Stanford University announced on Mar. 30 that its No. 2 ranked women’s water polo team will face No. 4 California at the Avery Aquatic Center on Saturday, April 4, at 1 p.m., in the annual Big Splash rivalry match.
The outcome of this game holds significance for the upcoming Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championship seeding. Stanford can secure the No. 1 seed only if it defeats California and if UCLA beats USC by exactly one goal while USC scores no more than eight goals.
Stanford has dominated recent encounters with California, winning 22 out of their last 27 meetings over twelve seasons and already defeating them earlier this year during the Barbara Kalbus Invitational semifinals with a score of 14-7. Jenna Flynn and Sienna Green each scored four goals in that game, while Christine Carpenter made eleven saves.
Saturday’s match will also feature a Senior Day ceremony honoring Maggie Hawkins and Jackie King, who have contributed to a four-year record of 78-10 overall and two NCAA championships for Stanford. The Cardinal recently defeated Indiana by a wide margin (16-4), marking their seventh game this season scoring at least fifteen goals, led by Kamryn Barone and Juliette Dhalluin’s hat tricks.
Key players like Flynn (37 goals) and Dhalluin (33 goals) have earned multiple Player of the Week honors this season as part of an offense that regularly sees contributions from many team members. The squad includes athletes with international experience such as Flynn, Dhalluin, Serena Browne, and Green—all Olympians or medalists—while Brenda Villa joined as associate head coach after her decorated career as both player and coach.
Stanford is recognized as the only program to participate in every NCAA Championship since its inception and concluded last season holding both NCAA and MPSF titles after maintaining a top national ranking for most of the year.
