Hawaii stuns No. 1 Stanford in water polo
Jan. 21—The fifth-ranked Rainbow Wahine water polo team opened its 2024 season with a pair of wins over ranked teams, defeating No. 13 Michigan 14-11 before upsetting No. 1 Stanford 9-7 in the Fresno State Polo-Palooza in Fresno, Calif.
In its first match, Hawaii rallied from a 5-2 deficit at the half, led by Bia Mantallato Dias who scored all four of her goals in the second half. Bernadette Doyle and Alba Bonamusa Boix each logged hat tricks. Lucia Gomez de la Punte added two goals, including the game-tying score with 24 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. Doyle, Bonamusa Boix and Gomez de la Puente each scored in overtime to lead Hawaii to the win.
Against the Cardinal, Hawaii jumped out to a 3-1 lead at the half before surrendering five goals to Stanford coming out of halftime. The Wahine battled back to tie the game on another goal from Mantallato Dias with 3:47 left in regulation to force overtime for the second game. In overtime, Jordan Wedderburn scored two goals to give Hawaii back the lead, while Hawaii stifled Stanford defensively, not allowing a goal for the final 13 minutes of play. Bonamusa Boix led the Rainbow Wahine with four goals.
