No. 3 Bears Ready To Host NCAA Championship

2024 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
AT SPIEKER AQUATICS COMPLEX | BERKELEY, CALIF.

SCHEDULE
Wednesday, May 8 (Opening Round) - Live Stream: Pac-12.com
Play-In | 5 PM: Wagner vs. Biola

Friday, May 10 (Quarterfinals) - Live Streams: NCAA.com
Game 1 | 12 PM: No. 1 UCLA vs. Biola/Wagner
Game 2 | 2 PM:  No. 4 Stanford vs. USC
Game 3 | 4 PM: No. 2 Hawaii vs. Princeton
Game 4 | 6 PM: No. 3 California vs. Fresno State

Saturday, May 11 (Semifinals) - Live Streams: NCAA.com
Game 5 | 2 PM: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
Game 6 | 4 PM: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4

Sunday, May 12 (Championship) - Watch on ESPNU
Game 7 | 7 PM: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6

*All times PDT
Live Stats (6-8 Sports)

The No. 3 California women's water polo team is set to host the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history this week at Spieker Aquatics Complex. The Bears have the No. 3 seed for the second straight year and will face No. 6 Fresno State (21-7) in the quarterfinal round on Friday at 6 p.m. PT. The Golden Bears (17-6) defeated the Bulldogs in both of their regular-season meetings, holding them to a season-low five goals in a 9-5 victory at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational and earning a 10-6 win at FSU in late March. Senior goalkeeper Isabel Williams – who became the Bears' all-time saves leader at last month's the MPSF Championships – totaled 32 saves in the two wins over the Bulldogs. Cal has advanced to the NCAA Championship semifinals six times since 2014, making its only final in 2011.
 

BEAR NECESSITIES

MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP
It was a memorable start to the postseason in Indiana for the Bears, who made their deepest MPSF Championship run since 2011. Williams totaled 12 saves in Cal's 15-10 tournament-opening win over No. 19 San Jose State, surpassing Stephanie Peckham for the No. 1 spot in program history on a second-quarter penalty save. In the semis, the Bears earned their largest-ever victory over No. 4 Stanford, dominating from the outset in a 10-4 win while holding the Cardinal to its fewest goals since 2018. Cal fell to No. 1 UCLA 13-10 in the championship game, led by Rozanne Voorvelt's three goals. Voorvelt and Elena Flynn were named to the MPSF All-Tournament Team.

ALL-CONFERENCE
Cal was the only team with multiple All-MPSF First Team selections. Williams earned the honor for the third straight year, while Maryn Dempsey and first-year Bear Flynn made their debuts on the first team. Maddie DeMattia and Mallory Reynoso were also named All-MPSF Honorable Mentions and Flynn additionally claimed a spot on the MPSF All-Newcomer Team.

SAVED BY THE ISABEL
Two-time ACWPC All-American goalkeeper Isabel Williams owns career and MPSF-highs this season in both saves per game (12.3) and save percentage (.650). She has reached double-digit saves in 20 of 23 games, including a pair of career high-tying 18-save efforts. Her first 18-save effort came on Feb. 24, when she held Fresno State to a season-low five goals. That led to her first of three MPSF Player of the Week honors during the season. She has stopped seven penalties over the last seven games and enters the NCAA Championship with 843 career saves. In March, Williams was also named to the Cutino Award Watch List for the second straight time.

DEFENSIVE CLINIC
Cal's defense has been at the center of its success all season long. The Bears have allowed double-digit goals just once during the regular season and three times overall – two fewer than any other MPSF team. Cal has also held opponents to five goals or fewer on eight occasions.

DEMPSEY DOES IT ALL
From leading the team in sprints won to being the only Bear to score in all 23 games, Maryn Dempsey has been essential for the Bears in her senior year. An MPSF All-Newcomer selection in 2021 and an Honorable Mention last year, Dempsey earned her first career first-team honor in April. The Murrieta native has put in 14 multi-goal efforts this year – including three straight during the MPSF Championship – and leads the team with 42 goals. She also has a team-high 102 goals in her career after reaching the 100-goal milestone in the Bears' MPSF semifinal win over Stanford.

MADDIE IN THE MIDDLE
One of the Bears' most effective options in the middle, Maddie DeMattia has been enjoying the best offensive stretch of her career. She ended the regular season with multi-goal efforts in four of the last seven games, including a hat trick against No. 12 Indiana and a career-high four-goal outing on Senior Day against SJSU. DeMattia has also set career highs in goals (22) and earned exclusions (46), the latter ranking second in the MPSF.

IMPACTFUL NEWCOMERS
Led by the dynamic offensive play of Flynn, the Bears' talented troupe of newcomers have made a big impact since the first day of the season. After transferring to Cal following back-to-back All-American seasons at UC Irvine, Flynn has gone on to score 41 goals, good for second on the team. She also leads the Bears in four-goal games (4) and ranks fifth in the conference in field blocks (13). Flynn took home two weekly conference honors this year on top of being named to the All-MPSF First Team.

Former Netherlands youth national team member Feline Voordouw is the Bears' third-leading scorer with 30 goals, having poured in four hat tricks this year. Freshmen Julia Bonaguidi and Julianne Snyder have added 11 and seven goals, respectively.
*2024 Cal Season Stats

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
The Bears have advanced to the NCAA Championship semifinals four times since 2017. Prior to that, they finished in fourth place in both 2014 and 2015, fell to Stanford 9-5 in their only championship game appearance in 2011, and took third with an 11-7 win over Loyola Marymount in 2010. Cal was defeated by Princeton 11-9 in last year's quarterfinal round.

NATIONAL POWERHOUSE
Cal began the year with a No. 4 national ranking (Collegiate Water Polo Association), making it 14 straight years with a top-four ranking in the preseason. The Bears moved up to No. 2 following the second week of the season – earning its first top-two ranking since February of 2022 – and held that spot for a total of three weeks.

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