AT ANTEATER AQUATICS COMPLEX | IRVINE, CALIF.

FRIDAY, FEB. 21
NO. 4 CAL (8-0) VS NO. 16 UC SANTA BARBARA (9-5) | 12:40 PM PT
LIVE STATS

SATURDAY, FEB. 22
NO. 4 CAL (8-0) VS TBD (2 GAMES)
LIVE STATS

SUNDAY, FEB. 23
NO. 4 CAL (8-0) VS TBD
LIVE STATS

The No. 4 California women's water polo team hits the road this weekend for the annual Barbara Kalbus Invitational. The Golden Bears have earned a top-four finish in seven of their last nine trips to the annual UC Irvine-hosted tournament. Cal is coming off its eighth straight victory to start the year over a top-20 ranked team, having beaten No. 9 UC Davis 18-11 at home last Saturday. Freshman Eszter Varró was named the MPSF Newcomer of the Week after leading all players with five goals in the win.
 

BEAR NECESSITIES
 

UC DAVIS RECAP
After a slow start against the Aggies, the Bears blew the game open in the second quarter, embarking on an 8-0 run by punishing the defense in transition and on the inside. Varró recorded her second straight hat trick and first career five-goal effort. Fellow freshman Miriam Bogachenko put away a season-best four goals and senior Ruby Swadling scored four times to give her a team-leading 22 on the year.

NEWCOMERS MAKING WAVES
Thanks to an assortment of brilliant goals to go with one assist, Varró recorded a game-high six goal contributions in Cal's last win. She joined freshman Rosalie Hassett as the only Bears to be named MPSF Newcomer of the Week this year. Hassett earned the honor after tallying five goals, four assists, three steals and two drawn exclusions in the Bears' 3-0 season-opening weekend at the Fresno State Polo-Palooza.

BARBARA KALBUS INVITE
The Bears have consistently found themselves in the Barbara Kalbus Invite semifinals, advancing into the top four seven times since 2014, but have not been able to advance to the championship game. Last year, they earned their most significant win of the early season, defeating then-No. 3 Fresno State 9-5 in the second round before falling to then-No. 2 Hawaii 10-7 in the semifinals.

LEADING THE WAY
Cal's offense has been powered by its decorated leading seniors, Swadling (22 goals) and Elena Flynn (20). Swadling – a two-time ACWPC All-American who missed the 2024 season to train for the Australia National Team – crossed the 100 career-goal milestone with her five-goal season high in the Bears' 16-11 win over No. 7 Long Beach State on Jan. 26. Three-time All-American Flynn – who finished second on the team in 2024 with 44 goals in her debut season at Cal after transferring from UC Irvine – opened the year with a pair of four-goal outings. Swadling owns the most four-goal efforts (3) on the team, while Flynn has scored multiple goals the most times (8).

2025 Cal Season Stats

STRONG START
This is the seventh time in program history that the Bears have started a season with a record of 8-0 or better. Over the last 10 seasons, they have now done so four times. Their all-time best starts were 14-0 in 2009 and 11-0 in 2022.

GOLD MEDAL BEARS
In November, Julia Bonaguidi and Rosalie 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.

Hassett and Bonaguidi have carried that momentum into the season, putting away 10 and nine goals apiece through seven games. Hassett is the only Bear other than Swading and Flynn to score in every game.

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.

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 collected 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 139 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 X/Twitter (@CalWWPolo), Instagram (@calwwpolo) and Facebook (CalWomensWaterPolo).