No. 4 Bears Begin Extended Road Trip
FRIDAY, MARCH 18
NO. 4 CAL (12-2, 1-2 MPSF) AT NO. 9 ARIZONA STATE (13-8, 1-1) | 1 P.M. PT | MONA PLUMMER AQUATIC CENTER | TEMPE, ARIZ.
LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
MONDAY, MARCH 21
NO. 4 CAL (12-2, 1-2 MPSF) AT NO. 15 INDIANA (10-10, 0-2) | 12 P.M. PT | COUNSILMAN-BILLINGSLEY AQUATICS CENTER | BLOOMINGTON, IN
LIVE STATS
The No. 4 Cal women's water polo team will take advantage of the spring recess to go on a rare extended road trip, traveling to three destinations over a 10-day span. The first two games will take place over a four-day stretch that bridges the weekend, beginning with Friday's MPSF showdown at No. 9 Arizona State. Cal will then visit the midwest to take on No. 15 Indiana on Monday. The Bears have already faced the Sun Devils twice this season and won both games by a combined score of 28-13. Cal is 17-1 all-time agaisnt the Hoosiers, including wins in the last 12 meetings between the teams.
BEAR NECESSITIES
WILLIAMS NAMED MPSF PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Cal junior goalie Isabel Williams was named the MPSF Player of the Week on Tuesday, her second such honor of the season. Williams played a huge role in the Bears' 12-5 victory over No. 12 San Jose State last Saturday, making 14 saves at a .737 percentage. Seven of her saves came on Spartans power plays, and she led a defense that held San Jose St. to just a 3-for-15 clip on the 6-on-5. Williams led the Bears' efforts that held the Spartans scoreless until the 5:57 mark of the third quarter. Williams leads the MPSF at 10.4 saves per game while ranking second in save percentage (.621) and goals-against average (6.87).
THE WRIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY
After taking the 2020 and 2021 seasons off to train with Team Canada and compete in the Tokyo Olympics, senior Emma Wright is unsurprisingly dominating in her return to Berkeley. The co-captain of the Canadian Olympic Team leads the Bears with 28 goals and 44 points and ranks 10th in the MPSF in points per game (3.1). Now with 182 goals in her career, Wright has moved into sole possession of sixth place on the program's all-time scoring list. She needs eight more goals to pass Alisa vonHartitzsch for fifth place on Cal's career list.
RUBY'S RETURN
Sophomore Ruby Swadling is back in the pool after opting out of the 2021 season and has picked right up from where she left off after a promising freshman season. Swadling, a member of the 2020 MPSF All-Newcomer Team who also garnered 2020 All-MPSF honorable mention, is ninth in the MPSF with 1.4 assists per game. Included in her performance this season is a seven-point effort (2 goals, 5 assists) in a 17-7 win over then-No. 4 Arizona State.
IN WITH THE NEW (AND OLD)
Cal's coaching staff is a mix of veteran and new faces as four-time Olympian Heather Petri returns as a full-time assistant while Lance Morrison joins the Bears as well. Petri has spent time as both a full-time and volunteer assistant during head coach Coralie Simmons' six-year tenure at Cal, while Morrison comes to the Bears after a successful run as the head coach at prep powerhouse Miramonte High School. Petri was a two-time All-American as a student-athlete at Cal and went on to become the only four-time female Olympian in Cal history. She's also a four-time Olympic medalist, with a gold, two silvers and a bronze.
ABOUT NO. 9 ARIZONA STATE
• FR Vanda Baksa is the reigning MPSF Newcomer of the Week
• Baska leads the nation with 102 points and 18 field blocks
• Sun Devils are 0-2 against Cal this season, losing by a combined score of 28-13
• CAL ALL-TIME VS. ARIZONA STATE: 30-9
ABOUT NO. 15 INDIANA
• Hoosiers have victories over six ranked opponents this season
• SR Izzy Mandema ranks third in the MPSF with 43 goals
• Indiana plays at No. 7 Michigan on Saturday before hosting the Bears
• CAL ALL-TIME VS. INDIANA: 17-1