BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The women's water polo team will get their season started in Bloomington, Indiana and take part in the Hoosier Classic, which will be hosted by Indiana University.
The first pair of matches will take place on Saturday, January 25th, and will be against the University of California Merced at 10:00 AM CT followed by the 18th-ranked University of California Santa Barbara at 2:30 PM CT. The next day on Sunday, January 26th will begin with a match against the 11th-ranked Indiana University at 12:30 PM CT and will conclude the classic with Carthage College at 3:00 PM CT.
The Bearcats are 0-13 all-time in the Hoosier Classic while going 0-4 in their most recent trip in the 2023 season.
All contests will be streamed live on the Overnght app or online at https://www.overnght.com/ with a payment subscription required. Live stats will be in the 6-8 Sports app or at https://scores.6-8sports.com/scoreboard.
BEARCATS CURRENTLY
McKendree is coming off their third straight winning season, where they went 14-11 overall and 4-2 in Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) play. The year was highlighted by a composite of team and individual success. The program at one point went on a six-game win streak in the month of February 2024 that saw them go undefeated in their McKendree Mini Tournament and followed with a 4-0 sweep in the Macalester Invitational.
The strong record translated well into the postseason WWPA Championships in La Mirada, California where the team finished in fourth place, coming short of an NCAA Championships berth. They got a first-round win over California State University Monterey Bay before falling in the semifinals to California State East Bay and to Mercyhurst University in the third-place game.
The Bearcats are returning one of the nation's most sturdy goalkeepers in senior Sydney Kane (Kankakee, Ill.), who was second in the entire country in saves per game average at 11.6 and total saves of 289. Her 56.7% save percentage ranked 6th in the nation as she participated in all 25 matches played. Kane earned WWPA Second Team All-Conference after accumulating two defensive WWPA Player of the Week awards in the 2024 season.
Junior Attacker Joey Rebelo (Montreal, Quebec) also returns to the waters after a dominating previous season where she notched a nation's seventh-best 3.2 goals per game, which was the most of any player in the conference and had a one-goal advantage over the next WWPA-player in total goals. Her 1.1 assists per match also came in seventh in the conference as she went on to snag the WWPA First Team All-Conference Honors after obtaining three offensive WWPA Player of the Week Awards and a place on the WWPA Championship All-Tournament team within the season. Rebelo's performances earned her some recognition on the national stage, where she was honored as a First-Team All-American by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) at the end of their season.
Other notable players for the women's water polo team consist of fifth-year attacker Jasmin Guzman (Cicero, Ill.), who like Rebelo, was named to the WWPA Championships Tournament Team in the postseason as well as being selected as a WWPA All-Conference Honorable Mention. Sophomore utility Hailey Munoz (Murrieta, Calif.) earned her way onto the WWPA All-Freshman team after totaling 22 goals and eight assists in the 2024 season.
McKendree was recently picked to finish 4th in the WWPA Preseason Coaches Poll that was released earlier this week.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
University of California, Merced | Saturday, January 25th, 10:00 AM CT
Last Matchup: N/A
This will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs. UC Merced will officially transition into the NCAA Division II level and become a part of the WWPA for the 2025-26 men's and women's season.
The Bobcats currently sit at 0-2 to start the year, with both matches coming against No.18 UC Santa Barbara last Saturday.
No.18 University of California Santa Barbara | Saturday, January 25th, 2:30 PM CT
Last Matchup: L, 2-15 on 1/27/2018 | RECAP
This will be the second-ever meeting between the two programs, with the last coming in 2018 at the Hoosier Classic, where McKendree fell to UCSB 2-15.
The Gauchos were placed at 17th in the preseason rankings and are now tabbed at 18th in the country after starting their season 2-0 with a pair of wins against UC Merced last Saturday.
No.11 Indiana University | Sunday, January 26th, 12:30 PM CT
Last Matchup: L, 6-20 on 1/29/2023 | RECAP
This will be the seventh-ever meeting between the two programs, as Indiana has come out victorious in all previous six meetings by an average margin of 13.5.
The Hoosiers are currently ranked number 11 in the nation but have yet to play in any matches thus far this season.
Carthage College | Sunday, January 26th, 3:00 PM CT
Last Matchup: W, 17-5 on 3/30/2024 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
This will be the ninth-ever meeting between the two programs, as McKendree Holds a 7-1 advantage where they have won the past seven in the series and have one by a margin of 12.6.
This weekend will be the first time the Firebirds have taken the waters in competition this season.
TUNE IN-FO
Click HERE to take you to the Tournament Central: 2025 Hoosier Classic
vs UC Merced
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – Overnght)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
vs No.18 UC Santa Barbara
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – Overnght)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
at Indiana University
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – Overnght)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
vs Carthage College
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – Overnght)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
TEAM GUIDES
TEAM ROSTERS: [McKendree] [UC Merced] [UC Santa Barbara] [Carthage]
TEAM SCHEDULES: [McKendree] [UC Merced] [UC Santa Barbara] [Carthage]
TEAM STATISTICS: [McKendree] [UC Merced] [UC Santa Barbara] [Carthage]
PARTICIPANTS
Indiana University
Carthage College
University of California Santa Barbara
McKendree University
University of California, Merced
California State University, Northridge
Salem University (WV)
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