, 0-0) AT NO. 3 CAL (13-3, 1-0) | 1 P.M. PT
LIVE STATS | LIVE STREAM
The No. 3 California women's water polo team faces one of its toughest challenges of the season Saturday, hosting No. 2 USC at Spieker Aquatics Complex. The Golden Bears (13-3, 1-0) are in the midst of a run that has seen them win six of their last seven, highlighted by a 9-7 win over No. 4 UCLA in the Barbara Kalbus Invitational third place game two weeks ago. In last week's MPSF opener, Cal defeated No. 9 Arizona State 17-11 behind season-best outings from freshman Millie Quin and junior Ruby Swadling, who had four goals and four assists, respectively. Quin also added a block and a steal on her way to earning MPSF Newcomer of the Week honors. The Bears take on the Trojans (16-1, 0-0) for the first time since last year's 9-7 NCAA semifinal defeat.
BEAR NECESSITIES
SIX WINS OUT OF SEVEN
Last Saturday's MPSF-opening 17-11 win over the Sun Devils was essentially over before the start of the fourth quarter after Quin added on to the Bears' 9-3 halftime lead with a third-quarter hat trick. Cal's offense was firing on all cylinders, scoring at least four goals in every period for the first time this season. That win came on the heels of a big week at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Irvine which saw Cal go 3-1 and defeat its first top-three opponent of the year in UCLA. Swadling led the way in the Bears' second straight win over the Bruins with her second hat trick of the year and senior goalkeeper Isabel Williams finished one save shy of a season-high with 14.
SAVED BY THE ISABEL
After becoming just the second Cal goalie ever to be named a First Team All-American last year, Isabel Williams has continued to shine at the heart of her team's defense this season. The Severna Park, MD., native ranks second in the MPSF with 152 saves and leads the pack with an average of 9.5 per game. She also sits seventh in steals with 20, coming off a season-high three against the Sun Devils. In the win over the Bruins, she had her third game of 14 or more saves this season, with her season-high of 15 coming against Fresno State on Jan. 22. With 444 career saves, she is quickly approaching former All-American goalkeeper Fana Fuqua (451) for No. 7 on the Bears' all-time saves list. In 2022, Williams led the MPSF with 10.7 saves per game and amassed 245 overall - the fourth-highest single-season mark in program history. After last season, she 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-high 25 goals for the season while ranking second on the team with 15 assists. She has done it on the defensive end as well, coming off a two-block performance which has moved her all the way up to third in the MPSF with eight on the year. Turner has eight multi-goal outings, including in three of her last four games.
Juniors Ruby Swadling, Maryn Dempsey and Reagan Whitney have all done their part as well, taking up the next three spots on the Bears' scoring list. Prior to dropping a season-best four assists last Saturday, Swadling had scored in five of her last six outings, including a season-best three goals in the win over UCLA to give her 22 on the year. Dempsey ranks third among Bears with 21 goals and leads the team in assists with 17. Whitney enters the weekend with 18 goals, 10 of which came over a three-game span highlighted by a career-best five goals in a 15-12 win over No. 6 Michigan on Feb. 4.
NEWCOMERS PUTTING IN WORK
Over the last seven games, Cal's freshmen have accounted for 40 percent of the team's goals. Quin leads the way with 10 over that stretch, while Abbi Magee and redshirt freshman Janna Tauscher both scored eight times. Quin and Tauscher are the Bears' leading freshman goalscorers with 18 apiece, while Magee has 13. On two occasions last month, more than half of Cal's goals were scored by its freshmen. They found the back of the net five times in the Bears' 8-3 win over UC Davis on Feb. 24 and 11 times in the 19-5 victory over California Baptist on Feb. 11.
INSIDE THE LAIR: GROWING THE SPORT OF WATER POLO
Fana Fuqua and Isabel Williams have been both witnesses and instruments of change within the world of water polo, promoting interest, accessibility and diversity. Read the full feature story to learn more about their impact on the growth of the sport they love!
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. 2 USC
• The only team to defeat both USC and Cal this season is No. 1 Stanford
• USC has advanced to four consecutive NCAA Tournament finals
• Team captains Paige Hauschild and Tilly Kearns were 2020 Olympians
• Bayley Weber (40 goals) and Peter J. Cutino Award finalist Kearns (34) lead USC in scoring
• CAL ALL-TIME VS. USC: 18-48
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal women's water polo, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWWPolo), Instagram (@calwwpolo) and Facebook (CalWomensWaterPolo).
