The seedings are now set for the 2024 Big West Women’s Water Polo Championship, hosted by UC Davis at Schaal Aquatics Center, Friday-Sunday, April 26-28.
The quarterfinals will take place on Friday, April 26, the semifinals on Saturday, April 27 and the title game on Sunday, April 28. The winner will earn The Big West's automatic bid into the 2024 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship.
Hawai'i (19-3) is the No. 1 seed after going a perfect 7-0 record in conference play and securing the regular season title for the sixth time in program history. The Rainbow Wahine have won the championship four times, last lifting the trophy in 2021. Hawai'i matches up with No. 8 seed Cal State Fullerton (10-18, 1-6 Big West) in the first game of the quarterfinal round at 10 a.m. PT. Hawai'i routed the Titans at home, 20-4, when the two teams met in the regular season.
There were two sets of ties in the standings at the conclusion of Big West play.
Long Beach State (20-8) and UC Irvine (17-10) tied for second in the league table with identical records of 4-2. The Anteaters earn the No. 2 seed thanks to a 14-13 overtime win against the Beach in what was the final regular season contest for both teams. Long Beach State will be the No. 3 seed.
The trio of CSUN (18-14), UC Davis (10-17) and UC Santa Barbara (15-13) share the fifth slot in the standings with the same mark of 2-5. The Matadors get the No. 5 seed, winning the tiebreaker with regular season wins over the Gauchos, 9-8, and Aggies, 7-6. UC Santa Barbara is the No. 6 seed with a 7-5 triumph against UC Davis. The Aggies are the No. 7 seed.
No. 4 seed UC San Diego (17-11, 4-3 Big West) faces CSUN in the second quarterfinal game at noon PT. The Trtions downed the Matadors, 16-7, in the regular season meeting between the teams.
The third game on the first day is UC Irvine against UC Davis at 2:30 p.m. PT. The Anteaters bested the Aggies, 11-9, in conference play.
The final matchup of the quarterfinal round will have third-seeded Long Beach State versus UC Santa Barbara at 4:30 p.m. PT. The Beach took care of the Gauchos, 10-4, in the regular season.
The winners of the Hawai'i-Cal State Fullerton and UC San Diego-CSUN matchups will square off in the first semifinal on Saturday, April 27 at noon PT. The victors of the UC Irvine-CSUN and Long Beach State-UC Santa Barbara matchups will meet in the second semifinal at 2 p.m. PT. The championship game is scheduled for a noon PT start on Saturday, April 28.
Last season, UC Irvine won the championship title as the top seed. In the final, the Anteaters defeated No. 2 seed Hawai'i 10-9 in overtime. UC Irvine has won the most championship trophies with nine, followed by the Rainbow Wahine with four.
All games from Schaal Aquatics Center will be able to be broadcasted on ESPN+ with Greg Mescall (all games), Jamie Neushul (quarterfinal) and Brenda Villa (semifinal and final) on the call. Fans can also follow the games through live stats on The Fosh.
THE 2024 BIG WEST WOMEN'S WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIP
Hosted by UC Davis at Schaal Aquatics Center
Championship Homepage
Friday, April 26
10 a.m. PT | No. 1 seed Hawai‘i vs. No. 8 seed Cal State Fullerton
Noon PT | No. 4 seed UC San Diego vs. No. 5 seed CSUN
2:30 p.m. PT | No. 2 seed UC Irvine vs. No. 7 seed UC Davis
4:30 p.m. PT | No. 3 seed Long Beach State vs. No. 6 seed UC Santa Barbara
Saturday, April 27
12 p.m. PT | Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
2 p.m. PT | Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4
Sunday, April 28
12 p.m. PT | Final