BEAR BITES
Now 8-3 on the year, California sets up for its first MPSF road test of the season.
• The No. 4 Golden Bears (8-3, 0-1 MPSF) have one game on the docket this week, taking a trip to Tempe, Ariz., to face Arizona State (19-2, 1-1) at 12 p.m. PT on Saturday (Feb. 28).
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Saturday's Cal-ASU game will stream on overnght.com. Live stats will be available at scores.6-8sports.com.
 
LAST ACTION
Maria Bogachenko, Holly Dunn and Julia Bonaguidi each had six-point games but No. 4 Cal fell 19-18 in overtime to No. 2 UCLA in the Bears' first MPSF matchup of the year.
Bogachenko scored five goals in a game for the second time this season while Dunn had two goals and four assists. Bonaguidi had five assists and one goal – which momentarily tied the game 18-18 in the first overtime session.
Cal held a 17-15 lead with 5:25 remaining in the fourth period before the Bruins came back to force overtime, scoring the equalizer with 28 seconds to go in regulation.
UCLA scored first in the initial overtime period, but Bonaguidi answered to knot the score again heading into the second extra session. The Bruins' Taylor Smith registered the only goal in the final three-minute period for the difference.
NOTABLE:
- Maria Bogachenko's five goals tied her season high.
- With a hat trick, Despoina Drakotou tallied her team-best ninth multiple-goal game this season.
- Feline Voordouw (two goals) has scored in all 11 games this season.
 
DESPI DOES IT AGAIN
After opening her Cal career with three MPSF Newcomer of the Week awards in her first three weeks of action, freshman Despoina Drakotou has now won more weekly MPSF awards than any other Golden Bear, having picked up her fourth MPSF Newcomer of the Week honor this week.
Drakotou's four MPSF Newcomer of the Week awards sets a new single-season record for the Bears, who have had two other players earn three weekly honors in a season. In 2024, Isabel Williams was a three-time MPSF Player of the Week, and Kitty Lynn Joustra earned three MPSF Newcomer of the Week honors in 2018.
Drakotou's first selection came after scoring seven goals in her first weekend of work with Cal at the Polopalooza in Fresno. She had a hat trick in her collegiate debut along with two steals to help the Bears beat No. 15 Michigan 23-18, then scored twice and tallied four steals and a field block as Cal upset No. 4 Hawai'i 14-9. Against No. 8 UC Irvine, Drakotou scored two more with an assist, steal and field block as Cal improved to 3-0 with a 16-9 victory over the Anteaters. She was one of three Bears to record three multiple-goal games at the event.
At the Brigitte Donner Daws Memorial Invitational, Drakotou recorded back-to-back hat tricks in Cal's two wins at the event, matching her career best in both games. In the 15-11 win over No. 9 Fresno State, she also served up three assists. And in a 21-7 win over No. 12 San José State, Drakotou added two assists, two field blocks and an assist.
Next, Drakotou was a perfect 7-for-7 shooting in Cal's 25-9 victory over No. 17 Pacific. She also added an assist in the win, while her seven goals marked the most in a game by a Bear since 2019 and was just one off the Cal record of eight set in 1997.
In an overtime loss to UCLA on Feb. 21, Drakotou had a hat trick on 3-of-4 shooting with two drawn exclusions, an assist and a steal. It was enough to secure her fourth round of MPSF Newcomer of the Week accolades to set a new Cal record.
She leads the Bears in scoring with 29 goals so far this season, tallying multiple goals in a team-best nine game for 8-3 Cal.
 
EURO ACTION
Two current Bears and three Cal alumnae were in action at the European Championships from Jan. 25-Feb. 5 in Funchal, Portugal. Ezster Varró (Hungary) and Maria Bogachenko (Israel) took time away from Cal to compete for their respective nations.
Bogachenko scored a team-high 20 goals in Portugal. She served up seven goals for Israel to help finish seventh place overall. Varró helped her Hungarians reach the championship game and earn silver, with Varró scoring twice in that final and finishing the event with nine total goals scored.
Cal alum and Olympian Kitty Lynn Joustra was one of the event's top scorers, leading Netherlands to gold as she tallied a total of 22 goals in Portugal. Two more former Bears were repping Great Britain, which finished in 10th place thanks to work from Cal alums Cassidy Ball and Cecily Turner. Turner led her team with 16 goals scored.
 
BACK FOR MORE
Cal returns three of its top five scorers from 2025. Gone are Ruby Swadling (55 goals) and Elena Flynn (48), but the Bears have Maria Bogachenko, Julia Bonaguidi and Abbi Magee all back after boasting a combined 107 goals last year. In their first seasons as Bears, Ezster Varró and Rosalie Hassett tallied 21 and 17 goals, respectively. In goal, Talia Fonseca capped up in all 25 games and averaged 7.4 saves per game for the Bears.
 
NEW CREW
Cal welcomes many new faces to the pool for this 2026 season. Six true freshmen are in the mix – Marina Brown (Santa Barbara), Despoina Drakotou (Athens, Greece), Reece Helsel (Clovis), Lexi Nelson (Menlo Park), Harper Price (Newport Beach) and Gabby Reichley (San Anselmo).
 
GOALIE CORPS
Cal has three talented goalies tabbed for duty this season, led by 2025 All-MPSF Honorable Mention recipient Talia Fonseca. True freshman Lexi Nelson rounds out the Bears' defensive backbone.

WORLD STAGE
Six Bears stepped up for international duty during the summer at the World Aquatics U20 Championships in Brazil. Team USA – featuring Cal players Julia Bonaguidi and Rosalie Hassett with head coach Coralie Simmons on the coaching staff – captured gold medals at the event. Incoming freshman Despoina Drakotou also took home some hardware in helping Greece claim bronze. Also representing their countries were sophomore Holly Dunn with New Zealand and Hungarian sophomore Eszter Varró.
 
HONORING BRIGITTE
This year, Cal hosted the ninth edition of its early-season tournament known as the Cal Cup. Now named the Brigitte Donner Daws Memorial Invitational, the competition honors the memory of Brigitte Donner Daws, who played water polo at Cal from 1998-2002 and passed away tragically in 2020.
The inaugural Brigitte Donner Daws Memorial Invitational was held Jan. 24-25 at Spieker Aquatics Complex and featured both official and exhibition competition between eight teams. Brigitte's family members participated in a ceremonial ball drop ahead of the Cal-Fresno State game. At halftime of that game, a special moment of remembrance was held for Brigitte along with other alumni and members of the water polo community that have been lost.  
 
LAST SEASON
Cal is coming off a season where the Bears reached the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year. The 2025 squad went 19-6 overall and placed third at the MPSF Tournament. In their final seasons at Cal, three Bears earned All-America honors – Ruby Swadling (first team), Elena Flynn (second team) and Rozanne Voorvelt (honorable mention). All three also earned All-MPSF accolades along with redshirt sophomore goalie Talia Fonseca (honorable mention) and All-Newcomer honorees Maria Bogachenko and Rosalie Hassett. Swadling was the 2025 team's top scorer with 55 goals.
 
STAY POSTED
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