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Looking for a Place to Play: Check Out the Collegiate Water Polo Association Women’s Pacific Coast Division

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Club Spotlight series remains on the West Coast this week with the current women’s Pacific Coast Division of California Polytechnic State University “A”, California Polytechnic State University “B”, California State University-Long Beach, the University of California-Los Angeles “A”, the University of California-Los Angeles “B”, the University of California-Santa Barbara “A”, the University of California-Santa Barbara “B”, the University of Southern California and an exhibition team from the University of California-Riverside which competed during the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season.

HISTORY: Founded in 1999 to serve all club teams in the State of California and Utah, the Pacific Coast Division has been without question the most successful division in the history of the Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship ranks thanks to 12 appearances in the National Championship game since 2000.

In the history of the division, Cal Poly has been the preeminent force as the Mustangs hold 16 division crowns (1999, 2000 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019) and three runner-up finishes (2014, 2015, 2016).  Overall, Cal Poly has played for the Pacific Coast title in each year of the division’s 22-year tenure with the exception of 2001, 2004 and this past season which was terminated prior to the division championship tournament.

UC-Santa Barbara is the only other team in the division with multiple division titles as the Gauchos claimed the 2015 and 2016 crowns with a second place mark in 2013.

Arguably, UCLA is the second most successful program in the division as the Bruins won the 2001 title and hold nine runner-up placements (2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010,, 2011, 2018, 2019).  Fellow “City of Angels” based institution USC claimed the 2004 championship, while former Pacific Coast/current Southwest Division member San Diego State University won the 2014 crown and placed second in 2012.

Current Sierra Pacific institutions California State University-Chico (1999, 2000), the University of California-Davis (2003) and California State University-Fresno (Fresno State: 2005, 2006), along with current Rocky Mountain Division member the University of Utah (2001) have also appeared in the Pacific Coast Division title tilt during their time in the group.

On the national level, the Pacific Coast Division has racked up nine crowns and five second place finishes as the member institutions have appeared in 14-of-20 contested Women’s National Collegiate Club Championships since the creation of the event in 2000.

Cal Poly holds the majority of the title game appearances with a women’s record seven National Championships (2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) and five runner-up placements (2002, 2007, 2012, 2017, 2018).  UC-Santa Barbara (2016) and current Southwest Division institution San Diego State (2014) also claimed National Championships as part of the Pacific Coast Division.

Pacific Coast Division Champion/Runner-Up

  • 1999 – California Polytechnic State University / California State University-Chico
  • 2000 – California Polytechnic State University / California State University-Chico
  • 2001 – University of California-Los Angeles / University of Utah
  • 2002 – California Polytechnic State University / University of California-Los Angeles
  • 2003  – California Polytechnic State University / University of California-Davis
  • 2004 – University of Southern California / University of California-Los Angeles
  • 2005 – California Polytechnic State University / Fresno State University
  • 2006 – California Polytechnic State University / Fresno State University
  • 2007 – California Polytechnic State University / University of California-Los Angeles
  • 2008 – California Polytechnic State University / University of California-Los Angeles
  • 2009 – California Polytechnic State University / University of California-Los Angeles
  • 2010 – California Polytechnic State University / University of California-Los Angeles
  • 2011 – California Polytechnic State University / University of California-Los Angeles
  • 2012 – California Polytechnic State University / San Diego State University
  • 2013 – California Polytechnic State University / University of California-Santa Barbara
  • 2014 – San Diego State University / California Polytechnic State University
  • 2015 – University of California-Santa Barbara / California Polytechnic State University
  • 2016 – University of California-Santa Barbara / California Polytechnic State University
  • 2017 – California Polytechnic State University / Long Beach State University
  • 2018 – California Polytechnic State University / University of California-Los Angeles
  • 2019 – California Polytechnic State University / University of California-Los Angeles

National Collegiate Club Champion/Runner-Up

  • 2002 – Michigan State University / California Polytechnic State University
  • 2003 – California Polytechnic State University / Michigan State University
  • 2004 – California Polytechnic State University/ Dartmouth College
  • 2005 – California Polytechnic State University / Dartmouth College
  • 2007 – Fresno State University / California Polytechnic State University
  • 2008 – California Polytechnic State University / University of Oregon
  • 2009 – California Polytechnic State University / University of Notre Dame
  • 2010 – California Polytechnic State University / University of Michigan
  • 2011 – California Polytechnic State University / University of California-Davis
  • 2012 – University of California-Davis / California Polytechnic State University
  • 2014 – San Diego State University / University of Michigan
  • 2016 – University of California-Santa Barbara / University of Michigan
  • 2017 – University of California-Davis / California Polytechnic State University
  • 2018 – University of California-Davis / California Polytechnic State University

THE TEAMS: The Pacific Coast Division covers a geographic footprint of 208 miles in California from the Northern-most institution (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo to the Southern-most school (Long Beach State) in Long Beach, Calif.  The longest trip among the teams in mileage occurs between Cal Poly and UC-Riverside with a distance of 243 miles from point-to-point.

