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SATURDAY, JAN. 25
NO. 3 CAL (3-0) VS NO. 6 FRESNO STATE (2-1) | 2 PM PT
LIVE STATS | LIVE STREAM

SUNDAY, JAN. 26
NO. 3 CAL (3-0) VS NO. 8 LONG BEACH STATE (2-0) | 9:30 AM PT
LIVE STATS | LIVE STREAM
 
The No. 3 California women's water polo team will play its first home games of the 2025 season when it welcomes six teams to Berkeley this weekend for the annual Cal Cup. The Golden Bears (3-0) began the year with three straight wins over top-20 teams at last week's FSU Polo-Palooza, which included a 13-10 win over tournament host No. 9 Fresno State and a pair of double-digit victories over No. 12 UC San Diego and No. 18 San Jose State. Fresno State is one of four top-10 programs visiting Cal this weekend, alongside No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Stanford and No. 8 Long Beach State.
 
HASSETT NAMED MPSF NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
In her first weekend of competition as a Bear, Hassett finished with five goals, four assists, three steals and two drawn exclusions on her way to earning the first MPSF Newcomer of the Week award of the season. She tallied more than half of her points in the win over the Tritons, when she tallied three goals and two assists.

POLO-PALOOZA
The Bears opened the season with a 19-7 win over SJSU last Friday, led by a four-goal performance from senior Elena Flynn and a one-goal, four-assist effort by freshman Holly Dunn. Cal jumped out to an 8-3 lead in its following game against the Bulldogs behind a six-goal outburst in the second quarter and led comfortably the rest of the way. Senior Ruby Swadling recorded a hat trick and freshman Rosalie Hassett tallied a goal to go with two assists and three steals. The Bears capped the weekend off with a 24-8 victory over the Tritons. Their 24 goals went down as their highest total during a season-opening weekend since 2015.

NET FINDERS
Despite losing their top goal scorer from last year in Maryn Dempsey, the Bears return a bulk of their offensive contributors in 2025, led by Flynn. Flynn finished second on the team in 2024 with 44 goals in a dazzling debut season after transferring from UC Irvine, resulting in a third consecutive All-America selection. She opened the year with a pair of four-goal outings and currently leads the team with 10 goals.
The FSU Polo-Palooza also marked the return of Swadling, a two-time All-American who missed the 2024 season to train for the Australia National Team. Her six goals last weekend tied Julia Bonaguidi for the third-most on the team, behind Flynn and redshirt junior Janna Tauscher (8).

2024 RECAP
Boasting the nation's best defense throughout the year, Cal finished as the runner-up in both the NCAA and MPSF Championships, advancing to the NCAA Championship final for the second time in program history. The Bears posted their second straight 19-win season, going 19-7 (.731), good for their highest win percentage since 2018. At the heart of their success was the play of graduated senior goalkeeper Isabel Williams, who set the team's all-time career saves record on her way to becoming the first Bear in program history to win the prestigious Peter J. Cutino Award, given to the top player in the NCAA.

PAN-AM GOLD
In November, Bonaguidi and Hassett competed for Team USA in the 2024 Pan-American Championships, putting away seven and six goals, respectively, on their way to an 18-5 win over Argentina in the final. They became the first Bears to win gold at the tournament since current Cal associate head coach Heather Petri and Elsie Windes in 2011.

HALL OF FAME COACHING STAFF
Cal head coach Coralie Simmons and Petri are among the most decorated figures in the sport. Simmons – one of the great trailblazers of the women's water polo world who earned two NCAA Player of the Year awards while competing for UCLA, won three NCAA Championships and an Olympic silver medal with Team USA – was one of five members in the 39th induction class of the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame in 2023. Her 134 wins at Cal rank second in program history. Last May, she became the first female head coach in NCAA history to reach the NCAA championship game. Petri – the only four-time female Olympian in Cal history – was named to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2023. Joining them on the staff for the fourth straight year is assistant coach Lance Morrison, who played Division I water polo at Pacific.

STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal women's water polo, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWWPolo), Instagram (@calwwpolo) and Facebook (CalWomensWaterPolo).