FRESNO, Calif. - The No. 8 Fresno State water polo team wraps up the regular season with a Friday night contest at No. 21 Pacific this week. Friday's game will be a critical determination in seedings for the 2025 Golden Coast Conference Championship as the Bulldogs and Tigers are currently tied for second place in the standings.
No. 8 Fresno State (11-7, 5-1 GCC) at No. 21 Pacific (12-8, 5-1 GCC)
April 18, 2025 - 7 P.M. PT - Stockton, Calif. - Chris Kjeldsen Pool at the Douglass M. Eberhardt Aquatics Center
Series History: Fresno State leads, 8-2
Last Meeting: FS def. Pacific 11-8 in GCC championship semifinal on April 27, 2024
MEDIA COVERAGE
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Bulldog Bones
Fresno State is coming off of back-to-back wins in conference play, last defeating Azusa Pacific 18-6 on Senior Day.
The Bulldogs are going for their fifth consecutive GCC tournament title in 2025.
Fresno State's lone conference loss this season was to LMU at home on March 22.
The Bulldogs have held their opponents to nine or fewer goals in eight games this season. Fresno State is undefeated in those games.
Fresno State has faced 14 ranked opponents this season, and is 7-7 in those games.
Fresno State has had four GCC Player of the Week recognitions this season with Brooke Ochoa and Abbey Simshauser earning two apiece.
Ochoa became Fresno State's all-time leading scorer on March 22. With two goals last time out, she became the first Bulldog to score 200 career goals.
Hailey Andress was named to the Cutino Award watch list again this season, recognizing the collegiate water polo player of the year.
The Bulldogs are coached by Natalie Benson, who has a 111-78 all-time record as the Bulldogs' head coach.
Another day, another accomplishment
Senior Brooke Ochoa became the program's all-time leading scorer in the Bulldogs' home game against LMU on March 22. On Senior Day, April 12, she made history yet again as she scored her 200th career goal. She became just the ninth player among all active NCAA Div. I women's water polo players to have 200 career goals.
Of the 36 NCAA Div. I women's water polo programs, there are just 119 players all-time to have scored 200 career goals – including Ochoa. USC leads the way with 12 players all-time.
A fantastic career is winding down
Senior Abbey Simshauser made an immediate impact on the Bulldogs upon her arrival in 2024. A transfer from Wagner College, Simshauser has netted115 goals in her two seasons as a Bulldog. Coming in as a grad transfer, Simshauser had already compiled a decorated career for herself at Wagner. A two-time MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, Simshauser totaled 234 goals in her three seasons of competition. In her career, she has scored an impressive 349 goals.
At Fresno State, she has earned All-American and All-Conference recognitions. With just a handful of games remaining in her collegiate career, Simshauser can say she truly got the most out of her time in the pool – at both stops in her career.
Back on watch
Hailey Andress earned a spot on the 2025 Cutino Award watch list, announced by the organization last week. USA Water Polo and The Olympic Club are thrilled to collaborate with the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) on the Cutino Award Watch List. The Peter J. Cutino Award, named in honor of the late Hall of Fame coach, recognizes the best player in men's and women's college water polo annually since 2022.
Andress finds herself on the watch list for the second straight year. This season, she is one of 20 collegiate women's water polo players on the watch list. She is one of only two from the Golden Coast Conference, joined by LMU's Ruth Arino Ruiz. The selections for the watch list were submitted by collegiate head coaches around the country.
A trip down memory lane
The junior Bulldog hasn't had a down season yet. This year, she is tied for the team lead with 58 goals. She also adds 22 assists, 17 steals, six field blocks and four drawn exclusions.
Andress has solidified herself as one of the program's most accomplished and decorated student-athletes. With 183 career goals, she is third all-time in Fresno State's history. Andress was a first team All-GCC selection in 2024, and a second team ACWPC All-American. Her freshman year, she was named the GCC Newcomer of the Year, while earning second team all-conference honors and honorable mention all-america accolades.
Win the sprint
As a team, Fresno State is 53-14 in its sprints this season. The Bulldogs have a 79.1 percent sprint win percentage.
Two 'Dogs have carried the majority of the sprints for the team this spring with freshman Marit van der Kolk having a 29-4 record and senior Brooke Ochoa having a 17-6 record. Both Bulldogs have been undefeated in their sprints in the last four games.
GCC Flashback
Fresno State returns as the reigning Golden Coast Champions, for the fourth year in a row. The Bulldogs have been the tournament champion for four-straight years, and the regular season champion in three of the last four years.
In regular season play, Fresno State has only lost three regular season GCC games in the last four years.
Fresno State has an all-time record of 39-10 in Golden Coast Conference play, and is 31-3 in the last four seasons.