TEMPE, Ariz. – The women's water polo team was battle-tested to begin their 2026 campaign, as they fell to both T-No.13 University of California San Diego and No.11 Arizona State University on Saturday, January 24th at The Malmsten Invitational, held at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center on the campus of ASU in Tempe, Arizona.
GAME ONE vs. UC San Diego
BOX SCORE
Score: McKendree University 5, University of California San Diego 27
Record: Bearcats 0-1, 0-0 WWPA | Tritons 3-0, 0-0 Big West
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a tough one to begin the 2026 season for the Bearcats, as they could not get things going their was against the mighty Tritons on Saturday afternoon.
After being down 0-3 in the opening minutes of the contest, junior utility Hailey Munoz (Murrieta, Calif.) and reigning WWPA Newcomer of the Year in junior center Bella Morquecho (Chicago, Ill.) conjoined on a 2-0 response to be down by just one and hopefully to make a game out of it.
The UCSD offense had little resistance to offer, as they tacked on four more against McKendree until Morquecho took it upon herself to net two more goals in the second period with both coming 32 seconds apart from each other.
The Tritons just refused to let up from there, as the 13th-ranked team went on a massive 15-0 spurt that turned into a 19-1 run to close out the game in their favor with junior attacker Shanelle Márquez (Madrid, Spain) tabbing the lone goal for McKendree in that span, as they fell 5-27.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Morquecho led the charge for the Bearcats in scoring three goals on seven attempts (42.9%) to go with three drawn exclusions.
• Munoz, along with her lone goal, contributed defensively as well with a steal and a drawn exclusion.
• Newcomer freshman goalkeeper Daisy Wetherholt (Malibu, Calif.) recorded eight saves in her debut of all 32:00 minutes, along with a pair of takeaways.
GAME TWO vs. Arizona State
BOX SCORE
Score: McKendree University 6, Arizona State University 24
Record: Bearcats 0-2, 0-0 WWPA | Sun Devils 3-0, 0-0 MPSF
HOW IT HAPPENED
For game two, against another nationally top-15 opponent, McKendree had to forge ahead.
The Bearcats did impress in the early goings, as they led 2-1 within the first couple minutes of action by coincidentally again Munoz and Morquecho scoring the ball. After a few made shots on the Sun Devils' end of the pool, senior attacker Joey Rebelo (Montreal, Québec, Canada) finally got herself on the board by finding the back of the net to cut the squad's deficit to just one.
To open up quarter number two, the other senior attacker on this Bearcats team, Jazmine Sandoval (Westminster, Calif.), fired one inside to keep her teammates within striking distance. Yet, that would only be nothing but a dream, as Arizona State went on a seven-goal spurt over the remaining minutes of the period, until sophomore attacker Maisie Mattocks (Shutesbury, Mass.) stopped the bleeding with her season's first goal just before the game clock expired to end the half.
It was all Sun Devils from there, as they went on another huge run of 10 straight scores to put the game away, as freshman utility Charlie Monroe (The Woodlands, Texas) scored on her first career goal with four minutes left in regulation, as McKendree would fall to the opposition 6-24.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Sandoval, Mattocks, Rebelo, Munoz, Monroe, and Morquecho all contributed equally with one goal each to their name.
• Another newcoming goalkeeper, freshman Delaney Judkins (La Grange, Ill.), played in all 32:00 minutes of action and came away with six saves and four steals.
UP NEXT
McKendree will be back in action tomorrow on Sunday, January 25th, as they close out The Malmsten Invitational against T-No.7 Loyola Marymount University at 9:30 AM CT, and then later against (RV) California Baptist University at12:00 PM CT with both matchups taking place at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center in Tempe, Arizona.
Both games can be watched live or on demand on Overnght with a subscription purchase required, as live stats can be viewed over on 6-8 Sports.
Make sure to keep up with McKendree University Water Polo on Instagram, X (Twitter), and TikTok. #NCAAwaterpolo
For more updates and information on Bearcat Athletics, please continue to visit McKBearcats.com and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram.
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