VALLEJO, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's water polo team was crowned the first ever California Pacific Conference Women's Water Polo Champions after a 16-6 win over Cal Maritime on Sunday morning. With the win, the Bobcats (4-23) also advanced to the NAIA West Invitational Championship match and came up just short of another trophy, falling 9-8 to OUAZ.
Hope Stokes was named the Cal Pac Tournament MVP and the NAIA West Invitational Defensive MVP. Stokes, Liberty Hamilton and Melanie Torres were named to both All-Tournament Teams. Hamilton was named the Bobcats NAIA West Invitational Team MVP. Aislyn Sorsky earned Cal Pac All-Tournament Team honors. Head coach Johnny Bega earned Cal Pac Coach of the Year.
Game One | UC Merced 16, Cal Maritime 6
Liberty Hamilton scored five goals and three other Bobcats recorded a hat trick in the dominant performance that allowed the Bobcats to hoist the postseason trophy. Stokes also tallied seven saves.
The Bobcats shutout Cal Maritime 4-0 in the first quarter and it was Hamilton to score the games first goal less than three minutes in. She also scored at the 3:24 mark.
UC Merced extended their lead to 7-0 midway through the second quarter with a goal each from Ferris, Hamilton, and Sorsky. After a Cal Maritime goal at the 3:29 mark, the Bobcats responded by depositing two more shots into the back of the net to carry a 9-1 lead into halftime.
An early third quarter goal from Hamilton and Stokes gave the Bobcats a double figure lead at 11-1. The Bobcats biggest lead of the game came right after when Torres buried a shot at the 4:54 mark to widen the margin to eleven goals at 12-1. The Bobcats also led by 11 goals at four other scorelines the rest of the way as the teams alternated goals until the final horn.
Torres, Ferris, and Stokes all had a hat trick in addition to Hamilton's five goal match. Sorsky and Arianna Martinez also scored a goal.
Game Two | OUAZ 9, UC Merced 8
UC Merced erased a pair of two-goal deficits to give themselves a chance in the NAIA West Invitational Championship match. OUAZ took an early 2-0 lead, but the Bobcats countered with three unanswered goals to close the first quarter including the go-ahead goal at the time from Torres at the 1:52 mark. Jacqueline Azevedo scored the Bobcats first goal, while Ferris scored the equalizer.
Sorsky doubled the Bobcats lead to 4-2 less than 90 seconds into the second quarter. However, OUAZ held the Bobcats scoreless the rest of the half and scored two of their own to pull even 4-4 going into halftime.
Torres broke the 4-4 tie at the 5:16 mark of the third quarter. OUAZ tied the game a minute later and then took their first lead since early in the opening period with a goal from Tori Higginson with 3:44 on the clock. OUAZ went up 7-5 in the final minute before the Bobcats erased their second two-goal deficit of the game.
Stokes deposited a shot into the back of the net just before the third quarter buzzer. Less than a minute into the fourth, Hamilton tied the game at 7-7. The match remained tied for nearly the next four minutes leading into crunch time, where OUAZ got the better of the Bobcats and scored two straight to go up 9-7 with 2:22 remaining in regulation.
Hamilton made it 9-8 with a goal with 40 seconds left to give the Bobcats a chance, but UC Merced fell just short of forcing overtime and fell 9-8.
Hamilton and Torres each notched a multi-goal outing, giving them 2+ goals each all four games of the tournament.
Jennifer Liu of OUAZ was named the NAIA West Invitational MVP. Higginson led the Spirit in the championship match with five goals, including the goal that ended up being the difference maker with 2:22 to play.
Stokes tallied 13 saves for the Bobcats.
Stay up to date in the offseason by following UC Merced women's water polo on X and Instagram @UCMercedWWP.
