Courtesy: Cal Athletics
AT SRAC POOL | SAN JOSE, CALIF.
SATURDAY, APRIL 8
NO. 5 CAL (16-6, 2-1 MPSF) AT NO. 20-T SAN JOSE STATE (12-14, 0-2) | 1 P.M. PT
LIVE STATS
With just three weeks remaining in the regular season, the No. 5 California women’s water polo team (16-6, 2-1 MPSF) begins its final stretch of conference games with a road trip to No. 20-T San Jose State (12-14, 0-2) on Saturday. The Golden Bears (16-6, 2-1) ended their first two-game skid of the season on Sunday, defeating No. 12 Pacific on the road 14-6 behind 10 saves from senior goalkeeper Isabel Williams, a hat trick by sophomore Rozanne Voorvelt and multi-goal efforts from three other Bears. Cal’s penultimate regular-season road outing comes against a Spartan side that has yet to defeat an MPSF team this year.
BEAR NECESSITIES
VOORVELT, WILLIAMS LEAD BEARS OVER TIGERS
Rozanne Voorvelt turned in her second hat trick of the year in the Bears’ 14-6 wire-to-wire road victory over Pacific last Sunday. In just three quarters of work, Isabel Williams reached double-figure saves for the ninth time this season, racking up 10 to cross milestones of 200 saves for her senior season and 500 for her career. Seniors Cecily Turner and Shea Salvino and junior Ruby Swadling all scored twice as the Bears improved to 42-0 all-time against the Tigers.
CORALIE SIMMONS NAMED TO USAWP HALL OF FAME
USA Water Polo announced today that Cal head coach Coralie Simmons – who has built one of the most decorated careers in the sport over the past two and a half decades – will be one of five members making up the 39th induction class of the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame. Simmons is one of the great trailblazers of the women’s water polo world, boasting one of the most impressive resumes in the sport as both a player and coach. During her playing career, she earned multiple NCAA Player of the Year and first-team All-America honors, won three NCAA championships, and took home an Olympic silver medal with Team USA. Her long list of coaching accolades includes a world title at the helm of the USA Women’s Junior National Team, two Division II Coach of the Year awards and four trips to the NCAA semifinals with the Bears.
WILLIAMS, TURNER NAMED TO CUTINO AWARD WATCH LIST
In the midst of their stellar senior campaigns, Isabel Williams and Cecily Turner were named to the inaugural 2023 Cutino Award Watch List on Wednesday. The Cutino Award – which will be awarded this June – is the top individual honor a player can receive.
SAVED BY THE ISABEL
After becoming the second Cal goalie to be named a first-team All-American last year, Isabel Williams has continued to shine at the heart of her team’s defense this season. The Severna Park, Maryland, native paces the MPSF in saves per game (9.45) by a significant margin and also leads in total saves (208). She has been an absolute menace in passing lanes as well, with her 10 steals over two games earlier this month moving her to No. 2 in the conference with 35 for the year. At 501 career saves and counting, she has moved to No. 6 all-time at Cal. At her current rate, Williams would crack the Bears’ all-time top-five two games into the postseason. She has reached double digits in saves nine times this year. In a Feb. 26 win over No. 4 UCLA, Williams had her third game of 14 or more saves this season. Her season-high 15 came against Fresno State on Jan. 22. In 2022, Williams led the MPSF with 10.7 saves per game and amassed 245 overall – the fourth-highest single-season mark in program history. After last season, she also spent time training with the U.S. National Team.
RUBY ON FIRE
Junior All-American Ruby Swadling has been on a tear of late, registering three hat tricks and 17 goals over her last eight games. One game after dishing out a season-best four assists in Cal’s 17-11 MPSF-opening win over ASU on March 4, she kept the Bears in it against No. 2 USC with a career-best six goals. She currently leads the team in goals (36) and points (52), holding a slight edge in both categories over Cecily Turner’s 34 goals and 51 points.
BATTLES: LOS ANGELES
Feb. 26 vs. UCLA: Ruby Swadling scored a team-high three goals for the second time this season and Isabel Williams finished one save shy of a season-high with 14 to lead the Bears to a 9-7 win over No. 4 UCLA in the Barbara Kalbus Invitational third-place game. It was the Bears’ first win over a top-three opponent in 2023 and second straight over the Bruins dating back to last season.
March 11 vs. USC: In one of their biggest tests of the season, the Bears rose to the challenge against USC, led by junior All-American Ruby Swadling’s career-high six goals. Cal fell behind by four goals in the first half, but used a 4-0 run to tie the game in the third. That was the first of six second-half equalizers. Trailing by two with over a minute left in regulation, Swadling scored twice to force overtime. Maryn Dempsey’s hat-trick-sealing goal early in the first extra session gave Cal its only lead of the day, 13-12. Isabel Williams later put in a dramatic tying 7-on-6 goal with 21 seconds to go in the second overtime period, but the Trojans scored in the final seconds to seal the win. Cecily Turner also scored three times, giving the Bears their first trio of hat tricks this season.
