MERCED, Calif. - The University of California, Merced women's water polo team has unveiled its 2026 schedule, featuring three multi-team events and eight WWPA matches. The home schedule is highlighted by a five-game homestand March 14-22.
Head coach Britt Connell and Bobcats will open the season on January 23 at Pacific, one of the Bobcats seven opponents on the schedule who were ranked in the ACWPC Top 25 a year ago.
UC Merced will then head to the Midwest February 7-8 for the Lischwe Memorial Invitational hosted by McKendree in Lebanon, IL. The Bobcats will play the reigning WWPA Tournament Champion McKendree, NCAA Division III powerhouse Augustana, and Carthage College.
Up next, the Bobcats will play a conference match at Cal State Monterey Bay on February 20. The next WWPA match isn't until the middle of March.
UC Merced's home opener is scheduled for February 22 against Santa Clara.
The following weekend, the Bobcats will travel east for a game against Connecticut College and four games at the Harvard Invite.
The Harvard Invite February 28-March 1 will put the Bobcats up against three teams who were nationally-ranked last year, including Harvard who was ranked as high as No. 8. Harvard is coming off its first ever conference championship and first ever NCAA Tournament berth. The Bobcats other opponents at Blodgett Pool include Villanova, LIU, and Bucknell.
UC Merced's season continues at another loaded tournament March 6-7, the Convergence Tournament hosted by Pomona-Pitzer in partnership with other schools throughout Southern California. The Bobcats opponents are Top 25 teams LMU and CSUN, and Azusa Pacific and Redlands. The reigning GCC Champion, LMU, is coming off a NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Bobcats five-game homestand begins with UC Davis against an Aggies team that finished last year ranked 17th in the nation.
The remainder of the homestand is WWPA action with Fresno Pacific (Mar. 18), Concordia University Irvine (Mar. 20), Biola (Mar. 21), and Cal State Monterey Bay (Mar. 22) coming to Merced. Biola was the 2025 WWPA runner-up but won the 2023 & 2024 conference titles. CUI is in the WWPA after competing in the GCC the last 10+ years.
To wrap up the regular season, the Bobcats will play at CUI (Mar. 27), Biola (Mar. 28), and Fresno Pacific (Apr. 1).
The WWPA Championship is scheduled for April 10-12 at William Woolett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine, Calif. CUI is the host. UC Merced, currently in its second year of a three-year transition period, will participate in exhibitions during the 2026 WWPA Championship. The Bobcats will be fully eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play in the 2027 season.
Access the full schedule here.
