Indiana water polo competed in three championship matches over the weekend at the Spieker Aquatics Center in Berkeley, California to finish out its 2026 season.
In the opening round on Friday, the Hoosiers faced off against the No. 3 ranked University of California Los Angeles. The Bruins jumped out to a 3-1 lead midway through the first quarter, with goals coming from senior center Bia Mantellato, senior utility Anna Pearson, and sophomore attacker Jojo Walters. Indiana’s first two goals of the match came from senior attacker Louisa Downes. UCLA tacked on another score before the end of the quarter, giving the Bruins a 5-2 lead heading to the second.
Indiana senior attacker Savannah Batchelor got Indiana on the board with 7 minutes to go in the period, making it 6-3 UCLA. UCLA took advantage of two penalty shots, scoring goals from Mantellato and junior attacker Elektra Urbatsch. To close out the half, UCLA would score another goal with Indiana still hanging around, scoring two goals of their own, coming from senior attacker Grace Klinger and junior attacker Gwyneth Le. UCLA led Indiana 9-5 at the half.
The second half started with an hour-long lighting delay. Once the action started again, Indiana grabbed another goal from Klinger to inch closer at 9-6. After the last goal from Klinger, UCLA ran away with it. The Bruins went on a 5-0 run, with more goals coming from Urbatsch and Mantellato. Indiana would add a goal before the end of the quarter, coming from Downes. This was her third goal of the day, giving her a hat trick. By the time it was triple zeros on the third quarter clock, UCLA had the lead 14-7.
After two quick UCLA goals to start the fourth quarter, Indiana junior attacker Olivia Harris found the back of the net for the Hoosiers to make it 16-8. UCLA and Indiana traded back and forth goals from there on out, resulting in a 20-10 UCLA win.
On Saturday, Indiana faced off with No. 19 San Jose State University. To start the scoring, Indiana’s Le and Harris had back-to-back goals for a quick 2-0 Hoosier lead. San Jose State fought back with 3 goals of their own, before Klinger knotted it back up at 3-3. Indiana and San Jose State would each trade another goal, making it 4-4 going into the second quarter.
Another goal from Indiana’s Harris and Williams gave Indiana a 6-5 lead. To close out the half, San Jose State scored two late goals,to capture the lead 7-6.
In the third, Indiana’s Harris notched her third and fourth goals of the day before a 6-run frame for Indiana. Also joining in on the scoring for Indiana was two more from Klinger, Williams, and freshman attacker Macie Drum racking up her 12th goal of the season. Going into the fourth quarter, Indiana had the lead over San Jose State, 12-10.
Indiana would close out the match with two more goals early in the fourth quarter from Klinger and Downes. Indiana only surrendered one goal in the fourth, coming to a 14-11 finish in favor of the Hoosiers.
On Sunday, Indiana faced a familiar foe in No. 5 Arizona State University, whom they have met once earlier this season, with Arizona State winning 15-13. In this matchup, Arizona State jumped out to a two goal lead, with senior attacker Millie Quin and freshman attacker Maci Magee finding the back of the net for the Sun Devils. Indiana fought back with a goal of their own courtesy of freshman attacker Audrina Kang. Following Kang’s goal, her junior utility teammate Nancy Baylor-Sefchick knotted the game at 2-2. After each team traded goals to end the quarter, it was a 3-3 match.
Arizona State’s Quin and senior center Sophie Shorter-Robinson each scored in the third quarter, making Quin’s a hat trick. For Indiana, they got production from Williams, Klinger and two goals from junior utility Helga Terol Salvi. Heading into the half, Arizona State had the lead 10-7.
Both teams traded two goals to start the second half. Shorter-Robinson got the scoring started for the Sun Devils early in the third quarter, marking her third goal of the day. Graduate student center Nioka Thomas also found the back of the net for Arizona State. Indiana’s sophomore center Keira Blitzer and Downes both scored for the Hoosiers midway through the third, still having a 3-point deficit. To close out the frame, Arizona State would have more scoring from sophomore attacker Itziar Almeda and Quin recorded her fourth goal of the day. This goal for Quin tied the record for MPSF all-time leading scorer with 294. Going into the last frame, Arizona State led 14-10.
To start the last frame, Sun Devil freshman attacker Jelena Butic, freshman attacker Dominika Kardos and Nioka Thomas each notched a goal, making it 17-10. They would hold onto the lead for the rest of the match. Indiana only scored 2 goals in the fourth quarter, ultimately falling to Arizona State 18-12.
With both losses and the win, Indiana finished its season with a 16-11 record on the year.