NEWCOMERS PUTTING IN WORK
The game against USC on Mar. 11 was the first all year in which a Cal freshman didn’t find the back of the net. In the seven games prior to that, freshmen had accounted for 40 percent of the team’s goals. Millie Quin led the way with 10 over that stretch, scoring a season-best four times in March 4’s 17-11 win over ASU on her way to MPSF Newcomer of the Week honors. Abbi Magee and redshirt freshman Janna Tauscher both scored eight times over that same span. Tauscher and Quin are the Bears’ leading freshman goalscorers with 19. Magee has 14 and Claire Rowell has 10. On two occasions in February, more than half of Cal’s goals were scored by its freshmen. They found the back of the net five times in the Bears’ 8-3 win over UC Davis on Feb. 24 and 11 times in the 19-5 victory over California Baptist on Feb. 11.
INSIDE THE LAIR: GROWING THE SPORT OF WATER POLO
Fana Fuqua and Isabel Williams have been both witnesses and instruments of change within the world of water polo, promoting interest, accessibility and diversity. Read the full feature story to learn more about their impact on the growth of the sport they love!
RUBY’S TRIUMPHANT RETURN
Attacker Ruby Swadling opted out of the 2021 season after earning a spot on the MPSF All-Newcomer Team as a freshman in 2020. She returned last season and emerged as one of the top players in the conference, totalling 67 points (35 goals, 32 assists) to go along with 23 steals. Swadling earned ACWPC All-American honorable mention after the season.
UP-AND-COMERS
The Bears were one of only two teams to place two players on the MPSF All-Newcomer last season when Rozanne Voorvelt and Jessie Rose both earned the honor. Voorvelt put up significant numbers during her freshman season, accumulating 14 goals, 17 assists and 16 field blocks. Rose broke into the Bears’ starting lineup at the outset of the season and had one of the more memorable Cal goals in recent history when she converted in sudden victory overtime to lift the Bears to a victory over Stanford. Rose had six goals and 13 assists as a freshman last year.
COMING UP ROSES
Sophomore Rozanne Voorvelt followed up a promising freshman campaign with a successful summer playing for The Netherlands National Team. Voorvelt, along with former Cal center and four-time All-American Kitty Lynn Joustra, helped the Dutch win the bronze medal at the 2022 FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Voorvelt scored four goals in three games for The Netherlands.
STRONG START
The 2023 season got off to a promising start when the Bears defeated three top-10 opponents at the Bulldog Fest in Fresno. Cal opened the season by defeating No. 5 UC Irvine 15-10 then followed up with a 13-10 victory over No. 7 Michigan and a 16-10 triumph over No. 8 Fresno State. Seniors Shea Salvino and Cecily Turner and sophomore Rozanne Voorvelt each scored seven goals during the weekend, with Salvino being recognized as the MPSF Player of the Week for her efforts. The Bears had 14 different players score goals during the tournament, including the first career goals for freshmen Millie Quin, Janna Tauscher and Abbi Magee.
AMONG THE ELITE
Cal is one of the top programs in the country, having advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Championship in six of the past seven non-COVID seasons. In each of those seasons, the Bears have finished in the top-4 in the national rankings. The program has also produced 21 Olympians, including six that competed in Tokyo in 2021.
CLASSROOM PROWESS
Not only are the Bears reaching lofty heights in the pool, they are doing so in the classroom as well. Cal had a whopping 20 student-athletes earn ACWPC All-Academic Awards last season, and have had double-digit honorees seven times in the previous eight years. Senior Sydney Hammill, who has also won the Golden Bear Award for having the top GPA on the team in each of the past two seasons, collected her third consecutive ACWPC All-Academic Outstanding honor last year for having a cumulative GPA over 3.71.
WOMEN’S SPORTS AMPLIFICATION CHALLENGE
Cal Athletics is celebrating 50 years of Title IX by joining schools across the country in the Women’s Sports Amplification Challenge. To participate, simply find the “Check-In Here” QR Code located just inside the main entrance at Spieker Aquatics Complex and scan to boost Cal’s rank and be eligible to win Amazon gift cards.
ABOUT NO. 20-T SAN JOSE STATE
• Spartans have one win over a top-20 team this season, 20-15 over Loyola Marymount on Jan. 15
• Lior Ben David leads team in both goals (33) and assists (19)
• During current three-game losing streak, lost by a slim 7-6 margin against No. 9 Fresno State
• CAL ALL-TIME VS. SJSU: 60-2
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal women’s water polo, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWWPolo), Instagram (@calwwpolo) and Facebook (CalWomensWaterPolo).