No. 4 Bears Close Out Cal Cup With Two More Wins

BERKELEY – The No. 4 Cal women's water polo team once again showed off its impressive depth by defeating No. 13 Long Beach State and No. 12 San Jose State on the final day of the Cal Cup on Sunday at Spieker Aquatics Complex.

The Bears (8-0) had nine players score goals in an 11-3 victory over the Beach and then 12 found the back of the net in a 17-10 win over the Spartans.

"It was nice to have some games this weekend where everyone got to show their skills," Cal head coach Coralie Simmons said. "That's always the goal for us as a team – to show our depth and all the pieces of the puzzle, from the top to the bottom of our roster."

Senior Emma Wright and sophomore Reagan Whitney each had two goals and an assist in the victory over Long Beach State while Wright also added two steals.

After the Beach scored to cut the Bears' advantage to 4-2 with 3:34 left in the second quarter, Long Beach State didn't score again until there were six minutes left in the game. By that time, Cal had established a 10-2 advantage.

Freshman Rozanne Voorvelt had three goals and an assist against the Spartans while senior Elli Protopapas, junior Helena Batey and freshman Jessie Rose each added a pair of goals. Protopapas also added two assists and a steal. The Bears put the game away early, racing out to an 8-1 lead with 5:15 remaining in the second quarter.

"It's important to approach every game with professionalism and make sure we respect our opponent and play to the best of our ability on any given day," Simmons said. "We've shown that from day one. We didn't want to tiptoe into the season. This group really loves water polo. We look forward for what's to come."

Cal, who has played a top-15 opponent in every game this season, will be tested once again this weekend at the Stanford Invitational. The Bears will play No. 2 Stanford, No. 9 Arizona State and No. 13 UC Davis.