FRESNO, Calif. – The No. 3 Fresno State water polo team has another big opportunity ahead of it at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, hosted by UC Irvine this weekend. In the field of 16 teams, 13 are ranked in the Top 25 in this week's CWPA national team rankings.
Triton Invitational
Feb. 23-25, 2024 • Irvine, Calif. • Anteater Aquatics Complex & Marian Bergeson Aquatics Center at Corona del Mar High School
Friday
vs. Biola (RV)
Time: 12:30 p.m.
Location: UC Irvine
Live Stats: The FOSH
Saturday: vs. TBD, TBD
vs. TBD, TBD
Sunday: vs. TBD, TBD
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
Tournament Notables
Fresno State will compete at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational for the first time in program history this weekend.
The field of 16 teams includes the nation's Top 8 programs in UCLA, Hawaii, Fresno State, Stanford, USC, Cal, Arizona State and Michigan.
Of the 16 teams competing at the tournament, 13 are ranked in the Top 25, two are receiving votes and one has no ranking association this week.
Four of the 16 teams are from outside of the state of California - Michigan, Hawai'i, Arizona State and Indiana.
Fresno State is the only GCC program competing at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational this season.
Fresno State is in Group C with No. 6 Cal, No. 13 UC San Diego and Biola (RV).
Fresno State opens the tournament against Biola, and its results in that game along with the results from the UC San Diego vs Cal game will determine the Bulldogs' first Saturday matchup.
The UC Irvine Invitational was renamed The Barbara Kalbus Invitational in 2017 to honor longtime friend and water polo icon, Dr. Barbara Kalbus.
Games will be played at the UC Irvine Aquatics Center and at Corona del Mar High School.
Bulldog Bones
Fresno State is 10-3 this season.
The Bulldogs earned their highest ranking in program history at No. 3 in the last three CWPA national team rankings.
Fresno State is third in the rankings behind No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 Hawai'i for the third week in a row
Fresno State's No. 3 ranking is the highest by a Bulldog program in the regular season since the turn of the century. The last highest ranked team on campus was the Bulldog softball program that ranked No. 2 in the nation in 1999.
The Bulldogs also earned the highest ranking by a program in GCC women's water polo history.
Fresno State has defeated the top-ranked team on two occasions this season with a 11-10 win over Stanford on Jan. 21 and a 8-7 win over USC on Feb. 3.
Fresno State became just the second school since water polo became an NCAA sport in 2001 to defeat both Stanford and USC in the same season. Second-ranked Hawai'i became the third with a win over both teams in 2024 as well.
In its 27-3 win over Whittier College last week, Fresno State set the program record for most goals scored in a game
Fresno State has earned a pair of GCC Player of the Week honors in Abbey Simshauser and Paula Nieto Jasny.
The Bulldogs are led in scoring by sophomore Hailey Andress with 35 goals. Andress is tied for second in the GCC in goals scored and ranks tied for seventh in the nation.
In addition to Andress, four other players are scoring in double digits including Abbey Simshauser (30), Brooke Ochoa (19), Caitlyn Mossman (14) and Robyn Greenslade (12).
Paula Nieto Jasny is sitting with 99 saves in only 10 games in the cage. She leads the conference in saves per game.
Fresno State has played four true freshmen this season in Mossman, Kira Anderson, Sidney Strickland and Ida Tully-Giles.
Fresno State has also seen significant contributions from newcomers Abbey Simshauser (Wagner College) and Robyn Greenslade (Indiana).
A balanced attack
In its last two games, Fresno State tied and set program records for its most goals scored in a game with 23 and 27, respectively. In each of those games, the Bulldogs saw goals scored by 12 different players.
The Bulldogs are led in scoring by sophomore Hailey Andress with 35 goals, but she's not alone as four other 'Dogs are scoring in double digits including Abbey Simshauser (30), Brooke Ochoa (19), Caitlyn Mossman (14) and Robyn Greenslade (12).
In 13 games this season, seven different players have led the team in scoring in individual games.
Newcomers are fitting right in
A handful of new faces have made an immediate impact for the Bulldogs this season. True freshman Kira Anderson had the best pair of performances in her young career last weekend. Anderson had her first career games with multiple goals, first netting two against FPU and then her first career hat trick on Saturday against Whittier College. In Friday's matchup, she scored her two goals on just two shot attempts and added three assists for five total points. On Saturday, the freshman attacker scored three goals on three shot attempts. She also dished four assists in the offensive efforts, tying for the fourth-most in a game in program history. This season, she totals seven goals on 10 shots, shooting at a team-high .700 clip. She also adds 10 assists on the season.
Caitlyn Mossman, also a true freshman, has stepped up at center. The young Bulldog has scored 14 goals, while working for 12 drawn exclusions and four steals.
Transfers Robyn Greenslade and Abbey Simshauser have each brought a wealth of experience to the Bulldogs' program. Simshauser is second on the team in goals and leads the team in steals (25).
Paula being Paula
Senior goalkeeper Paula Nieto Jasny has had a successful career as a Bulldog. She holds nearly every record in goalkeeper statistics at Fresno State, and is having another successful season this year.
In just 10 games played in the cage this season, she leads the conference with 99 saves. The senior has played in 11 games, with her 11th being as a field player against Wagner College. In that game, she registered an assist and a sprint win.
Nieto Jasny has allowed 7.89 goals per game this season, the second-lowest mark in the GCC on the year.
Defensive efforts on lock
Fresno State is allowing just 7.1 goals per game to its opponents this season.
The Bulldogs have not allowed more than 10 goals to any opponent in a game this season. Fresno State is 8-1 when allowing nine or fewer goals, and 2-2 in games when opponents score 10 or more.
A moment for the head coach
Fresno State head coach Natalie Benson has built the program from the ground up, hired as the programs first head coach in 2016 for its inaugural season in 2018.
Since then, Benson has compiled a 89-66 record for the program. She has been named the Golden Coast Conference Coach of the Year three times, and was recognized with the Sandy Nitta Distinguished Coaching National Award in 2022.