No. 6 Cal Hosts No. 1 USC In Women’s Water Polo Action

LAST TIME OUT
The Bears opened MPSF play last weekend with a pair of losses at No. 2 UCLA. After going just 2-for-11 on the power play in an 11-5 loss Saturday to the Bruins, Cal played UCLA evenly until the final possession before falling 9-8 on Sunday. The Bears led for over half the game, held a two-goal lead midway through the third quarter and never trailed by more than a goal.

STOP, THIEF!
Cal junior Elli Protopapas enters the weekend leading the MPSF with an average of 1.9 steals per game (13 overall). She paces a handful of Cal players that have had a knack for taking away the ball this season. Sophomore Shea Salvino and freshman Mallory Reynoso each have eight thefts while freshman Reagan Whitney has seven.

MOVING ON UP
Senior goalie Cassidy Ball has moved into ninth place on Cal’s all-time list with 231 career saves. Last year in her first full season as Cal’s starting goalie, she led the MPSF with 134 saves. Ball is tied for second in the conference this season with an average of 5.9 saves per game.

THE KIDS CAN PLAY
Cal’s eight-member freshmen class has become an integral part of the team’s success. Reagan Whitney and Mallory Reynoso have each already won MPSF Newcomer of the Week honors, and Whitney co-leads the Bears with 12 goals and is tied for fifth in the conference in goals per game (2.0). Reynoso is tied for second on the team with eight steals. Maryn Dempsey has scored seven goals, including a hat trick in her collegiate debut at Fresno State – the first Cal freshman to record at least three goals in her debut since all-time leading scorer Dora Antal in 2014.

HELLO KITTY
First Team All-American Kitty Lynn Joustra made her season-debut last weekend at UCLA and immediately made her usual presence felt at center. She drew 13 exclusions in the two games, including an MPSF-high seven on Sunday. Joustra sat out the 2020 season to train with the Dutch National Team, which qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. She missed the first five games of this season because of injury.

LORENZ VOTED INTO USA WATER POLO HALL OF FAME
Former Cal two-time All-American and Olympic medalist Ericka Lorenz has been selected as part of the 2021 class of the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame. Lorenz won the silver medal as a member of the U.S. Olympic Team in 2000 then followed up with a bronze in 2004. As a freshman at Cal in 2001, she was tabbed a First Team All-American after leading the squad with 44 goals.

OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION UPDATE
Former Cal four-time All-American Anna “Nusi” Illes took center stage last month, helping Hungary win the Olympic Qualification Tournament. Illes scored nine goals during the tournament, aidng Hungary to nab an automatic berth to the Olympics when it qualified for the championship match. In the finals, Hungary defeated The Netherlands, which also earned a bid to the Summer Games. Senior Kitty Lynn Joustra was scheduled to compete for The Netherlands at the tournament but suffered an injury shortly before the event and was unable to play. Cal alum Dora Antal, a fellow four-time All-American and the Bears’ all-time leading scorer, was an alternate for Hungary.

ABOUT NO. 1 USC
• The Trojans feature six All-Americans
• Leading scorer Maud Megens (16 goals) is back after sitting out last year to train with the Dutch National Team
• USC is coming off a 21-3 rout of No. 9 UC Santa Barbara
 • CAL ALL-TIME VS. USC: 19-42