BERKELEY – The No. 5 California women's water polo team will clash with seventh-ranked UC Irvine in a nonconference contest at Spieker Aquatics Complex on Sunday afternoon. The match will start at 1 p.m. PT and will be live streamed on Overnght.
 
Following the conclusion of the match, Cal will celebrate six departing seniors in Elena Flynn, Jessie Rose, Claire Rowell, Ruby Swadling, Janna Tauscher and Rozanne Voorvelt. The decorated senior group has helped the Golden Bears to a 16-3 record this season with two regular-season contests remaining.
 
UC Irvine (13-10) will challenge No. 17 UC Davis on the road Saturday before trekking to Berkeley for its first matchup of the season with Cal. The Bears have bested the Anteaters – who had won nine straight games between Feb. 28-March 28 prior to an overtime loss at Hawaii on April 5 – in each of the past two seasons.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Matchup: No. 5 Cal (16-3) vs. No. 7 UC Irvine (13-10)
Date & Time: Sunday, April 13 | 1 p.m. PT
Location: Spieker Aquatics Complex | Berkeley, California
Watch: Overnght.com
Live Stats: 6-8 Sports
2025 Season Stats: CalBears.com
 
BEAR NECESSITIES
ARIZONA STATE RECAP
The Bears jumped ahead early and held on late to defeat No. 14 Arizona State 18-14 at Legends Aquatic Center in Berkeley last Saturday. Career highs in goals (4) by Julia Bonaguidi and saves (14) by Talia Fonseca highlighted Cal's third straight victory, which bumped them to 3-2 in MPSF play. Bonaguidi led a balanced offensive attack that featured nine total goal-scorers, including hat-trick efforts by Ruby Swadling and Rozanne Voorvelt.
 
CLOSING SPEED
Cal has won three in a row dating back to March 29 and has a pair of key contests left on the regular-season schedule with UC Irvine on Sunday and rival Stanford next Friday. The Bears will try to finish an impressive regular season on a high note after starting the year 9-0 – for the fifth time in program history – and 13-2, which was their best mark through 15 games since 2016.
 
BE THE BEST, BEAT THE BEST
All 16 of Cal's victories this season have come against top-20 programs. Cal is also 5-3 against top-10 foes and will try to notch its sixth such win against the seventh-ranked Anteaters.
 
ALL EYES ON RUBY
Ruby Swadling was named to the Cutino Award Watch List on March 21. The award recognizes the nation's top 20 water polo student-athletes, as submitted by varsity college coaches, for their outstanding play. Swadling joins Isabel Williams (2023-24) and Cecily Turner (2023) as the only Bears who have earned the honor since the watch list began in 2023.
 
Swadling – a two-time All-American who missed the 2024 season to train with the Australia National Team – leads Cal with 48 goals scored this season. She crossed the 100-goal career milestone back on Jan. 26.
 
SENIOR LEADERS
Four of Cal's six seniors – Swadling (48 goals, first), Flynn (40, second), Voorvelt (25, fourth) and Tauscher (20, seventh) – are among the top seven goal-scorers on the squad.
 
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal women's water polo, follow the Bears on X (@CalWWPolo) and Instagram (@CalWWPolo).