Women’s Water Polo Opens Conference Play at Home Against UC Santa Barbara

DAVIS, Calif. — UC Davis women's water polo begins play in the Big West this Saturday, Feb. 21, as the Aggies host UC Santa Barbara at 12:00 p.m. PT.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN/FOLLOW
Feb. 21 — vs UC Santa Barbara | Live Stats | @ucdaviswwp (X/Instagram)

GAME NOTES

Last Time Out: The Aggies move to 7-9 on the season after finishing 2-2 at the Midwest Invite last weekend. UC Davis secured dominant wins over McKendree (29-3) and Mercyhurst (21-4), while dropping one-point contests to No. 16 Michigan (13-14) and No. 10 Indiana (12-13).
Top Goal Scorers: Redshirt senior Gianna Nocetti leads UC Davis with 23 goals on the season after finding the back of the net four times over the weekend in Ann Arbor. Following closely behind is junior Ashley Wallin and fellow junior Chelsea Johnson, who both sit at 22 goals on the year. Wallin continues to serve as the premier distributor for the program, leading the team with 36 assists — a mark that ranks her second in the Big West and second in the NCAA.
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

UC Santa Barbara is 1-11 on the season and will travel to Davis to open Big West play on Saturday, having most recently dropped a match against Arizona State on February 8th.
The Gauchos' attack is led by redshirt senior Cami Mras, who has tallied 16 goals on the season, highlighted by a four-goal performance in a win over Biola.
Defensively, redshirt freshman Keira Wall anchors the Gauchos in the cage with 31 saves and 15 steals through eight games. Wall currently ranks eighth in the Big West in total saves.
The Aggies and Gauchos last met on March 9, 2025, in Santa Barbara, where UC Davis secured a 12-11 victory.

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/.

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