California Polytechnic State University

The most successful women’s collegiate club water polo program in the history of the sport, the Mustangs of California Polytechnic State University have proven themselves to be a dominant program on both the club and national levels.

A 16-time Pacific Coast Division Champion (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019) and three-time runner-up (2014, 2015, 2016) to appear in 19 of the contested 21 championship tournament title games, Cal Poly has also claimed seven National Championships (2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) with five second place finishes (2002, 2007, 2012, 2017, 2018).

Located in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and fielding both “A” and “B” teams in the Pacific Coast Division during the 2020 season, the public university is organized into six colleges offering 65 bachelor’s and 39 master’s degrees. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo primarily focuses on undergraduate education and as of fall 2018 Cal Poly has 21,037 undergraduate and 775 graduate students. The academic focus is fostering a comprehensive undergraduate education, combining technical and professional curricula with the arts and humanities.

Cal Poly has one of the largest college campuses in the United States. It owns 9,178 acres and is the second largest land-holding university in California. The lands are used for student education and include the main campus, two nearby agricultural lands, and two properties in Santa Cruz County. Part of the Cal Poly property is the Swanton Pacific Ranch, a 3,200-acre (1,300 ha) ranch located in Santa Cruz County, California, outside the town of Davenport. The ranch provides educational and research opportunities, encompasses rangeland, livestock, and forestry operations for the College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental sciences, and fosters Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing teaching philosophy of with emphasis on sustainable management of agricultural practices with a mix of laboratory experiments.

All undergraduate students at Cal Poly are required to complete a senior project. The senior project is intended to be a capstone experience for students receiving a baccalaureate degree by integrating theory and application from across a student’s undergraduate educational experiences. The senior project consists of one or more of the following: a design or construction experience, an experiment, a self-guided study or research project, a presentation, a report based on internship, co-op, or service learning experience, and/or a public portfolio display or performance. Senior projects have often led to students obtaining jobs or recognition for their work. In July 2011, a company created from a Senior Project, Punchd, was acquired by Google. Jamba Juice, founded as “Juice Club”, was inspired by the Senior Project idea, but was founded after the founders had graduated.

For the class entering Fall 2019, 15,366 freshmen were accepted out of 54,072 applicants, a 28.4% acceptance rate, and 4,613 enrolled.  Women constituted 50.5% of the incoming freshmen class, men 49.5%.

For Fall 2019 admitted transfer students, Cal Poly accepted 1,622 of 11,109 applicants, a 14.6% acceptance rate.

Cal Poly requires students to declare a major when applying for admission, and the university then admits the most competitive applicants within each major based on GPA and SAT or ACT scores. As a result, changing majors at the university is not guaranteed. Each major has a specific change of major plan which includes required classes to be taken while maintaining a certain GPA (usually between 2.5–2.75) in order to be considered as a candidate. In some cases, students wishing to change majors transfer to other universities.

The Cal Poly Master Plan calls to increase student population from approximately 17,000 students to 20,900 students by the year 2020–2021.

For more information on the Cal Poly women’s collegiate club team, contact either Emily Milton (emilton@calpoly.edu) or Sammi Tovani (pologirl101@gmail.com).

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California State University-Long Beach (Long  Beach State)

The 49ers of California State University-Long Beach, commonly known as Long Beach State, recorded a program best second place finish at the 2017 Pacific Coast Division Championship.

A public university in Long Beach, California, Long Beach State’s 322-acre campus is the third largest of the 23-school California State University system and one of the largest universities in the state of California by enrollment, its student body numbering 37,776. The school has a 28% acceptance rate.  With 5,286 graduate students, the university enrolls one of the largest graduate student populations across the CSU system and in the state of California.

The university is located in the Los Altos neighborhood of Long Beach at the southeastern coastal tip of Los Angeles County, less than one mile from the border with Orange County. The university offers 82 different Bachelor’s degrees, 65 types of Master’s degrees, and four Doctoral degrees.

