DAVIS, Calif. — UC Davis women's water polo team opens the 2026 season with a stacked weekend in the Bay, competing against Santa Clara on Friday, Jan. 17 at 9:00 a.m. PT before taking on Fresno Pacific at 12:00 p.m. PT. The Aggies face off against Stanford on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 1:00 p.m. PT to close out the opening weekend. 

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN/FOLLOW
Jan. 17  — vs. Santa Clara | Watch Live | Live Stats | @ucdaviswwp (X/Instagram)
Jan. 17  — vs. Fresno Pacific | Watch Live | Live Stats | @ucdaviswwp (X/Instagram)
Jan. 18  — vs. #1 Stanford | @ucdaviswwp (X/Instagram)

GAME NOTES

• Preseason Big West Honors: Junior Bridget Miller comes into the season being awarded a spot on the 2026 Big West Preseason Team. Miller was an All-Big West Second Team honoree a year ago, and enters her third season in the blue and gold after scoring 47 goals and eight assists for 55 points, leading the Aggies in total goals scored. As a sophomore, she scored eight hat tricks, including going for a career-high four goals three separate times. 
• 2025 Recap: UC Davis finished the 2025 season 13-15 with a fifth place finish in the Big West Conference. The Aggies fell to UC San Diego in the Big West Quarterfinals.
• 2025 Poll: The Aggies were picked tied for fourth in the Big West preseason poll, receiving 28 points.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS

• The Santa Clara Broncos come into 2026 after a 6-19 campaign a year ago, finishing last in the Golden Coast Conference standings.
• The Broncos are led by senior utility player Megan Chambliss, playing in 41 games and finishing with 57 points. 
• Santa Clara is also led by junior goalkeeper Haley Tassell, who started every game last season while playing nearly 700 minutes in the cage. As the Broncos primary goalkeeper, she posted a .315 save percentage in 2025.
• Fresno Pacific enters the season after a 14-13 campaign a year ago, where they posted a 1-3 conference record, finishing fourth in the 2025 WWPA Championships. 
• The Sunbirds are led offensively by former 50 goal scorer Maggie Cook, who returns for her junior season after scoring nine hat tricks, including a career-high six goals last season.
• In goal, Fresno Pacific is supported by sophomore Evalena Filippi. As the backup last season, Filippi made an appearance in 13 games, playing 157 minutes while posting a .414 save percentage.
• The Stanford Cardinal enter into the 2026 season after a 25-1 campaign a year ago, where they posted a 5-1 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference record, finishing the year as national champions for the third time in the last four seasons. 
• On offense, the Cardinal are led by returning All-American junior Jenna Flynn, with a team high of 68 goals, 31 assists, and 20 multi-goal games. 
• Stanford is also led by the nation's top goalkeeper, junior Christine Carpenter, who finished with 165 saves during her first full season. Named MVP of both the MPSF All-Tournament Team and NCAA All-Tournament Team, Carpenter was also a second-team All-MPSF selection.

SEASON NOTES

• UC Davis is led by Jamey Wright and Hodgens Family Director of Women's Water Polo Kandace Waldthaler, who enters her fourth season as head coach and 15th season overall on staff.
• Returning for her third season is former Aggie and current assistant coach Dakotah Sturla.
• The Aggies return a strong core of returning players. Coming off an appearance at the 2025 World Aquatics U20 Water Polo Championships, Chelsea Johnson enters year three looking to use her international experience to elevate the Aggies to new heights. After leading the offense a year ago, Bridget Miller also enters her third season for the team, being selected to the preseason All-Big West Team.
• Despite the departure of all-time assist leader Kelly Hungerford, UC Davis brings in a strong recruiting class, with Hanalora Abel, Adi Englebert, Megan Garner, Audrey Quilala, and Sydney Rubin joining the Aggies.
• With the team joining the Golden Coast Conference in 2027, this season will mark the last in the Big West for the Aggies.

ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS: 

UC Davis, the No. 2 ranked public university by the Wall Street Journal, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked #1 in Agriculture and Forestry as well as #1 in Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis is located in a true California college town nestled between world-class destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe. Over 650 Aggie student-athletes compete in 25 Division I varsity sports, with 16 sports transitioning to the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026–27. 

For more information, visit https://ucdavisaggies.com/.