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No. 3 Bears Advance To NCAA Semifinals

by calbears.com
May 10, 2024

BERKELEY, Calif. – Playing in its first-ever NCAA Championship home game on Friday at Spieker Aquatics Complex, the No. 3 California women's water polo team breezed past No. 9 Fresno State for a 14-7 quarterfinal win.

The Golden Bears (17-6) advance to the semis to face No. 2 Hawaii on Saturday at 4 p.m. PT.

Cal's offense was firing on all cylinders for much of the game as it put away the most goals the Bulldogs (21-8) have conceded all season. The Bears punished FSU on counter attacks throughout, moving the ball end-to-end and side-to-side with ease. Cal finished 5-for-10 on power plays compared to 2-of-14 for Fresno State.

Five different Bears finished with two goals, with Rozanne Voorvelt and Elena Flynn both securing their second before halftime. Cal led 4-1 after one quarter, getting goals from four different players. Late in the second, back-to-back goals on 6-on-5 situations from Flynn put the home side up 8-3.

Senior Maryn Dempsey secured her brace on the Bears' first attack of the second half – a possession which lasted less than 10 seconds and required only two passes out of the defensive end. Cal later ended the game on a 3-1 run with fourth-quarter goals by redshirt sophomore Claire Rowell and freshmen Julianne Snyder and Julia Bonaguidi.

Senior goalkeeper Isabel Williams finished 17 saves, one shy of her season high. In three meetings against FSU this season, she averaged a staggering 16.3 saves per game.

Cal will be playing in its fifth NCAA Championship semifinal since 2017. The last time the Bears faced the Rainbow Wahine (23-3) exactly two months ago in Berkeley, they jumped out to an electric 5-0 first-quarter lead en route to a 9-8 victory. The two sides split their season series, with Hawaii defeating Cal 10-7 in the Barbara Kalbus Invitational semifinals.

The winner of tomorrow's game will face either No. 1 UCLA or No. 4 Stanford in Sunday's championship game.

No. 3 California 14, No. 9 Fresno State 7
Cal 4 5 2 3 – 14
FSU 1 3 2 1 – 7
Cal Goals: Maryn Dempsey 2, Julia Bonaguidi 2, Elena Flynn 2, Rozanne Voorvelt 2, Abbi Magee 2, Mallory Reynoso, Claire Rowell, Julianne Snyder, Jessie Rose
FSU Goals: Hailey Andress 3, Abbey Simshauser 2, Elisa Grim, Ashley Williams
Cal Saves: Isabel Williams 17
FSU Saves: Paula Nieto Jasny 8

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For further coverage of Cal women's water polo, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWWPolo), Instagram (@calwwpolo) and Facebook (CalWomensWaterPolo).

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