With 35 head-to-head contests between teams listed in the CWPA poll slated for Week 6 of the collegiate women’s water polo season, upsets were bound to happen and they were plenteous.
The Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Irvine, California, featured 32 Top 25 affairs and eight ended in upsets, including the championship match, which saw #4 USC take down #1 Stanford 10-5.
The Women of Troy also bested #2 UCLA on the weekend to earn a spot in the title match.
#10 Michigan scored two upsets, knocking off #7 Cal 11-10 in overtime and #9 UC Santa Barbara 5-4.
#22 San Diego State notched the biggest upset of the weekend, topping #12 Long Beach State 10-9 to claim 13th place at the tournament.
Two of the five upsets on Week 6 happened in overtime, while three other matches also required extra time to reach a decision.
Upsets
- #10 Michigan def. #7 Cal 11-10 OT – After trailing 4-1 early in the second quarter, Cal rallied to lead 5-4 at the half. Brigit Mulder supplied two goals on a power play (7:12) and a penalty (6:22), while a Cecily Turner penalty (2:53) and Rudy Swadling score (2:04) put the Bears on top. Michigan regained the lead at 6-5 on an Ava Morrant penalty (6:14, 3rd). Swadling gave Cal an 8-7 edge on a powerplay with 1:24 to go in regulation, only to see Anne Rankin answer for the Wolverines with 3 seconds left. Mulder scored the first overtime goal (2:19) to give Cal a 9-8 lead, but Maddie O’Reilly put in a penalty 17 seconds later to knot it up again. The teams traded goals again to make it 10-all at the end of the first extra period. Erin Neustrom put in the game winner for Michigan with 1:49 on the clock in the second overtime. Cal had one more shot, but it was blocked to seal the win. O’Reilly paced Michigan with a hat trick, while Mulder managed a trio of goals for the Bears.
- #9 UC Santa Barbara def. #8 UC San Diego 9-8 – The Gauchos never trailed and led by as many as three en route to the upset, but had to fight off a charging Aggie team in the final 12 minutes of play. Down 8-5 with 4:09 to go in the third quarter, UC San Diego began its comeback with a Taylor Onstott score with two seconds left in the stanza (8-6). Onstott struck twice more in the fourth quarter, first on a powerplay with 5:59 to play, then to tie the score at 8-all with 2:17 to go. UCSD hit the post on its next shot, while the Gauchos got a goal from Sarah Owens with 1:06 remaining, which proved to be the game winner. Lucy Jackman made two saves down the stretch for UCSB to clinch the win. Sarah Snyder logged a hat trick for the Gauchos, while Onstott scored three times for the Aggies.
- #4 USC def. #2 UCLA 9-7 – The Trojans built a 6-2 halftime lead with help from two goals each by Grace Tehaney and Kelsey McIntosh. USC took its largest lead at 9-3 after third quarter scores by the duo, with McIntosh logging a goal at 2:06 and Tehaney putting one in at the buzzer. UCLA rallied with four fourth quarter goals, but it was not enough. Tehaney and McIntosh led all scorers with a hat trick apiece, while Val Ayala paced the Bruins with two scores.
- #10 Michigan def. #9 UC Santa Barbara 5-4 – The Wolverines secured seventh place at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, rallying from a 2-1 halftime deficit to outscore the Gauchos 4-2 in the second half. Down 3-2 after a powerplay by Alex Mora (2:52), Michigan’s Sofie Pontre countered (2:10, 3rd) to knot the score and Erin Neustrom (7:29, 4th) vaulted the Wolverines into the lead. Kate Coski brought UCSB even with 5:35 to go. Neustrom put in the game winner with 4:14 remaining. The Gauchos had one shot blocked, missed two and hit the post once down the stretch, but couldn’t tie it up. Neustrom logged a hat trick for Michigan, while four different UCSB players scored.
- #6 UC Irvine def. #5 Arizona State 12-7 – Eight players scored to help the Anteaters get past the Sun Devils, including two goal efforts by Toni Shackelford, Elena Flynn, Jessica Lynch and Tara Prentice. UCI led 4-2 at the opening quarter and upped its advantage to three (6-3) on a Prentice penalty with 3:14 to play in the second stanza. Prentice struck again with 56 seconds left in the period to boost the Irvine lead to 8-4. Arizona State would get no closer than three the rest of the way. Amira Van Buren and Borbala Kekesi led ASU with two-goal efforts.
