#GCCWATERPOLO – Golden Coast Conference play has taken the spotlight as the season heads into week eight. This week will start with a GCC matchup featuring Azusa Pacific at No. 19 San Diego State on Thursday. From there all eyes turn to Claremont for the annual Convergence.
Pacific faces two Top 25 opponents, hosting No. 14 UC Davis on Saturday before traveling to No. 17 San Jose State on Sunday. The focus then turns to the Claremont Convergence, where Azusa Pacific, No. 22 California Baptist, No. 7 LMU and Santa Clara will each play four games across six host sites. No. 11 Fresno State is off this week.
Here is a look at this week’s schedule:
Thursday, March 5
Azusa Pacific at #19 San Diego State – 2:00 P.M. • GCC Game: Stats
Friday, March 6
McKendree vs. Azusa Pacific – 11:30 A.M. (Claremont Convergence)
# 20 Wagner vs. #7 LMU – 11:30 A.M. (Claremont Convergence)
# 22 California Baptist at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps – 12:45 P.M. (Claremont Convergence)
Santa Clara at Cal State Fullerton – 2:00 P.M. (Claremont Convergence)
UC Merced vs. #7 LMU – 4:30 P.M. (Claremont Convergence)
Salem vs. Azusa Pacific – 5:45 P.M. (Claremont Convergence)
#22 California Baptist at #25 Pomona-Pitzer – 7:00 P.M. (Claremont Convergence)
Santa Clara at Chapman – 7:00 P.M. (Claremont Convergence)
Saturday, March 7
#5 Arizona State vs. Santa Clara – 8:30 A.M. (Claremont Convergence)
Iona vs. #22 California Baptist – 9:45 A.M. (Claremont Convergence)
Azusa Pacific vs. UC Merced – 11:00 A.M. (Claremont Convergence)
#14 Princeton vs. #7 LMU – 11:00 A.M. (Claremont Convergence)
Santa Clara vs. Concordia – 1:30 P.M. (Claremont Convergence)
#18 Marist vs. #22 California Baptist – 1:30 P.M. (Claremont Convergence)
LIU Brooklyn vs. #7 LMU – 2:45 P.M. (Claremont Convergence)
Azusa Pacific at Occidental – 4:00 P.M. (Claremont Convergence)
#14 UC Davis at #24 Pacific – 5:00 P.M.
Sunday, March 1
#24 Pacific at #17 San Jose State – 1:00 P.M.
For full coverage, check out the full schedule here >>
A LOOK BACK AT WEEK SIX
Five of the eight games in Week 7 were Golden Coast Conference matchups. No. 19 San Diego State earned a pair of home victories, defeating Santa Clara 20-4 on Friday and No. 25 Pacific 17-10 on Sunday. Pacific split its trip to Southern California, defeating Azusa Pacific 19-10 on Friday.
No. 22 California Baptist secured a 14-8 GCC victory over Santa Clara. In the weekend’s featured matchup, No. 7 LMU posted a 12-9 win over then-No. 10 Fresno State in a top-10 showdown.
In nonconference play, Santa Clara split two games Sunday, defeating Redlands 21-5 before falling to Pomona-Pitzer 12-10. Azusa Pacific earned an 18-9 victory over Chapman on Saturday.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Freshman Emison Styris led No. 7 LMU to a 12-9 victory over No. 10 Fresno State and was named Golden Coast Conference Player of the Week on March 5. Styris posted game highs with four goals and five points. She tied the score at 5-5 midway through the second quarter, sparking a run that put the Lions ahead for good. Styris scored the final goal of the first half with eight seconds remaining and opened the third quarter with another score. She added a fourth-quarter penalty shot to seal the victory.
2026 Player of the Week Honorees:
Mar. 5 – Emison Styris, LMU
Feb. 26 – Noa Sasover, LMU
Feb. 19 – Claudia Valdes, San Diego State
Feb. 12 – Emmie Ramirez, California Baptist
Feb. 5 – Anna Tarantino, LMU
Jan. 29 – Katelyn Mobley, Fresno State
Jan. 22 – Mimi Stoupas, San Diego State
WEEK SEVEN HIGHLIGHTS
Emmie Ramirez led California Baptist in scoring again Saturday afternoon, totaling seven points in CBU’s 14-8 win over Santa Clara. Ramirez recorded her seventh consecutive hat trick with three goals and four assists and tied for the team lead with two steals.
