It started in January with hopes of a fifth conference title, and it ended in late April watching a bitter rival steal their thunder.
A long season for the Fresno State women’s water polo team has concluded. The Bulldogs went 14-8 overall, 6-1 in conference. Good enough to secure the No. 2 seed in the Golden Coast Conference (GCC) tournament.
The ‘Dogs started their season with their annual Polopalooza tournament, hosting teams like the University of Michigan, the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, San Diego.
Fresno State played in three other tournaments before Golden Coast Conference play began. While the team fluttered around a .500 record before conference play, they secured wins against top teams like California State University, Long Beach and the University of California, Santa Barbara. The ‘Dogs were one shot away from beating the University of Hawaii for the first time in program history.
Conference play began like any other season since 2021 for the ‘Dogs. Head Coach Natalie Benson improved her GCC record to 34-3 (.919) since 2021 and her overall record as head coach to 114-79 (.591).
Records were broken, history was sought and vibes were high for the ‘Dogs all year.
On March 8, junior attacker Hailey Andress set a program record with seven goals in a game. Later that same month, senior Brooke Ochoa set the program record for goals. A strong finish for the Bulldogs got them the No. 2 seed in the GCC tournament.
On a cloudy, gloomy and wet weekend in Los Angeles, the ‘Dogs brought their usual game to the tournament. While no opponent was to be taken lightly, Fresno State focused on one team: the Loyola Marymount University Lions.
The Bulldogs dispatched of their quarterfinal matchup against the Concordia University, Irvine Golden Eagles 21-7.
The Lions were the only team to beat the ‘Dogs in conference play, beating them 11-9 on March 22 at the Fresno State Aquatics Center. It was also the Bulldogs’ first home conference loss since the 2019 season.
History for the Bulldogs was to wait. An early 4-0 deficit was too much to overcome.
The Lions defeated the Dogs 14-12 in the title game. LMU never trailed and played keep away at the end to ring out the clock of its final seconds.
LMU fans, players and coaches celebrated in their home pool, bringing the GCC title back for the first time since 2015.
The Fresno State program’s focus now shifts to next season, where the ‘Dogs will have something to prove. However, they’ll have to do it without two budding superstars.
Ochoa put a bow on her Bulldog career on Sunday with a loaded resume. She finishes her career with 217 career goals and 138 assists for 355 career points, 115 steals and 33 field blocks.
Ochoa earned her second career nod to the All-GCC first team, adding to a 2023 first-team nomination with GCC player of the year, a 2024 All-GCC second-team nod and a 2022 All-Freshman team.
She holds the program record for all-time goals, set by former Bulldog Emily Nicholson, tied the single-game record for goals scored at seven and set the single-season goal record at 74. Both records were previously held solely by junior Hailey Andress.
Senior Abbey Simshauser joined the Bulldogs after attending Wagner College. She finishes her Bulldog career with 128 goals, 64 assists for 192 points, 85 steals and drew 90 exclusions.
The program will lean on its class of seven juniors to rally the ‘Dogs back to GCC champions.
If there is any leadership group in the GCC that can do that, it is Benson and her staff.
