DAVIS, Calif. — After closing out the regular season with a victory at home, UC Davis women's water polo begins postseason play as the No. 3 seed with a Big West Championship quarterfinal match against No. 6 seed CSUN on Friday, April 10, at 10:00 a.m. PT.

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April. 10  — vs #6 CSUN (@ Long Beach State) | Live Stats | @ucdaviswwp (X/Instagram)

As the No. 3 seed, the Aggies open the Big West Championship on Friday, April 10, with a 10:00 a.m. quarterfinal match against No. 6 seed CSUN at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center. UC Davis enters the postseason with momentum after defeating the Matadors at home last weekend to finalize the conference standings.

All eight conference programs will compete in Friday's opening round, with the advancing teams moving on to the semifinals on Saturday, April 11. Should the Aggies secure a victory over the Matadors, they will return to the pool Saturday at 4:00 p.m. to face the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between No. 2 seed Long Beach State and No. 7 seed Cal State Fullerton. 

The tournament concludes on Sunday, April 12, at 2:00 p.m., where the final two teams will battle for the Big West title and the conference's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

GAME NOTES

• Last Time Out: The Aggies concluded the regular season with a 13-12 overall record and a 4-2 mark in Big West play. UC Davis officially secured the No. 3 seed following a 13-7 victory over CSUN on Saturday, April 4, providing the team with critical momentum heading into the Big West Championships.
• Top Goal Scorers: Gianna Nocetti now leads the Aggies with 45 goals on the season after a stellar performance in the regular-season finale, where she secured five goals on five shots against CSUN. Chelsea Johnson follows closely behind with 43 goals, while Ashley Wallin has tallied 36. Wallin continues to serve as the team's top distributor, leading the Big West in assists (60).
• The Goalkeepers: Eva Stein leads both the Aggies and the Big West with 204 saves on the season. Her standout performance came against Long Beach State on Jan. 25, where she recorded a season-high 16 saves. Supporting the defensive unit is Lucy Holland, who notched a season-best six saves and two steals in an Aggie victory over McKendree on Feb. 14.
• 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

• CSUN finished the regular season 17-8 with a 2-4 mark in conference play, entering the championships as the No. 6 seed.
• The top goal-scorer for the Matadors is freshman Mira Dravucz with 62 goals, who also ranks third in the Big West in total goals. She set her season-high of six goals in a single game against Fresno Pacific earlier this year.
• Erika Staine has been sturdy in goal for the Matadors, collecting 176 total saves and 27 steals with double-digit saves in six different games.
• The Aggies and Matadors last played each other April 4 in Davis, with the Aggies emerging victorious in a 10-6 win. 

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/.