Interactive Bracket>>>>
IRVINE, Calif. -- The seedings are now set for the 2023 Big West Women’s Water Polo Championship, hosted by UC Santa Barbara at Campus Pool, Fri.-Sun., April 28-30.
 
With Cal State Fullerton adding a women's water polo program this season, The Big West Championship is now an eight-team tournament with no first-round bye for the top seed like in years past. The quarterfinals will take place on Friday, April 28, semfinals on Saturday, April 29 and the title game on Sunday, April 30. The winner will earn The Big West's automatic bid into the 2023 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship. 
 
UC Irvine is the No. 1 seed after going a perfect 7-0 in conference play. The nationally fourth-ranked Anteaters (17-6) secured a share of the regular season title with an 11-10 victory at Hawai’i on April 15 and clinched the top spot outright with an 11-9 home win over Long Beach State on April 22. The last time UC Irvine won the regular season crown and No. 1 seed was in 2017. The Anteaters will face No. 8 seed Cal State Fullerton in the first quarterfinal game at 9 a.m. PT. The Titans (12-19) are in their inaugural season of competition in the pool. UC Irvine routed Cal State Fullerton 17-3 when the two teams met in the regular season. 
 
The second seed will go to Hawai’i (19-5, 6-1 Big West), with its only loss in conference play coming against UC Irvine. Hawai’i is ranked fifth nationally and will face No. 7 seed CSUN (17-12, 1-6 Big West) at 11 a.m. PT. The Rainbow Wahine claimed a 12-3 victory when the two teams matched up during the regular season.
 
The No. 3 seed will go to Long Beach State (17-7, 5-2 Big West) and will take on No. 6 seed UC Santa Barbara (18-10, 2-5 Big West) at 1 p.m. PT. The Beach took down the Gauchos 12-6 in the regular season.
 
The final quarterfinal matchup at 3 p.m. PT will feature No. 4 seed UC San Diego (12-16, 4-3 Big West) against No. 5 seed UC Davis (15-13, 3-4 Big West). The two teams met three times during the regular season, with the Tritons coming out on top twice. UC San Diego secured an 8-7 win over the Aggies in its home pool at the Triton Invitational in the first weekend of February. UC Davis defeated UC San Diego 9-6 two weeks later at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Irvine. The Tritons came out on top in conference play with a 10-9 triumph in Davis.
 
The winners of the UC Irvine-Cal State Fullerton and UC San Diego-UC Davis matchups will face off in the first semifinal on Saturday, April 29 at 11 a.m. PT. The victors of the Hawai’i-CSUN and Long Beach State-UC Santa Barbara matchups will meet in the second semifinal at 1 p.m. PT.  
 
The championship game is scheduled for a noon PT start on Saturday, April 30.
 
In 2022, No. 2 seed UC Irvine won the title, taking down top-seeded and host Hawai’i 11-8 in the title match. The Anteaters have won the most championship trophies with eight, followed by the Rainbow Wahine with four. 
 
All games from Campus Pool will be able to be broadcasted on ESPN+ with Greg Mescall (all games), Kodi Roberts (quarterfinal) and Kami Craig (semifinal and final) on the call. Fans can also follow the games through live stats on The Fosh.
 
THE 2023 BIG WEST WOMEN'S WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIP
Hosted by UC Santa Barbara at Campus Pool
Championship Homepage
 
Friday, April 28
9 a.m. PT | No. 1 seed UC Irvine vs. No. 8 seed Cal State Fullerton
11 a.m. PT | No. 4 seed UC San Diego vs. No. 5 seed UC Davis
1 p.m. PT | No. 2 seed Hawai’i vs. No. 7 seed CSUN 
3 p.m. PT | No. 3 seed Long Beach State vs. No. 6 seed UC Santa Barbara
 
Saturday, April 29
11 a.m. PT | Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
1 p.m. PT | Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4
 
Sunday, April 30
12 p.m. PT | Final