- #22 San Diego State def. #12 Long Beach State 10-9 – The Aztecs outscored LBSU 5-3 in the second half to escape with 13th place at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational. Long Beach State boasted a slight 6-5 advantage at the half, but San Diego State quickly grabbed the advantage in the third quarter. Delaney Binette (6:01) tied it up and Karli Canale (5:21) put the Aztecs ahead. After Elena Kotanchyan gave the 49ers back in the lead with 1:31 to play in the third (8-7), Isabelle Hastings drew SDSU even with a penalty (0:26, 3rd). Down 9-8, Maddy Parenteau (0:58) brought the Aztecs even, setting the table for the Binette gamewinner with nine seconds left. Hastings logged a hat trick for SDSU, while Orsi Hertzka, Kotanchyan and Anne de Kleer each scored twice for the 49ers.
- #16 Loyola Marymount def. #13 San Jose State 13-10 OT – The teams traded 20 goals in regulation, with neither leading by more than one. Yanah Gerber had LMU ahead 10-9 with 2:01 left in the game, only to see Lili Urvari capitalize on a powerplay with three seconds remaining to force overtime. Kelsey Snelgar put in the gamewinner just 31 seconds into the first extra stanza (2:29) and added another score as the clock hit zero. Melyssa Moore iced the win with a final goal with 44 seconds to play in the second overtime. SJSU took five shots in overtime, hitting the post twice to go with one block, one save and one miss. Snelgar put in six goals to pace LMU, while Olga Descalzi Portell scored five times for San Jose State.
- #4 USC def. #1 Stanford 10-5 – The Women of Troy staked their claim early in the championship match of the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, vaulting ahead 4-0 in the first six minutes of action. Down 5-0 after a Grace Tehaney powerplay score (5:30, 2nd), Stanford finally broke through care of Hannah Shabb (4:02, 2nd) and Sophie Wallace (powerplay 1:41). USC rattled off five straight goals and led by 10-2 after third quarter goals by Mireia Guiral (7:13), Kelsey McIntosh (4:42), Bayley Weber (3:49) and Elise Stein (1:54). Chloe Harbilas scored Stanford’s third goal with 1:19 to play in the third. The Cardinal added two fourth quarter scores, but came up short. Stanford was 0-for-3 on penalty shots in the game and boasted just a 16.1% shooting percentage to USC’s 43.5%. Tehaney and Weber led USC with two goals each, while Shabb put in two for Stanford.
Overtime
- #10 Michigan def. #7 Cal 11-10 OT
- #13 San Jose State def. #15 UC Davis 12-11 OT – After falling behind 1-0, San Jose State outscored UC Davis 4-1 in the remainder of the first half. Tyanna Supreme game the Spartans the lead with a pair of goals in the first quarter (3:40, 2:54) and added a third in the second stanza (4:06). Chloe Robinson (5:22), Julia Hartmann (4:30), and Noelle Wijnbelt (penalty 1:29) narrowed the gap to one for the Aggies at 6-5 in the third quarter. Robinson tied it up in the fourth (5:17) and the teams traded goals to head into overtime tied at 7. UC Davis went up 10-7 in the first extra period with goals by Allyson Clague (2:41), Robinson (1:50) and Abby Pfefferlen (0:48). Supreme had SJSU within one at 10-9 with a powerplay goal (0:30) and a penalty (3 seconds). Isabella Schmidt leveled the score (2:24) for San Jose State. The teams traded goals before Emma Hank sunk the game winner with one second left in the second overtime. Supreme scored five times to lead SJSU, while Robinson put in four goals for UC Davis.
- VMI def. Salem 10-9 OT – The Keydets scored first in the game, but Margherita Garibbo scored twice to help Salem to a 3-2 halftime advantage. Beatrice Popescu put in two third quarter goals (7:27, 6:55) to make it 5-3 Tigers. The teams traded goals after that but Salem maintained a slight edge and led 7-5 with eight minutes to go. Down 8-5 with 4:20 to play after an Erin Zappia score, VMI’s McKenna Imset (2:56) and Genevieve Petrassi (1:56, 0:35) found the back of the net to force overtime, tied at 8. Petrassi put in the first overtime goal with 30 seconds left in the first extra period. Catherine Ahumada added another with 1:55 to go in the second. Popescu countered 22 seconds later, but VMI’s Isabel French saved each of Salem’s last two shots to give the Keydets the win. Petrassi netted four goals, while Popescu ended with a hat trick.
