#GCCWATERPOLO – There are 15 games scheduled this weekend in the Golden Coast Conference, with 12 of them coming with three teams at a pair of tournaments. No. 9 LMU and No. 19 San Diego State are in La Jolla for the annual Triton Invitational for four games each, while Santa Clara travels east for four games at the Princeton Invitational.
After starting the season 13-5, the GCC had another impressive showing in week two, with nine of the 17 matchups coming against ranked opponents, going 9-8 on the weekend.
Highlighting the week was Pacific earning a win in their season opener, Fresno State earning wins over No. 16 UC Davis and No. 12 San Jose State, LMU getting a win over No. 17 Michigan, and APU going 3-1 on the weekend.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Taking on four ranked opponents, including a pair of top-five programs, No. 10 Fresno State’s Katelyn Mobley led the team with 44 saves in the four games to earn GCC Player of the Week honors for Jan. 29. She led the Bulldogs to wins over No. 12 San Jose State (10-8) and No. 16 UC Davis (13-9), while falling to No. 4 and host Cal (15-11) and No. 3 UCLA (14-6). She had a .500 save percentage, going up against some of the nation's top talent. The true freshman had her best performance of the weekend with a season-high 16 saves against No. 16 UC Davis. Her 16 saves are enough for second in a game in program history, and the most by a true freshman. She allowed only nine goals for a .640 save percentage against the Aggies, her highest of the season. She had 10 or more saves in three of the four games on the weekend.
WEEK TWO HIGHLIGHTS
Azusa Pacific was led to a 3-1 record on the weekend thanks to senior Jessie Nelson, the 2025 GCC Newcomer of the Year. She led the team to wins over Whittier (21-6), VMI (14-6) and California Lutheran (15-10). Their one setback was to Cal State Fullerton (11-8). She led the team with 13 goals with six assists as the Cougars improved to 5-3 on the season.
Sophomore Emmie Ramierz led No. 23 California Baptist at the Arizona State Tournament over the weekend, falling to No. 11 Arizona State (16-7) and No. 13 UC San Diego (11-9), while defeating McKendree (30-4). She led the Lancers in total points and goals at the Malmsten Invitational hosted by Arizona State with 13 over three games. Against McKendree, Ramirez scored a hat trick to pair with two assists as the Lancers set their NCAA-era record for most goals scored in a match with 30.
No. 9 LMU was also at the Malmsten Invitational in Tempe, Ariz., over the weekend, going 2-1 with wins over No. 17 Michigan (14-10) and MKendree (24-10), while falling to the host No. 11 ASU (17-15). Graduate student Anna Tarantino shared team-highs in both total goals and total points after scoring seven times with three assists for 10 points at Arizona State's tournament. Tarantino scored multiple goals in all three games to lead the Lions to a 2-1 record over the weekend. The grad senior also drew three exclusions, added two field blocks, and recorded two steals.
In her first collegiate game, No. 17 Pacific freshman Sophie Pethers shined with four goals and two assists for six points. She helped lead the Tigers to a 23-6 win over Fresno Pacific in the season opener.
A LOOK AT WEEK THREE
A trio of tournaments will dominate action in week three of the collegiate water polo season. No. 9 LMU and No. 19 San Diego State will play each other to begin the UC San Diego Triton Invitational beginning on Friday. It will be one of four games each will play in La Jolla. Santa Clara travels east for four games at the Princeton Invitational, including three teams in this week’s national coaches’ poll.
No. 23 California Baptist will host a pair of games on Saturday, including No. 25 CSUN. Another top-25 matchup is on the books for Saturday as No. 17 Pacific travels to No. 4 Cal. Rounding out the action is Azusa Pacific at La Verne. No. 10 Fresno State is off this week.
Here is a look at the full slate of games for week three:
Friday, January 30
Iona University vs. Santa Clara – 10:30 A.M. (Princeton Invite)
#19 San Diego State vs. #9 Loyola Marymount – 1:20 P.M. (Triton Invitate)
LIU Brooklyn vs. Santa Clara – 3:00 P.M. (Princeton Invite)
Saturday, January 31
#19 San Diego State at UC San Diego Triton Invite – TBD
#9 LMU at UC San Diego Triton Invite – TBD
Azusa Pacific at La Verne – 9:00 A.M.
Santa Clara at #15 Princeton – 9:00 A.M. (Princeton Invite)
#25 CSUN at #23 California Baptist – 10:00 A.M.
Biola at #23 California Baptist – 4:00 P.M.
#17 Pacific at #4 California – 5:30 P.M.
Sunday, February 1
#19 San Diego State at UC San Diego Triton Invite – TBD
#9 LMU at UC San Diego Triton Invite – TBD
Villanova vs. Santa Clara – 8:00 A.M. (Princeton Invite)
NATIONAL POLLS
The Collegiate Water Polo Association Varsity Top 25 after week two has LMU ranked ninth with 70, followed by No. 10 Fresno State with 66 points. Pacific is ranked No. 17 with 32 points and San Diego State is tied at No. 19 with UC Santa Barbara, earning 24 points. California Baptist is back in the top-25 at No. 23 with 15 points.
Full poll >>
PRESEASON COACHES’ POLL
Fresno State has been picked to win the Golden Coast Conference in the 2026 season, according to the annual Preseason Coaches’ Poll released Friday. The seven GCC head coaches gave the Bulldogs 35 points, four better than second place LMU. Fresno State has won GCC tournament titles (2021-24) and three regular season titles (2021-23). LMU won last year’s tournament and the last two regular season championships. The two teams have faced off in the GCC title game three of the last four years, including epic battles in the last two title games. Fresno State earned five first place votes to LMU’s two to claim the top spot in this year’s preseason poll. Rounding out the poll is Pacific (26 points) at third place, San Diego State (21) in fourth, California Baptist (17) in fifth, Azusa Pacific (9) in sixth, and Santa Clara (8) in seventh.
ROAD TO THE GCC CHAMPIONSHIP
Conference play begins a month into the season with San Diego State traveling to California Baptist on Saturday, Feb. 14. It will be the first of 35 conference matchups as the road to the annual GCC Championship begins.
The 2026 GCC Championship will run from April10-12 at Fresno State. The action begins Friday, Apr. 10 with three quarterfinal matches with the top seed earning a bye to the semifinals. It will continue with a pair of semifinals and a pair of consolation games on Saturday, Apr. 11. The tournament will close with the third-place game followed by the championship match-up on Sunday, Apr. 12. Every game of the 2026 GCC Championship will be streamed live thanks to a streaming rights partner Overnght Media. Learn more >>
ABOUT THE GCC
The 2026 campaign will be the 13th season for the Golden Coast Conference and will feature seven institutions competing within the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Following the 2016 season, the women's division earned an automatic bid to the National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championships, with the winner of the annual league tournament representing the GCC. In 2025, LMU knocked off four-time GCC champion Fresno State, who won the tournament in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. It was the Lions' third tournament title.
Heading into the 2026 campaign, Concordia left the GCC to join the Western Water Polo Association. The league's seven members in 2026 are Azusa Pacific, California Baptist, Fresno State, Loyola Marymount, Pacific, San Diego State, and Santa Clara. This is the last season for the Lancers in the GCC, who will join the Big West in 2026-27. In that 2026-27 season, the GCC will consist of nine teams with Saint Mary's College, San Jose State and UC Davis joining the league.