DAVIS, Calif. — UC Davis women's water polo continues the 2026 season this weekend at the Brigitte Donner Daws Memorial Invitational, formerly known as the Cal Cup, hosted by California in Berkeley. The Aggies open play on Saturday, Jan. 24 with an exhibition contest against USA Academy at 12:30 p.m. PT before facing San Jose State later that evening at 6:30 p.m. PT. UC Davis returns to the pool on Sunday, Jan. 25, taking on Long Beach State at 9:30 a.m. PT before closing the weekend against Fresno State at 3:30 p.m. PT.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN/FOLLOW
Jan. 24  — vs. USA Academy * | Watch Live | @ucdaviswwp (X/Instagram)
Jan. 24  — vs. San Jose State | Watch Live | Live Stats | @ucdaviswwp (X/Instagram)
Jan. 25  — vs. Long Beach State | Watch Live | @ucdaviswwp (X/Instagram)
Jan. 25  — vs. Fresno State | Watch Live | @ucdaviswwp (X/Instagram)
* Exhibition Game

GAME NOTES

• Last Time Out: UC Davis enters the tournament with a 2-1 record after opening the season with three road contests last weekend. The Aggies earned back-to-back wins over Santa Clara and Fresno Pacific on Saturday, Jan. 17, before falling to No. 1 Stanford on Sunday, Jan. 18.
• Top Goal Scorers: Redshirt senior Gianna Nocetti led the Aggies offensively over opening weekend, totaling seven goals, including a career-high six-goal performance against Fresno State to reach the 100-goal milestone for her career. Senior Liberty Massman and junior Chelsea Johnson each added six goals on the weekend, with both recording career-high five-goal performances against Fresno Pacific.
• 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

• San Jose State enters the weekend with a 3-0 record following its season-opening performance at the Polopalooza tournament. The matchup marks the first meeting between the Aggies and Spartans since the 2023 season, when UC Davis earned a pair of victories by scores of 12-8 and 9-7.
• The Spartans are led offensively by junior Darcy Spark, who totaled 11 goals and three steals over the opening weekend, including a career-high seven goals against No. 7 Fresno State. 
• In goal, San Jose State is anchored by senior Tatianna Raffin, who recorded 27 saves and four steals for the Spartans in the tournament.
• Long Beach State comes into the weekend unbeaten at 4-0 after competing at the Titan Invitational last weekend. UC Davis faced the Beach during the 2025 season, falling by a narrow 10-7 margin..
• Offensively, the Beach is led by senior attacker Elisa Portillo, who posted 20 goals, nine assists, and seven steals over the opening weekend. 
• In the cage, freshman Polina Synytsia led the team with 16 saves and one steal, finishing the weekend with a .410 save percentage.
• Fresno State enters the weekend with a 3-1 record following its season opener at the Polopalooza tournament. The Bulldogs earned wins over No. 15 Michigan, No. 8 UC Irvine, and No. 12 San Jose State, with their lone loss coming against No. 10 Indiana. UC Davis defeated Fresno State during the 2025 season by a score of 12-9.
• The Bulldogs are led by senior Hailey Andress, who recorded 10 goals, two assists, and one steal over the opening weekend.
• Freshman goalkeeper Katelyn Mobley led Fresno State with 37 saves and six steals, posting a .487 save percentage.

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 No. 1 in Agriculture and Forestry as well as No. 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/.