- Gannon def. Salem 14-12 OT – Gannon scored the first three goals of the game and led 6-3 just one minute into the second quarter. Salem rallied to within one on an Erin Zappia penalty shot (1:35) but trailed 7-5 at the half. Annefleur ten Bloemendal brought the Tigers level at 8-all on a powerplay goal with three minutes to go in the third. The teams tied at 9, 10 and 11, before Bloemendal gave Salem the lead at 12-11 with 2:39 to play in the game. Nicole Wiemken answered for Gannon with 17 seconds left to force overtime. Gannon went up 13-12 (0:28, 1st OT) on a Mary Trese Squeglia penalty and added an insurance goal with 2:02 to go in the second extra period as Kelly Fehr dropped in her team-high fourth goal of the game. Margherita Garibbo scored four times to lead Salem.
- #16 Loyola Marymount def. #13 San Jose State 13-10 OT
Collegiate Women’s Water Polo Week 6 Results
| Date | Matchup | Result |
| Feb. 18. | ||
| 10 p.m. | Toronto at Occidental | Toronto 8-3 |
| Feb. 19 | ||
| 6 p.m. | #20 Cal State Northridge at Chapman | Cal State Northridge 16-7 |
| 7 p.m. | Iona at #19 Princeton | Princeton 12-9 |
| 9 p.m. | #3 Hawaii at RV Azusa Pacific | Hawaii 20-3 |
| 10 p.m. | Toronto at Chapman | Toronto 11-5 |
| Feb. 20. | ||
| 7 p.m. | La Salle at #19 Princeton | Princeton 12-3 |
| Feb. 21 | ||
| 4:30 p.m. | Toronto at Concordia (Irvine) | Concordia (Irvine) 8-7 |
| Barbara Kalbus Invitational (Irvine, Calif.) | ||
| 1 p.m. | #1 Stanford vs. #22 San Diego State | Stanford 12-8 |
| 2:15 p.m. | #2 UCLA vs. #21 Pacific | UCLA 14-3 |
| 3:30 p.m. | #4 USC vs. #16 Loyola Marymount | USC 20-8 |
| 4:45 p.m. | #3 Hawai’i vs. #15 UC Davis | Hawaii 9-6 |
| 6 p.m. | #5 Arizona State vs. #13 San Jose State | Arizona State 8-6 |
| 6 p.m. | #7 Cal vs. #10 Michigan | Michigan 11-10 OT |
| 7:15 p.m. | #6 UC Irvine vs. #12 Long Beach State | UC Irvine 12-9 |
| 7:15 p.m. | #8 UC San Diego vs. #9 UC Santa Barbara | UC Santa Barbara 9-8 |
| Fresno State Invitational (Fresno, California) | ||
| 8:30 p.m. | RV Azusa Pacific at #11 Fresno State | Fresno State 17-10 |
| Feb. 22 | ||
| 3 p.m. | Cal State Monterey Bay at Santa Clara | Santa Clara 10-3 |
| 4 p.m. | RV Cal State East Bay at RV Sonoma State | Cal State East Bay 14-7 |
| Washington & Jefferson Invitational (Washington, Pa.) | ||
| 10 a.m. | Wittenberg vs. Gannon | Gannon 26-11 |
| 11:10 a.m. | Penn State Behrend vs. McKendree | McKendree 27-2 |
| 12:20 p.m. | VMI vs. Grove City | VMI 27-12 |
| 1:30 p.m. | Salem at Washington & Jefferson | Salem 26-6 |
| 3:50 p.m. | Gannon vs. McKendree | Gannon 16-15 |
| 5 p.m. | Wittenberg vs. Grove City | Wittenberg 19-16 |
| 6:10 p.m. | Washington & Jefferson vs. Penn State Behrend | Washington & Jefferson 10-7 |
| 7:20 p.m. | VMI vs. Salem | VMI 10-9 OT |
| Courtney Fisher Invitational hosted by Marist (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) | ||
| 8 a.m. | #18 Wagner at #24 Marist | Wagner 12-10 |
| 9:15 a.m. | Villanova vs. Iona | Iona 14-12 |
| 10:30 a.m. | Mercyhurst vs. RV Brown | Brown 12-3 |
| 11:45 a.m. | #18 Wagner vs. LaSalle | Wagner 21-8 |
| 1 p.m. | LIU Brooklyn vs. Siena | LIU Brooklyn 9-8 |
| 2:15 p.m. | Iona vs. St. Francis Brooklyn | Iona 12-4 |
| 3:30 p.m. | Villanova vs. Mercyhurst | Villanova 15-11 |
