Women’s water polo beat UC Davis 12-8 on senior night

HONOLULU — The No. 5 University of Hawaii women’s water polo team closed out its regular season Sernio Night with a 12-8 win over No. 12 UC Davis at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatics Complex. The Rainbow Wahine improved to 19-5 overall and finished second in the Big West with a 6-1 mark.

UH fended off a strong UC Davis start in the pivotal second quarter, then turned it around in the second half to secure the win. In the process, UH sent seniors Libby Gault, Olivia Kistler and Emma van Rossum a winner in their last home appearance.

Alba Bonamusa Boix recorded his seventh hat trick of the season with four goals to lead the Bows’ attacking attack. Three other players had multiple goals for UH, including van Rossum, who had a pair of goals in his final home game. Meanwhile, Bridget Layburn was a sure goal with his 12 saves.

UH fell into an early hole as the Aggies scored on their first two possessions. UC Davis led 3-2 after one quarter. But the Rainbow Wahine scored three goals in a row to start the second frame and never trailed again.

Davis responded with a pair of goals to tie the game, 5-5, midway through the second quarter. But Mantelatto Dias’ second goal of the night at 3:17 gave UH the lead for good. The ‘Bows went into halftime with a 7-5 advantage and increased their lead to five goals in the second half.

Hawai’i has now beaten UC Davis 21 straight, including all 10 Big West regular season games.

The ‘Bows will now focus on the 2023 Big West Water Polo Championship from 28-30. April in Santa Barbara, California. Well. 2 seed UH opens with a quarterfinal game against No. 7 CSUN on Friday, April 28 at 1pm PT/10am HT.

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