No.4 Cal Women's Water Polo at NCAA Championships this weekend
Can another Cal team make Indianapolis a Bear Territory for the second consecutive weekend?
In case you missed it, Cal Rugby found success in Indianapolis last Saturday when they won the D1A National Championship Final!
This weekend, it will be Cal Women’s Water Polo’s turn for glory in “The Crossroad of America”. No.4 Cal is looking to replicate and surpass their 2024 season when the Golden Bears made the NCAA Championship Final for only the second time in program history.
Of course, Cal graduated their first female Cutino Award winner, goalkeeper Isabel Williams. 2024 was also an Olympic year that greatly disrupted spring season sports like women’s water polo — many top players took the year off to train with their national team, including Cal’s top 2025 scorer Ruby Swadling with the Australian National Team.
No.1 Stanford (22-1) got three USA Olympians: Jenna Flynn, Ryann Neushul, and Jewel Roemer, back from a Team USA squad that finished 4th in the Paris 2024 Games. The trio was instrumental in helping Stanford win the 2023 NCAA title; two of them (Neushul and Roemer) were also there for the 2022 NCAA crown.
Also in the mix are No.2 UCLA (19-5), the defending NCAA champion that went 26-0 in 2024 including a 7-4 win in the championship final over Cal at Berkeley, and No.3 USC (27-4), who Cal did just beat 13-12 in the MPSF 3rd place match two weekends ago (this was Cal’s first win over USC since 2011).
Cal (19-5) will open against the 4th-seed and Big West champion Hawaii (21-4) at 11 AM PT, Friday. Hawaii was responsible for the Bears’ first loss of the season in late February via a 12-11 result. Cal defeated Hawaii in the NCAA semifinal last year. A Friday victory will surely pit the winner against Stanford (it is a given that they will get past Wagner) on Saturday at 9 AM PT.
The NCAA Championship final will be played at 9 AM PT on Sunday. The championship final will be on ESPNU, while NCAA.com will have the other matches.
Redshirt freshman Talia Fonseca has taken over as Cal’s top goalkeeper this year, averaging 7.3 saves per game. Fonseca earned All-MPSF honorable mentions for her solid season in front of the cage.
Offensively, senior attacker Ruby Swadling leads Cal with 55 goals. Redshirt senior Elena Flynn adds 48 goals. Freshman Miriam Bogachenko is tied with sophomore Julia Bonaguidi with 36 goals apiece. 13 different Bears have tallied double digits in goals this year.
Senior utility Rozanne Voorvelt earned an All-MPSF honorable mention for her defensive play and the team’s 6th-best tally of 29 goals.
In addition to that win over the USC Trojans, Cal also played UCLA tough in the MPSF semifinal at UCLA before falling 15-14. Sophomore center Feline Voordouw registered a hat trick against USC. Arguably, the Golden Bears are playing their best water polo right now.
Even as the underdog for potentially all three matches this weekend, Cal cannot be counted out. It will take some inspired team effort, but the Golden Bears are battle-tested and should be playing free with a nothing-to-lose attitude.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP INFO
Dates: May 9-11, 2025
Location: IU Natatorium (Indianapolis, IN) | Host: Indiana University
Watch: NCAA.com
Live Stats: 6-8 Sports
2025 Season Stats: CalBears.com
NCAA Championship Bracket: NCAA.com
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Friday, May 9 – Quarterfinals
9 a.m. PT – Game 1: No. 1 Stanford vs. Wagner
11 a.m. PT – Game 2: No. 4 Hawaii vs. California
1 p.m. PT – Game 3: No. 2 UCLA vs. LMU
3 p.m. PT – Game 4: No. 3 USC vs. Harvard
Saturday, May 10 -- Semifinals
9 a.m. PT – Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
11 a.m. PT – Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner
Sunday, May 11 – Championship
9 a.m. PT – Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner (ESPNU)
GO BEARS!
Frustrating first quarter for Cal. Bears hit the woodwork at least 3 times and the Hawaii keeper made 5 saves. Hawaii leads 3-0 after 8 minutes.