Nation’s Top Women’s Water Polo Teams Gather at UC Irvine for the Barbara Kalbus Invitational

USC Women's Water Polo defeats Princeton at home.

USC's Maud Megens has racked up 33 goals so far this young season. Photo Courtesy: John McGillen/USC Athletics

The most prestigious—and likely most significant—non-conference tournament of the 2019 NCAA women’s varsity season begins today at UC Irvine. The Barbara Kalbus invitational, now in it’s 13th year, opened with top seed USC facing San Diego State followed by #2 seed Stanford against California State University at Northridge (CSUN).

“It’s the first big test for everybody,” USC Head Coach Jovan Vavic said in an email. “All the tough teams are in it so it’s a great opportunity to see each team in action. We all look forward to this tournament because we’re all excited to see all the good teams compete.

“It’s still early in the season, so we always have enough time to make adjustments afterward. We enjoy going to it.”

The Trojans—currently riding a 30-match win streak—are the favorites at this tournament, but will surprisingly be looking for a measure of revenge, having been beaten convincingly by Stanford in last year’s Kalbus Invitational final—USC’s only blemish in a season when they captured the program’s sixth national championship.

16 teams—all ranked in the Collegiate Water Polo Association’s top 25—have been invited to matches at both the Anteater Aquatics Complex and the Corona del Mar High School Pool, including the nation’s top ten teams: No. 1 USC (14-0; 1-0 MPSF), No. 2 Stanford (7-0; 1-0 MPSF), No. 3 UCLA (14-1), No. 4 Cal (7-1), No. 5 Hawai’i (7-1), No. 6 Michigan (6-5), No. 7 UC Irvine (7-4), No. 8 Arizona State (8-3), No. 9 UC Santa Barbara (11-3) and No. 10 Pacific (2-3).

A full listing of the teams and scores from all matches are available here at the Kalbus Invitational Tournament Central.

That Vavic’s squad beat Stanford 5-4 in a gritty NCAA title match last May makes a potential match-up between Trojans and Cardinal that much more enticing. Certainly, Stanford Head Coach John Tanner knows that this weekend is a fantastic opportunity to sharpen skills before swinging into conference play in March.

“BK Invitational provides a great early to mid-season test for all the top teams as we transition into our conference dual season,” Tanner said by email.

For the most desirable outcome, both teams will have to win twice tomorrow. USC would face the winner of today’s Arizona State vs. UC Santa Barbara match and then would face either Cal or Hawai’i, which will most likely advance from their matches today against # 17 (T) UC San Diego (4-6) and #12 (T) San Jose State (2-1) respectively.

STANFORD, CA-APRIL 22, 2011 - Undefeated Stanford Women's Water Polo vs. San Jose State

Stanford’s John Tanner; placid amid a sea of red. Photo Courtesy: Don Feria

For Stanford, the path to another Kalbus final is equally challenging; a match Saturday morning against the winner of today’s game between host UCI and Pacific, then a result from UCLA—which will almost certainly beat #17 (T) Long Beach State (4-6)—facing the winner of a Michigan / # 12 (T) Loyola Marymount (4-5) match-up.

If all holds according to seeding, on Sunday at 1 p.m. (PST) will be the premier match of the young season will take place between USC and Stanford as the face off at the Kalbus Invitational final. Both teams have simply overwhelmed their competition so far in 2019; the best showing so far for the Trojans was a 10-3 win two weeks ago against their arch-rivals, the Bruins. This gives some credence to their early season dominance, where Vavic’s squad has outscored the opposition 210 – 35, and reigning Cutino Award winner Amanda Longan sports a microscopic 2.47 Goals Against Average (GAA).

The Cardinal are not far behind; in seven matches Tanner’s charges have scored 147 goals; an astounding average of 21 goals a game. These statistics are inflated by non-conference play, which is why a UCS / Stanford match-up is so enticing. The Cardinal have had one test so far this young seasons, which they passed with flying colors, beating Cal Berkeley, their Bay Area nemesis, 17-10.

But the top two teams are not the only ones to watch; Hawai’i has gotten out to a fast start and will almost certainly face Cal on Saturday morning. An upset by the Rainbow Wahine would likely change the composition of the top four in the CWPA polls for the first time since 2016, when Michigan finished fourth.

Senior Irene Gonzalez powers the Rainbow Wahine. Photo Courtesy: Hawai’i Athletics

The Wolverines will be hard-pressed to repeat that success in Irvine; LMU has a couple of impressive showings so far this season, dropping a one-goal decision to UCLA and then a double overtime match against Hawai’i.

The host Anteaters have a difficult challenge against Pacific, which has played a mere five games (2-3 record) which makes them a very dangerous opponent. A win pits Head Coach Dan Klatt’s squad against Stanford; a loss dumps UCI into a match-up against CSUN and little opportunity to a high finish at their own tournament.

The tournament is named in honor of Barbara Kalbus, an influential and beloved figure, not only for UCI water polo, but USA water polo as well. Kalbus was a 1993 inductee into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame, serving as a longtime manager for the Men’s Senior National Team as well as holding a variety of leadership positions within USA Water Polo, including the title of President from 1980-1984. Her tenure at UCI spans the legendary Ted Newland era (1966-2004); for 30 years Kalbus served as the desk manager for both the men’s and women’s teams for over, including UCI’s national title year of 1989.

No matter what happens this weekend. it’s an exciting moment in the women’s varsity season both for the quality of competition and for the memory of a great supporter of polo in the U.S.

As Stanford’s Tanner—whose teams have been to nine-straight NCAA finals, winning five titles—said: “Given the number and range of teams that compete, it’s a celebration of college water polo.”

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