2024 Kalbus Invite: Change at the Top of NCAA Women’s Water Polo

NEWPORT BEACH, CA. There was no clearer sign of the shift in this year’s NCAA women’s water polo than one of the quarterfinal matches Saturday at Corona del Mar High School. Stanford facing USC was a revelation; when in the 16-year history of the Barbara Kalbus Invitational (previously known as the UCI Invitational) have last year’s finalists for a national championship match faced each other so early in the tournament.

The answer (of course) is never.

For the Kalbus seeding, Stanford was fourth and USC fifth; this reflects the Trojans dropping to #6 in the CWPA poll and the Cardinal falling to seventh earlier this month—their lowest ever poll ranking.This ensured that the nation’s top two teams five of the last seven years—and for the last three—would not meet in the final (which is where they met last year, an 11-10 win by the Cardinal). A 12-7 win yesterday by Stanford sent John Tanner’s team into a semifinal against UCLA and gave the Trojans their third loss of the season. In 2023 the NCAA runners-up had a total of three losses.

Standing room only at Corona del Mar High School. Photo: M.Randazzo

USC, under new (and old) Head Coach Casey Moon, has struggled early. Unlike Trojan teams of old there’s no go-to scoring threat who can rise to any challenge. Freshman Ava Stryker (20 goals) is a great talent but needs time to grow into the decisive player Moon must have if his squad is to be in the mix for a national title.

Stanford appeared to have that big arm in Sophia Sanders, who tormented USC with four scores, including two in a decisive 15 minute stretch where the Cardinal scored seven unanswered goals, turning a 6-4 deficit into an 11-6 lead. But Sander’s shot-making was smothered in an afternoon semifinal against the Bruins. The junior striker took five shots and hit for none as UCLA came away with a workmanlike 9-6 win to advance to the Kalbus final. It was a reminder that any squad coached by Adam Wright is practiced in the relentless defense that’s a hallmark of Bruin polo.

Meeting Wright’s team today in the final is Hawai’i, which proved they are for real with a decisive 10-6 win over Cal. This is the Rainbow Wahine’s third victory this season over one of the Big Four—they previously beat Stanford when they were #1 and USC when they were #1. The only #1 team they have yet to beat is UCLA; they lost 13-12 in OT to the Bruins in the semifinal of the Triton Invitational. A win today would place Head Coach Maureen Cole’s squad on top of NCAA women’s polo for the first time ever. No matter what happens, Hawai’i is in the mix for an NCAA title; in the national championship’s 25-year history, only Stanford (9 titles), UCLA (7) and USC (6) have ever won.

Just too cute USC fans (and the Trojan’s videographer). Photo: M. Randazzo

A team not yet ready for the top of the polls is Fresno State. They came into the Kalbus as the nation’s #3 team but were “upset” (based on the seeding) by Cal in one of the other quarterfinals. The Bulldogs were down 6-2 at the half—and guess who knows how to play defense in front of goalie Isabel Williams… the Golden Bears. A 9-5 win by Head Coach Coralie Simmons’ side pushed Cal into a semifinal opposite Hawai’i, where Williams registered a lone save. It was the Rainbow Wahine’s Daisy Logtens who stood tall in goal, stopping 15 Cal shots.

Polo is big in Irvine. Photo: M. Randazzo

Of note here in Irvine has been the play of Long Beach State’s Lara Luka as well as The Beach head coach Shana Welch. Luka is incredibly strong in the water (8 goals over three matches) with a fierce intensity that reflects her coach. The black watch cap wearing Welch is a delight, from a fan’s perspective, as she speaks her mind to the referees. It's clear LBS is going to get better as the season progresses. They’re playing for seventh place today against host UC-Irvine; this is a preview of which Big West team will be chasing Hawai’i all season.

One update; anyone who saw my CWPA Week Five post for Swimming World will note that I can’t count! NINE of the nation’s Top Ten teams are at the Kalbus Invite this weekend; not eight, which I put in my headline (might have been changed, already). Only one missing is Princeton; I kinda get that they can only do one big travel tournament early in the season—the Tigers opened in Hawai’i last month—but as an East Coast guy I want the East’s top team playing against the nation’s best whenever they can. Dusty Litvak, Princeton’s men’s coach, has taken his team out to the MPSF Invitational the past few seasons with impressive results.