Cal Lands 5 On ACWPC All-America List
Cal reached the NCAA championship game for the second time in three years.

Cal Lands 5 On ACWPC All-America List

All Golden Bear Honorees Receive Nod For First Time

California women's water polo boasts five Golden Bears with All-America status, all of whom are first-time All-Americans with this year's announcement from the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches. Junior Julia Bonaguidi leads the way as Cal's 18th All-America First Team honoree, while three Bears – Despoina Drakotou, Eszter Varró and Feline Voordouw – are on the Second Team. Senior Abbi Magee has earned Honorable Mention. 

The five honorees are just one off Cal's program record of six All-Americans set in 2018. The Bears' 2026 All-Americans were instrumental in helping Cal reach the NCAA final for the second time in three years, knocking off defending champion Stanford in the NCAA semifinals along the way. 

Bonaguidi was Cal's second-leading scorer with 47 goals on the year and also was picked to the NCAA All-Tournament First Team and All-MPSF First Team in her junior season. She earned MPSF Player of the Week honors on March 3 and twice tallied a career-high five goals for the Bears. Bonaguidi finished with 15 multiple-goal outings, including a hat trick in Cal's NCAA semifinal upset of Stanford.

Drakotou was named the MPSF Newcomer of the Year in her freshman season with the Bears, leading Cal in scoring with 48 goals, in steals with 33 and ranking second in assists with 32. She set her career high with seven goals – second most in a single game in program history – and her 48 goals marked the fifth most by a Cal freshman. Drakotou also set a Cal record with six MPSF Newcomer of the Week awards. In the NCAA Tournament, she scored once in the win over Stanford and twice in the NCAA championship game.

Varró's sophomore season at Cal saw her return from international competition with Hungary to shine for the Bears, scoring 28 goals in 17 games. That included seven scored at the NCAA Tournament, where she punched up a hat trick in the quarterfinal and three more in the final to help her earn a place on the NCAA All-Tournament First Team en route to her first ACWPC All-America honors. She scored a season-high four goals against USC during MPSF competition.

A junior, Voordouw was an anchor for the Bears all season, scoring 36 goals and leading the team with 50 drawn exclusions. Her All-America Second Team award goes along with All-MPSF Honorable Mention and MPSF All-Tournament Team honors this season, where she scored in 16 different games and notched 10 multiple-goal outings. Voordouw tallied a career-high five goals against Michigan and finished out the season with 14 steals and 17 field blocks.

Magee caps off her Cal career with All-America Honorable Mention to go along with her selection to the NCAA All-Tournament Second Team. She hit the career 100-goal mark as a Bear and finished the year with 44 goals, scoring in a team-high 20 games and recording 13 multiple-goal outings. Magee scored a heroic four goals to help Cal beat Stanford in the NCAA semifinals. Also this season, she tallied a career-high six goals against Michigan and wrapped up with a total of 22 assists along with 18 steals and 16 field blocks.

Magee is the only All-American graduating from Cal's 2026 roster. Bonaguidi, Drakotou, Varró and Voordouw are all set to return for the 2027 season, which will be head coach Coralie Simmons' 11th with the Bears. Simmons is the only woman head coach to coach in an NCAA final, now having guided Cal to the title match twice (2024 and 2026).

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