2025 Cal Season Stats The No. 5 California women’s water polo team will play a pair of games this weekend in the eastern time zone, facing No. 10 Indiana on Saturday and No. 15 Michigan on Sunday at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center in Bloomington, Ind. The Golden Bears are coming off their first home loss […]
The No. 5 California women’s water polo team will play a pair of games this weekend in the eastern time zone, facing No. 10 Indiana on Saturday and No. 15 Michigan on Sunday at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center in Bloomington, Ind. The Golden Bears are coming off their first home loss of the season, 13-9 to No. 2 USC last weekend. Julia Bonaguidi led the Bears with three goals in that game. Ruby Swadling scored twice to become the first Bear to reach 40 goals this season.
2024 RECAP
Boasting the nation’s best defense throughout the year, Cal finished as the runner-up in both the NCAA and MPSF Championships, advancing to the NCAA Championship final for the second time in program history. The Bears posted their second straight 19-win season, going 19-7 (.731), good for their highest win percentage since 2018. At the heart of their success was the play of graduated senior goalkeeper Isabel Williams, who set the team’s all-time career saves record on her way to becoming the first Bear in program history to win the prestigious Peter J. Cutino Award, given to the top player in the NCAA.
LEADING THE WAY
The Bears’ ACWPC All-American leaders have continued to power their offense, with seniors Swadling (40 goals) and Elena Flynn (34) leading the team in scoring by a wide margin. Swadling – a two-time All-American who missed the 2024 season to train with the Australia National Team – crossed the 100 career-goal milestone with her five-goal season high in the Bears’ 16-11 win over Long Beach State on Jan. 26.
Flynn – who earned her third consecutive All-America nod in her debut season for the Bears in 2024 after transferring from UC Irvine – has scored multiple goals in 14 of 16 games this season. Her seven hat tricks rank second on the team to Swadling’s eight.
WPOLO3/28/2025 2:03 PM | By: Cal Athletics
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GOLD MEDAL BEARS
In November, Bonaguidi and Hassett competed for Team USA in the 2024 Pan-American Championships, putting away seven and six goals, respectively, on their way to an 18-5 win over Argentina in the final. They became the first Bears to win gold at the tournament since current Cal associate head coach Heather Petri and Elsie Windes in 2011.
ALL EYES ON RUBY
Swadling was named to the Cutino Award Watch List last Friday. 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.
SUNDAY, MAR. 30
NO. 5 CAL VS NO. 15 MICHIGAN (14-7) | 8 AM PT
AT COUNSILMAN-BILLINGSLEY AQUATIC CENTER | BLOOMINGTON, IND.
WHAT A START
Despite losing key players from last year’s lineup, the Bears picked up where they left off following their historic run to the 2024 NCAA championship game. They began the year 9-0 for the fifth time in program history and started 13-2 for their best mark through 15 games since 2016. All 13 of Cal’s wins have come against teams with top-20 national rankings.
Hassett’s 16 goals and Varro’s 14 rank second and third, respectively, among Cal’s newcomers.
SATURDAY, MAR. 29
NO. 5 CAL (13-3, 1-2 MPSF) AT NO. 10 INDIANA (16-7, 0-3) | 9 AM PT
AT COUNSILMAN-BILLINGSLEY AQUATIC CENTER | BLOOMINGTON, IND.
LIVE STATS | LIVE STREAM
Freshman Miriam Bogachenko became the third Bear to cross 20 goals on the season with her six-goal outburst at Loyola Marymount on March 9. That capped off a run of 12 goals in six games as she continued solidifying her role on the offensive end. Julia Bonaguidi (21), Rozanne Voorvelt (19), Abbi Magee (19) and Janna Tauscher (17 goals) make up the rest of Cal’s scoring leaders.
Cal Set For 2 Games Against Top-15 Teams
HALL OF FAME COACHING STAFF
Cal head coach Coralie Simmons and Petri are among the most decorated figures in the sport. Simmons – one of the great trailblazers of the women’s water polo world who earned two NCAA Player of the Year awards while competing for UCLA, won three NCAA Championships and an Olympic silver medal with Team USA – was one of five members in the 39th induction class of the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame in 2023. Her 144 wins at Cal rank second in program history. Last May, she became the first female head coach in NCAA history to reach the NCAA championship game. Petri – the only four-time female Olympian in Cal history – was named to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2023. Joining them on the staff for the fourth straight year is assistant coach Lance Morrison, who played Division I water polo at Pacific.
BEAR NECESSITIES
NEWCOMERS MAKING WAVES
Freshman Ester Varró recorded a game-high six goals in Cal’s last home win, 18-11, over No. 16 UC Davis on Feb. 15. Three days later, she joined freshman Rosalie Hassett as the only Bears to be named MPSF Newcomer of the Week this season.
