SANTA BARBARA, Calif. —  The UC Santa Barbara Women's Water Polo team remains home this weekend for a pair of key Big West matchups, hosting No. 9 UC Irvine on Friday evening before welcoming No. 10 Long Beach State on Sunday for its third and fourth conference matches of the season. The Gauchos will be seeking redemption against the Anteaters after an early-season loss at the Triton Invitational and will be taking their first look at this season's Long Beach squad, squaring off with two of the top teams in the Big West standings.

LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, Santa Barbara battled Cal State Fullerton in a tightly contested home matchup, ultimately falling 11-9 in a game decided by just two goals. Team-leading scorer Cami Mras tallied a pair of goals, joined by Loretta Hovey and Molly Souza, who also found the back of the net twice. Isabel Valaika delivered a standout playmaking performance, assisting on five of the Gauchos' nine goals. Defensively, Keira Wall recorded a career-high 10 saves, marking the first double-digit performance of her collegiate career and keeping Santa Barbara within striking distance throughout.

SCOUTING THE ANTEATERS
UC Irvine enters Friday's matchup following a nail-biting 16-15 overtime loss to UC Davis. Redshirt senior Madi O'Hara and juniors Lauren Hett and Sara Naulty led the charge offensively, each tallying three goals in the contest, but it just wasn't enough to stop the Aggies' late surge as UC Davis capitalized in overtime to secure the conference win. 
In the teams' previous meeting this season, the Gauchos fell 17-3 in non-conference play, but Santa Barbara has shown significant offensive growth and increased consistency since that early January matchup. The Gauchos will look to key contributors Hovey, Valaika and Zoe Gabriel — all of whom scored in the earlier contest — to help spark the attack against a strong Irvine squad.

SCOUTING THE BEACH
Long Beach State is coming off a narrow 9-7 loss to No. 5 Hawaii that took place at home last Sunday. In the match, freshman Polina Synytsia tallied eight saves in the cage while senior Lucy Miszewski added a hat trick to the score, but it wasn't enough to stop the Rainbow Wahine's powerful offense.
The Beach and the Gauchos last met during the 2025 season, when Long Beach State secured the 11-6 victory. Santa Barbara will look to flip the script this time around as it continues in Big West competition.

WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH
Both of this weekend's matches will be held at Santa Barbara High School, where admission is free and open until capacity is reached. Friday's contest will take place under the lights with a 6 p.m. start, while Sunday's action begins at 1 p.m.