“The Beach” is one of the West Coast’s top universities in terms of student body racial diversity, being named the fifth most diverse university in the West by U.S. News & World Report.  It is also home to one of the largest publicly funded art schools in the United States. The university currently operates with one of the lowest student tuition rate in the country, at $6,420 per year for full-time students with California residence.

With nearly 4,000 students, CSULB is home to the largest Physics Department at any university in the State of California, inching past the University of California-Berkeley, the University of California-San Diego and California Polytechnic State University.  Additionally, the graduate physics program is the largest non-Ph.D. granting program in the United States.  The graduate program in Philosophy is recognized as being among the top terminal MA programs in the nation (and out of nearly 200 world-wide). Long Beach’s College of the Arts has more art and design majors than any other public university in America. CSU Long Beach also produces the most master of science in nursing (MSN) graduates in the 23-campus CSU system. U.S. News & World Report has repeatedly ranked the school;s engineering program as one of the Top 50 undergraduate programs in the nation (amongst master’s level universities). In addition, according to the National Science Foundation, CSULB is the top campus in the nation among Master’s level-granting universities for producing students who go on to earn doctoral degrees in the sciences.

In 2011, a new $105 million “Hall of Science” facility opened which has offices and labs for members of the biology, biochemistry and chemistry, geology, physics and science education departments. This building also houses a hands-on museum for children, a large salt water marine biology lab and has a greenhouse facility and observatory on the roof.

For more information on the Long Beach State women’s collegiate club team, contact Kayla Borack (kayla.borack@student.csulb.edu).

  • Website (http://web.csulb.edu/divisions/students/clubsports/join.htm)

University of California-Los Angeles

The 2001 Pacific Coast Division Champion and a nine-time runner-up (2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2018, 2019), the Bruins of the University of California-Los Angeles continue an upward swing over the past five years.

The team was almost disbanded during the past decade due to having low participation and no coach.  However, the Bruins completed an epic turnaround to now field both “A” and “B” teams for a roster of 35 players who were awarded UCLA’s 2019 Club Team of the Year honor.  In addition, head coach Macgregor “Mac” Sanford received the 2019 UCLA Club Coach of the Year award.

Thanks to the athletes’ dedication and hard work to consistently prevail, UCLA is now ranked among the Top Five water polo clubs in the nation.

“Joining club water polo at UCLA was my way of finding a community at a school I love,” per fourth year Rachel Anderson. “The team provided that in aces. I’ve met some of my best friends through the program; people I can turn to for advice or just to have a good time. I honestly don’t know how I would have gotten through my years here without such a fun and welcoming group having my back.”

“When I transferred to UCLA, club water polo was ultimately what made me feel at home at this huge (and sometimes overwhelming) university,” adds fourth year Lily Kredel. “This team allowed me to build amazing friendships, it provided me with an outlet from academic stresses, and gives me the ability to continue being competitive in a sport I love, with a group of girls that are so encouraging and fun to be around.”

Per second year Gabrielle Sotomayor, “UCLA Women’s club water polo has provided me an outlet to not only stay healthy and continue playing a sport we all love, but has allowed me to share this love with amazing Lady Bruins. I always look forward to getting a great workout in and doing it with a smile on my face. This team has brought me so much joy and I am looking forward to the years to come.”

“After playing on a small Division VII team throughout high school, I was nervous to join the women’s club team,” recalls third year Kristina Rizo. “However, after the first week of practice I felt as if I had been on the team for years. This team provides me with a small welcoming community within this enormous university. I am proud to say that I play on the UCLA Women’s Water Polo Club Team. My teammates will be my forever friends and I will always reminisce on all the memories I have created with them.”

For UCLA, the program’s biggest rival over the past several seasons has been California Polytechnic State University as the Bruins and Mustangs have clashed eight times for the division title (2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2018, 2019) in Pacific Coast history.  In addition, the UCLA-vs.-University of Southern California rivalry is a natural one due to the location of the school’s in the Los Angeles area.

Fourth year’s Andersen, Taylor Lynee, Joy Hong, Katie Tang and Kredel, along with third year Rizo and second years Jessica Gangle and Keianna Pineda led the team this year as the Bruins’ quest to reclaim the Pacific Coast Division title for the first time since 2001 was cut short from reaching fruition.

A public research university in Los Angeles. UCLA traces its early origins back to 1882 as the southern branch of the California State Normal School (now San Jose State University). It became the Southern Branch of the University of California in 1919, making it the second-oldest (after the University of California-Berkeley) of the 10-campus University of California system and oldest of the campuses in Southern California.  It offers 337 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines.