Mimi Stoupas led San Diego State to a pair of GCC wins, defeating Santa Clara 20-4 and No. 25 Pacific 17-10. She scored 11 goals over the two games, increasing her league-leading total to 52. She added three steals and three assists for 14 points on the weekend, scoring six goals against Santa Clara and five against Pacific.
Other notable performances last week: Fresno State’s Katelyn Mobley continued to shine in goal for the Bulldogs, making 12 saves with two steals against No. 7 LMU. Ella Cowan and Laia Marsinach Ortega led Pacific to a split in Southern California, each totaling eight points with five goals and three assists. Santa Clara played four games in Southern California and was led by Megan Chambliss, who recorded 10 goals and two assists while adding two steals.
2026 GCC Stat Leaders
Visit the
GCC Stats Page for full stats on all teams.
Goals
| ## |
Name |
Team |
G |
| 1. |
Mimi Stoupas |
SDSU |
52 |
| 2. |
Hailey Andress |
FS |
51 |
|
Jessie Nelson |
APU |
51 |
| 4. |
Audrey Dexter |
APU |
44 |
|
Bailey Hollick |
APU |
44 |
Assists
| ## |
Name |
Team |
A |
| 1. |
Claudia Valdes |
SDSU |
40 |
|
Niya Bumbaca |
CBU |
40 |
| 3. |
Emmie Ramirez |
CBU |
38 |
| 4. |
Sophia DeMattia |
LMU |
32 |
|
Ioanna Petiki |
SDSU |
32 |
Points
| ## |
Name |
Team |
G |
| 1. |
Emmie Ramirez |
CBU |
81 |
| 2. |
Claudia Valdes |
SDSU |
72 |
| 3. |
Niya Bumbaca |
CBU |
70 |
| 4. |
Hailey Andress |
FS |
68 |
| 5. |
Audrey Dexter |
APU |
64 |
Field Blocks
| ## |
Name |
Team |
FB |
| 1. |
Anna Tarantino |
LMU |
21 |
| 2. |
Emison Styris |
LMU |
11 |
| 3. |
Devyn Ruffer |
CBU |
10 |
| 4. |
Annika Burks |
SCU |
8 |
|
Brooke Tora Gil |
LMU |
8 |
Steals
| ## |
Name |
Team |
Stl |
| 1. |
Emmie Ramirez |
CBU |
31 |
| 2. |
Lucy Bullock |
SDSU |
28 |
| 3. |
Laurel Cooper |
PAC |
25 |
| 4. |
Claudia Valdes |
SDSU |
24 |
|
Mimi Stoupas |
SDSU |
24 |
Saves
| ## |
Name |
Team |
Svs |
| 1. |
Katelyn Mobley |
FS |
153 |
| 2. |
Haley Tassell |
SCU |
147 |
| 3. |
Daniela Herrero Miralles |
APU |
123 |
| 4. |
Madison Searle |
LMU |
106 |
| 5. |
Tyanna Schneider |
CBU |
80 |
Goals Against Average
| ## |
Name |
Team |
GP |
GAA |
| 1. |
Madison Searle |
LMU |
13 |
9.26 |
| 2. |
Tiaare Ahovelo |
SDSU |
13 |
9.48 |
| 3. |
Katelyn Mobley |
FS |
17 |
10.92 |
Save Percentage
| ## |
Name |
Team |
SV |
Sv% |
| 1. |
Tiaare Ahovelo |
SDSU |
68 |
.531 |
| 2. |
Madison Searle |
LMU |
106 |
.520 |
| 3. |
Katelyn Mobley |
FS |
153 |
.477 |
NATIONAL POLLS
The Collegiate Water Polo Association Varsity Top 25 after week seven has LMU ranked seventh with 76 points. Fresno State dropped a spot to a tie for 11th with Michigan at 59 points. San Diego State and California Baptist remained at their same spots from a week ago, sitting at No. 19 and No. 22, respectively. Pacific moved up a spot to No. 24.
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
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.
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.