INDIANAPOLIS – No. 4 seed Hawai’i couldn’t overcome the juggernaut of top-seeded Stanford in the 2025 National Collegiate Women’s Water Polo Championship semifinals, falling 13-4 at IU Natatorium.
UH caps their Big West title winning season with a 22-5 record under the direction of first-year head coach and Big West Coach of the Year James Robinson. Meanwhile, Stanford improves to 24-1 and the national powerhouse will play in their 19th Championship final, winning nine titles and finishing as runners-up on nine occasions.
The Cardinal will take on the winner between No. 2 seed UCLA and No. 3 seed Southern California to set up an All-MPSF finale. Only one contested championship has ever seen a participant not from the Big Three (2004, LMU).
Stanford got on the board first with 5:43 on the clock in the first with the successful five-meter connect from the penalty for Jenna Flynn, the first in a six-goal game. The Cardinal quickly doubled with Flynn’s quick strike on the counter-attack making it 2-0 less than 30 seconds later. However, the UH defense came through in the clutch, with Rainbow Wahine sophomore Daisy Logtens recording a pair of saves in front of the cage at 3:26, and then denying Stanford on their third power play of the game with 2:48 remaining in the period.
Flynn scored a third on a 3-on-2 conversion with less than two minutes to go in the frame, but then the ’Bows’ offense was finally able to get in the mix. A pass to Jordan Wedderburn by the post earned a penalty after the Kamryn Barone foul. UH’s Ema Vernoux converted on the try to get UH on the board. On the ensuing possession, Bernadette Doyle secured the takeaway to give the team life and sister Gabrielle Doyle got the power-play strike with 18 seconds remaining in the period to make it a one-goal game at 3-2 in favor of the Cardinal.
The second was all Stanford, as the Cardinal scored four unanswered while holding the Rainbow Wahine scoreless in the frame. A bright moment came in the cage with 3:09 to play in the half as Logtens saved a penalty try from Jewel Roemer with the score still at 5-2 and the ’Bows still in striking distance.
Unfortunately, it took just 13 seconds into the third period for Stanford to extend its lead to 8-2, and then next UH goal came with 4:01 on the clock as Big West Player of the Year Doyle broke the drought to make it 10-3 in favor of the Cardinal. The Rainbow Wahine notched one more score with just under six minutes to play when the pass from Megan Rios found Wedderburn for the goal.
The youthful UH squad saw big contributions from their senior class in their semifinal contest. Doyle and Wedderburn each scored a goal with Rios assisting on a pair of scores while Stevilyn Griffin recorded one shot attempt.
Doyle caps the season with 56 goals, 39 assists and 55 steals and ends her Rainbow Wahine career with 132 goals, 104 assists and 133 steals, back-to-back All-Big West first team honors and 2025’s Player of the Year award.
Earlier in the week in Indianapolis, Hawai’i junior Raja Peiravani was honored as the NCAA’s Elite 90 Award winner, as the native of North Vancouver, B.C., Canada, holds an impressive 3.97 grade-point average in her finance and international business studies at Hawai’i.