UCLA enrolls about 31,500 undergraduate and 12,800 graduate students as the school rates as the most applied-to of any American university.  Due to this – combined with the institution’s academic programs – US News & World Report named UCLA the best public university in the United States for 2019.

The university is organized into six undergraduate colleges, seven professional schools, and four professional health science schools. The undergraduate colleges are the College of Letters and Science; Samueli School of Engineering; School of the Arts and Architecture; Herb Alpert School of Music; School of Theater, Film and Television; and School of Nursing.

As of 2017, 24 Nobel laureates, three Fields Medalists, and five Turing Award winners, and two Chief Scientists of the U.S. Air Force have been affiliated with UCLA as faculty, researchers, or alumni. Among the current faculty members, 55 have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, 28 to the National Academy of Engineering, 39 to the Institute of Medicine, and 124 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Admission rates for UCLA applicants vary according to the residency of the individual. For Fall 2019, California residents had an admission rate of 12.0%, while out-of-state U.S. residents had an admission rate of 16.4% and internationals had an admission rate of 8.4%.  UCLA’s overall freshman admit rate for the Fall 2019 term was 12.3%.

Medical school applicants should take note that according to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), UCLA supplies the most undergraduate applicants to U.S. medical schools among all American universities.  Among first-time medical school applicants who received their bachelor’s degree from UCLA, 51% were admitted to at least one U.S. medical school.

For more information on the UCLA women’s collegiate club team, contact either Kristina Rizo (krisrizo@verizon.net) or the team’s general email account (ucla.waterpolo@gmail.com)

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University of California-Riverside

The Highlanders of the University of California-Riverside competed as an exhibition team in the Pacific Coast Division during the COVID-19 abbreviated 2020 campaign.

A public research university in Riverside, Calif., UC-Riverside sits on 1,900 acres in a suburban district with a branch campus of 20 acres in Palm Desert. In 1907, the predecessor to UCR was founded as the University of California Citrus Experiment Station, Riverside which pioneered research in biological pest control and the use of growth regulators responsible for extending the citrus growing season in California from four to nine months. Some of the world’s most important research collections on citrus diversity and entomology, as well as science fiction and photography, are located at Riverside.

To accommodate an enrollment of 21,000 students by 2015, the state invested more than $730 million in new construction projects since 1999.  Preliminary accreditation of the UC Riverside School of Medicine was granted in October 2012 and the first class of 50 students was enrolled in August 2013. It is the first new research-based public medical school in 40 years.

UCR is consistently ranked as one of the most ethnically and economically diverse universities in the United States.  Over 27 of UCR’s academic programs, including the Graduate School of Education and the Bourns College of Engineering, are highly ranked nationally based on peer assessment, student selectivity, financial resources, and other factors. Washington Monthly ranked UCR second in the United States in terms of social mobility, research and community service, while U.S. News ranks UCR as the fifth most ethnically diverse and, by the number of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants (42 percent), the 15th most economically diverse student body in the nation.  Over 70% of all UCR students graduate within six years without regard to economic disparity.  UCR’s extensive outreach and retention programs have contributed to its reputation as a “university of choice” for minority students.  In 2005, UCR became the first public university campus in the nation to offer a gender-neutral housing option.

UCR is organized into three academic colleges, two professional schools, and two graduate schools. UCR’s liberal arts college, the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, was founded in 1954, and began accepting graduate students in 1960. The College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, founded in 1960, incorporated the CES as part of the first research-oriented institution at UCR; it eventually also incorporated the natural science departments formerly associated with the liberal arts college to form its present structure in 1974.  UCR’s newest academic unit, the Bourns College of Engineering, was founded in 1989. Comprising the professional schools are the Graduate School of Education, founded in 1968, and the UCR School of Business, founded in 1970.T  hese units collectively provide 81 majors and 52 minors, 48 master’s degree programs, and 42 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programs.

UCR is the only UC campus to offer undergraduate degrees in creative writing and public policy and one of three UCs (along with the University of California-Berkeley and the University of California-Irvine) to offer an undergraduate degree in business administration. Through its Division of Biomedical Sciences, founded in 1974, UCR offers the Thomas Haider medical degree program in collaboration with UCLA. UCR’s doctoral program in the emerging field of dance theory, founded in 1992, was the first program of its kind in the United States, and UCR’s minor in lesbian, gay and bisexual studies, established in 1996, was the first undergraduate program of its kind in the UC system.

In addition to more widely offered majors, UC-Riverside inaugurated a bachelor of arts program in bagpipes in 2007.

During Fall 2018, UCR received 49,079 freshmen applications and admitted 24,820 students for a 50.6% acceptance rate.

