There will be a new WWPA champion
IRVINE, Calif. - The Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) will have a new champion following the first day of the 2026 WWPA Women's Championship on Friday afternoon at the Woollett Aquatics Center.
Biola downed titleholders McKendree in Friday's late-afternoon quarterfinal, earning revenge from the 2025 Final. The Eagles will face Salem, which never trailed in its quarterfinal win over Fresno Pacific.
Cal State Monterey Bay earned its second straight trip to the semifinals with a close win over Gannon. The Otters move on to face No. 1 West seed Concordia in Saturday's first semifinal.
Here's how the day went:
#3W Cal State Monterey Bay 15 - #2E Gannon 13 | Box Score
Gannon rallied from a six-goal deficit to force a tie in the fourth quarter, but Cal State Monterey Bay withstood the rally to advance, 15-13, in the first quarterfinal.
All-WWPA First Team and All-Freshman selection Olivia Gutierrez led the Otters with four goals and two assists, and Alex Harris added a hat trick as the Otters advanced to take on No. 1 West seed Concordia in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon.
CSUMB (13-15) scored the game's first three goals and pushed its lead to as many as six, 9-3, with 1:23 left in the second quarter. It appeared the Otters would pull away, but GU (9-11) had other ideas.
The Golden Knights pulled within three by the end of the third, and when Brigid Carmody and Maria Martinez scored on back-to-back possessions, Gannon forced a tie for the first time since the opening ball drop, 11-11.
CSUMB was game, though, as Shea Tully found Gutierrez with a cross-pool pass for a close-range goal the next trip down. Alex Harris then tacked on a goal to push the lead to two.
Molly Fehr scored to make it 13-12, but Gutierrez and Stella Martin found the net on back-to-back possessions to put the game out of reach.
Martinez netted a game-high five goals while Carissa Jones contributed a hat trick for Gannon.
GU takes on UC Merced in an exhibition on Saturday morning and will join Fresno Pacific and McKendree in the 5th-7th place round-robin consolation bracket.
#1E Salem 16 - #4W Fresno Pacific 5 | Box Score
The No. 1 East seed led from start to finish as Salem (14-6) downed Fresno Pacific, 16-5, in Friday's second quarterfinal.
The Tigers scored the game's first six goals and held the Sunbirds scoreless for the first 13 minutes of the contest to secure their spot in the WWPA semifinals for the first time since 2022.
All-WWPA freshman Matipa Karimazondo scored a game-high four goals, WWPA Player of the Year Courtney Repinz and Iris Oudshoorn netted hat tricks, and Kristen Hemmila made 10 saves.
Sierra Coyne scored twice for Fresno Pacific (7-19).
The Sunbirds will compete in the 5th-7th place round-robin consolation bracket along with Gannon and McKendree.
#2W Biola 18 - #3E McKendree 15 | Box Score
Scoring was at a premium the last time Biola and McKendree met for the 2025 WWPA Championship, but Friday was a different story.
The teams combined for 13 goals in the opening quarter as both offenses answered one another out of the gate. The Eagles (10-18) led 8-5 at the first break, but the Bearcats (9-18) nudged within two at halftime.
Annabella Rapp and Ava LoBue's two goals late in the third pushed the Eagles' lead back to four. Alyah Ibarra scored twice in the fourth to keep any Bearcat rally at bay.
Gwendolyn Pidd led all scorers with five goals while LoBue contributed three.
Jazmine Sandoval netted four and Bella Morquecho added a hat trick for the Bearcats.
The Bearcats will compete in the 5th-7th place round-robin consolation bracket along with Gannon and Fresno Pacific.