| 4:45 p.m. | LaSalle vs. RV Brown | Brown 13-10 |
| 6 p.m. | St. Francis Brooklyn vs. Siena | St. Francis Brooklyn 9-8 |
| 7:15 p.m. | LIU Brooklyn at #24 Marist | Marist 16-8 |
| Macalester Invitational (St. Paul, Minn.) | ||
| 12:30 p.m. | Monmouth vs. La Verne | La Verne 20-3 |
| 2 p.m. | Carthage College at Macalester | Macalester 12-10 |
| 6:30 p.m. | Monmouth vs. Carthage | Carthage 13-11 |
| 8 p.m. | La Verne at Macalester | La Verne 13-7 |
| Fresno State Invitational (Fresno, Calif.) | ||
| 1 p.m. | RV Azusa Pacific vs. Fresno Pacific | Azusa Pacific 16-8 |
| 2:30 p.m. | Cal Lutheran vs. #11 Fresno State | Fresno State 20-4 |
| 6 p.m. | Cal Lutheran vs. RV Azusa Pacific | Azusa Pacific 17-10 |
| Barbara Kalbus Invitational (Irvine, Calif.) | ||
| 11 a.m. | #1 Stanford vs. #9 UC Santa Barbara | Stanford 11-8 |
| #22 San Diego State vs. #8 UC San Diego | UC San Diego 9-8 | |
| 12:15 a.m. | #3 Hawaii vs. #5 Arizona State | Hawaii 15-5 |
| #15 UC Davis vs. #13 San Jose State | San Jose State 12-11 OT | |
| 1:30 p.m. | #2 UCLA vs. #10 Michigan | UCLA 7-2 |
| #21 Pacific vs. #7 Cal | Cal 15-4 | |
| 2:45 p.m. | #4 USC vs. #6 UC Irvine | USC 10-7 |
| #16 Loyola Marymount vs. #12 Long Beach State | Loyola Marymount 11-8 | |
| 4:30 p.m. | #9 UC Santa Barbara vs. #5 Arizona State | Arizona State 6-3 |
| #22 San Diego State vs. #15 UC Davis | San Diego State 13-10 | |
| 5:45 p.m. | #1 Stanford vs. #3 Hawaii | Stanford 12-9 |
| #8 UC San Diego vs. #13 San Jose State | UC San Diego 8-5 | |
| 7 p.m. | #10 Michigan vs. #6 UC Irvine | UC Irvine 9-8 |
| #21 Pacific vs. #12 Long Beach State | Long Beach State 12-7 | |
| 8:15 p.m. | #2 UCLA vs. #4 USC | USC 9-7 |
| #7 Cal vs. #16 Loyola Marymount | Cal 12-6 | |
| Feb. 23. | ||
| Washington & Jefferson Invitational (Washington, Pa.) | ||
| 8 a.m. | Gannon vs. Salem | Gannon 14-12 OT |
| 9:10 a.m. | VMI vs. McKendree | VMI 12-9 |
| 10:20 a.m. | Washington & Jefferson vs. Wittenberg | Wittenberg 15-12 |
| 11:30 a.m. | Salem vs. Penn State Behrend | Salem 25-8 |
| 12:40 p.m. | McKendree vs. Grove City | McKendree 18-7 |
| 1:50 p.m. | Gannon vs. VMI | VMI 17-8 |
| 3:30 p.m. | Wittenberg vs. Penn State Behrend | Wittenberg 26-7 |
| 4:45 p.m. | Grove City vs. Washington & Jefferson | Grove City 19-10 |
| Macalester Invitational (St. Paul, Minn.) | ||
| 10:30 a.m. | Monmouth College at Macalester | Macalester 17-8 |
| Noon | La Verne vs. Carthage | La Verne 22-9 |
| 4:30 p.m. | La Verne at Macalester | La Verne 19-8 *L |
| Fresno State Invitational (Fresno, Calif.) | ||
| 2 p.m. | Fresno Pacific vs. Cal Lutheran | Cal Lutheran 15-11 |
| 4 p.m. | Fresno Pacific vs. #11 Fresno State | Fresno State 21-5 |
| Barbara Kalbus Invitational (Irvine, Calif.) | ||
| Noon | 7th Place – #9 UC Santa Barbara vs. #10 Michigan | Michigan 5-4 |
| 15th Place – #15 UC Davis vs. #21 Pacific | UC Davis 12-9 | |
| 1:15 p.m. | 5th Place – #5 Arizona State vs. #6 UC Irvine | UC Irvine 12-7 |
| 13th Place – #22 San Diego State vs. #12 Long Beach State | San Diego State 10-9 | |
| 2:30 p.m. | 3rd Place – #3 Hawaii vs. #2 UCLA | UCLA 10-5 |
| 11th Place – #13 San Jose State vs. #16 Loyola Marymount | Loyola Marymount 13-10 OT | |
| 4 p.m. | 1st Place – #1 Stanford vs. #4 USC | USC 10-5 |
| 9th – #8 UC San Diego vs. #7 Cal | Cal 10-6 | |