LA JOLLA – The California women's water polo team took the lead in the first period of play and never looked back, pressing on to a well-rounded 15-10 win over Hawai'i in the NCAA quarterfinals in La Jolla. Eight different Golden Bears scored in the victory, led by hat tricks from Eszter Varró and Rosalie Hassett, to push Cal into the NCAA semifinals for the sixth time in its last eight postseason appearances. Now 15-7 overall, the Bears will face top-seeded Stanford at 4 p.m. PT tomorrow in the semis of the 2026 National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship, held at Canyonview Aquatic Center.

The Bears bounced out ahead early with a swift strike from Harper Price, who would end up with her first multiple-goal game of the year as the freshman also was celebrating her birthday. Hawai'i equalized on a 5-meter penalty shot, only to see Cal take back control with a savvy score from Feline Voordouw and a blast from Julianne Snyder to go up 3-1 not four minutes into the game. Eszter Varró answered the Rainbow Wahine's next goal with back-to-back scores of her own to help set Cal on its course. 

An evenly matched second quarter saw the Bears take a 7-5 lead for halftime, and the Price cashed in again on the first look of the second half to build a speedy 8-5 advantage. Despoina Drakotou hit the top corner for Cal next to make it 9-5, while Abbi Magee put up some tough defense at the other end for the Bears. Julia Bonaguidi's second score of the day had Cal up 10-6 before Hawai'i beat the buzzer, and it was 10-7 entering the fourth. There, Cal continued to have the hotter hand. Hassett punched up two more and Varró also completed her hat trick before Kate Meyer put the finishing touches on the Bear victory with a skipper that made it 15-10 for the final.

NCAA QUARTERFINAL
Cal 15, Hawai'i 10
April 24, 2026 | Canyonview Aquatic Center (La Jolla, Calif.)
CAL   5 - 2 - 3 - 5 = 15
UH    3 - 2 - 2 - 3 = 10

SCORING:
CAL – Eszter Varró 3, Rosalie Hassett 3, Harper Price 2, Julia Bonaguidi 2, Despoina Drakotou 2, Feline Voordouw, Julianne Snyder, Kate Meyer.
UH – Agatha Weston 5, Ema Vernoux 2, Camille Radiosavljevic, Alia Burlock, Ariadna Temprano Xambó.

SAVES: Talia Fonseca (CAL) 7, Daisy Logtens (UH) 11.

NEXT: Cal advances to tomorrow's NCAA semifinals, facing top-seeded Stanford at 4 p.m. PT at Canyonview Aquatic Center in La Jolla. 

NOTABLE:
- With two goals today, FR Despoina Drakotou now has 45 goals this season, ranking her No. 6 all-time in scoring by a freshman at Cal.
- FR Harper Price set her career high today with two goals scored (on her birthday).
- With two goals today, JR Julia Bonaguidi now has scored 94 career goals at Cal.
- With her hat trick today, Rosalie Hassett has scored at least once in Cal's last six games.
- Cal will be making its sixth NCAA semifinal appearance in its last eight tournament trips.
- This was Cal's fourth win of the year over Hawai'i.

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