For more information on the UC-Riverside women’s collegiate club team, contact either Ellie Trinidad (etrin005@ucr.edu), Katherine Eichorn (keich001@ucr.edu) or coach Sarah Greenawalt (Sarah.a.greenawalt@gmail.com).

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University of California-Santa Barbara

A two-time Pacific Coast Division Champion (2015, 2016), past runner-up (2013) and the 2016 Women’s National Collegiate Club Champion, the Gauchos of the University of California-Santa Barbara fielded both “A” and “B” teams in 2020.

A public research university in Santa Barbara, Calif., the school is one of the 10 campuses of the University of California system. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers’ college, UCSB joined the University of California system in 1944 and is the third-oldest general-education campus in the system.  Originally, the regents envisioned a small, several thousand–student liberal arts college, a so-called “Williams College of the West”, at Santa Barbara.  However, the school has nearly 23,500 undergraduates and 3,000 graduate students – substantially larger than the topic liberal arts institution.

The university is a comprehensive doctoral university and is organized into five colleges and schools offering 87 undergraduate degrees and 55 graduate degrees.

UC-Santa Barbara is a research university with 10 national research centers, including the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics and the Center for Control, Dynamical-Systems and Computation. In the United States National Research Council rankings of graduate programs, 10 UCSB departments are ranked in the Top 10 in the country: Materials, Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Marine Science Institute, Geography, History and Theater and Dance.

The university runs on a quarter system. There are three terms in the normal academic year: fall, winter, and spring, as well as a summer term. At the beginning of each term, there are one to three days of pre-instructional activities, where faculty meet to discuss instructional plans. During this period, students acquaint themselves to the campus and have the opportunity to take placement tests. At the end of each term, one week is devoted to final exams and special academic activities. There are 146 days of instruction, with a minimum of 48 per term.

Surfing also draws many students to UCSB. The on-campus beaches include a number of decent surfing sites, including “Poles,” “Campus Point,” “Depressions” and “Sands” and “Devereaux Point” on West Campus. Because Campus Beach actually faces south and east, and is shielded by the Santa Barbara Channel Islands, the surf is usually quite small. However, a large north or west swell can wrap in to create great waves that are typically very clean and good for surfing.

For more information on the UC-Santa Barbara women’s collegiate club team, contact either coach Heather Borek-Klempfner (ucsbwomensclubpolo@gmail.com) or Luiza Moreno (ldmoreno@ucsb.edu).

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  • Website (https://recreation.ucsb.edu/index.php/sport-clubs)

University of Southern California

The 2004 Pacific Coast Division Champion, the University of Southern California stands as the only private university in the group.

A private research university in Los Angeles, Calif., USC was founded in 1880 and stands as the oldest private research university in California. With 20,000 students enrolled in four-year undergraduate programs, USC also has 27,500 graduate and professional students in a number of different programs, including business, law, engineering, social work, occupational therapy, pharmacy, and medicine.

A total of 95 undergraduate majors and 147 academic and professional minors are offered, while the graduate program offers 134 master’s, doctoral, and professional degrees through 17 professional schools.

Nearly 60,000 students applied for admission to the undergraduate class entering in 2020, with 16% being admitted.  Twenty percent of admitted and attending students are SCions, or students with familial ties to USC, while 14 percent are the first generation in their family to attend any form of college. Twenty-four percent of undergraduates at USC are Pell Grant-eligible, which is defined by having come from a family household income of less than $50,000.

Why are the school’s teams called Trojans, epitomized by the Trojan Shrine, nicknamed “Tommy Trojan”, near the center of campus. Until 1912, USC students (especially athletes) were known as Fighting Methodists or Wesleyans, though neither name was approved by the university. During a fateful track and field meet with Stanford University, the USC team was beaten early and seemingly conclusively. After only the first few events, it seemed implausible USC would ever win; however, the team fought back, winning many of the later events, to lose only by a slight margin. After this contest, Los Angeles Times sportswriter Owen Bird reported the USC athletes “fought on like the Trojans of antiquity”, and the president of the university at the time, George F. Bovard, approved the name officially.

The largest private employer in the city of Los Angeles, USC has graduated more alumni who have gone on to win an Academy Award than any other institution in the world by a significant margin. USC alumni have also played crucial roles in 21 of the top 25 highest-grossing films of all time, as of 2019.

For more information on the USC women’s collegiate club team, contact either Katherine Dixon (uscwaterpolo@gmail.com), Lauren Sanders (ljsander@usc.edu) or coach Eric Bittner (eric.bittner0@gmail.com).

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