BERKELEY – The No. 4 California women's water polo team will begin postseason play Friday afternoon against No. 14 San Jose State in the quarterfinals of the MPSF Championship. Cal (17-4) and San Jose State (13-11) are the tournament's fourth and fifth seeds, respectively, and will clash at 2:30 p.m. PT at UCLA's Spieker Aquatics Center in Los Angeles.
 
The Golden Bears would advance to the semifinals and face No. 1 UCLA on Saturday with a win in the quarterfinals or fall to the fifth-place game on Sunday with a loss.
 
MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP INFO
Dates: April 25-27, 2025
Location: Spieker Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, California) | Host: UCLA
Watch: Overnght.com
Live Stats: 6-8 Sports
2025 Season Stats: CalBears.com
MPSF Championship Central: MPSports.org
 
MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Friday, April 25
11 a.m. PT – Game 1: No. 2 seed USC vs. No. 7 seed Indiana 
12:45 p.m. PT – Game 2: No. 3 seed Stanford vs. No. 6 seed Arizona State
2:30 p.m. PT – Game 3: No. 4 seed California vs. No. 5 seed San Jose State
 
Saturday, April 26
11 a.m. PT – Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
12:45 p.m. PT – Game 5: No. 1 seed UCLA vs. Winner Game 3 (Semifinal)
2:30 p.m. PT – Game 6: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 (Semifinal)
 
Sunday, April 27
11 a.m. PT – Game 7: Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 (Fifth-Place)
12:45 p.m. PT – Game 8: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6 (Third-Place)
2:30 p.m. PT – Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 (Championship)
 
BEAR NECESSITIES
ROUND FOUR
The Bears and Spartans will go head-to-head for the fourth time this season in Friday's quarterfinal match. Cal won all three previous regular season matches handily, besting San Jose State 19-7 (Jan. 17), 17-6 (Feb. 8) and 18-11 (March 1). The Bay Area programs also met in the 2024 MPSF Championship quarterfinals in Bloomington, Indiana, where Cal was victorious with a 15-10 win.
 
2024 MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP REWIND
Cal was the 2024 MPSF Championship runner-up, defeating San Jose State and Stanford before falling to No. 1 UCLA 13-10 in the title match in Bloomington, Indiana. The Bears' title match berth marked their deepest run in the tournament since 2011.
 
BE THE BEST, BEAT THE BEST
All 17 of Cal's victories this season have come against top-20 programs. Cal is also 6-4 against top-10 foes after a 12-8 loss to No. 2 Stanford in the Big Splash and regular-season finale last week.
 
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. Williams became the program's first-ever winner of the honor last year.
 
Swadling – a two-time All-American who missed the 2024 season to train with the Australia National Team – leads Cal with 51 goals scored this season. She crossed the 100-goal career milestone back on Jan. 26.
 
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal women's water polo, follow the Bears on X (@CalWWPolo) and Instagram (@CalWWPolo).