Bulldogs vying for fifth consecutive GCC title

FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State water polo team heads south for the 2025 Golden Coast Conference Championships, hosted this weekend by LMU. Fresno State is chasing its fifth-straight Golden Coast Conference tournament title this year, along with an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.

GAME 1 INFO
No. 2-seed Fresno State (12-7, 6-1 GCC) vs. No. 7-seed CUI (6-22, 1-6 GCC)
Friday, April 25, 2025 - 12 P.M. PT - Los Angeles, Calif.
Live Stats: TheFosh
Stream: OverNght ($$)
Twitter: @FresnoStateWP
Series History: FS leads, 8-0
Last Meeting: FS def CUI 20-6 at home on Feb. 22, 2025

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

THE BRACKET
Friday, Apr. 25, 2025
No. 3 seed Pacific vs No. 6 seed Azusa Pacific - 10 a.m. PT
No. 2 seed Fresno State vs No. 7 seed CUI - 12 p.m. PT
No. 4 seed San Diego State vs No. 5 seed CBU - 2 p.m. PT
No. 1 seed LMU vs No. 8 seed Santa Clara - 4 p.m. PT

Saturday, Apr. 26, 2025
Game 5 - Seventh Place Game: Lowest seeded teams that lost in day 1 - 10 AM
Game 6 - Fifth Place Game: Highest seeded teams that lost in day 1 - NOON
Game 7 - Semifinal #1 - 2 PM
Game 8 - Semifinal #2 - 4 PM

Sunday, Apr. 27, 2025
Game 9 - Third Place - 11 AM
Game 10 - Championship - 1 PM

Bulldog Bones

Fresno State enters the GCC Championship as the No. 2 seed for the second-straight season.
Fresno State enters the postseason tournament on a three-game win streak.
Fresno State is chasing its fifth-straight tournament title. If the Bulldogs win, it would be the longest championship tournament win streak for a Fresno State program since baseball from 2006-12.
The Bulldogs are the highest ranked GCC team in the national polls this week, checking in at No. 8. Host school and the top-seeded LMU ranks No. 9.
Fresno State's lone conference loss this season was to LMU on March 22.
Fresno State is coached by head coach Natalie Benson with a 112-78 overall record coaching the Bulldogs.

All-Conference Caliber
Fresno State earned six All-GCC selections this season, tying its single-season most for the third season in-a-row. Hailey Andress and Brooke Ochoa were selected as first team honorees, Abbey Simshauser and Ida Tully-Giles were on the second team, Ashley Williams was an honorable mention selection, and Marit van der Kolk was added to the All-Freshman team.

One more for good measure
Ochoa was again named the Golden Coast Conference Player of the Week, announced by the conference office on Thursday morning. It was the final weekly honor from the conference for the 2025 season.

Ochoa led the Bulldogs with five points from three goals and two assists to earn GCC Player of the Week honors for Apr. 24. She also had a team-high three drawn exclusions and three steals to help the Bulldogs to the 12-10 road win over No. 21 Pacific and the No. 2 seed in the GCC tournament.

The senior from Carlsbad, Calif. picked up her third GCC Player of the week recognition of the season, and of her career.

In 2025, Fresno State had five GCC Player of the Week honors with three from Ochoa and two from Simshauser. The Bulldogs saw the most recognitions by any GCC school this season.

Leaders of the pack
Ochoa leads the team in goals (61), assists (25) and field blocks (11). Along with her are team stat leaders Megan Cranley in steals (23) and Williams in drawn exclusions (47). Van der Kolk leads the team with an impressive 32-4 sprint win-loss record.

On watch for the top honors
Andress earned a spot on the 2025 Cutino Award watch list, announced by the organization earlier this season. 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.

Andress is second on the team with 60 goals and 23 assists. She adds 19 steals, six field blocks and five drawn exclusions.
Andress has solidified herself as one of the program's most accomplished and decorated student-athletes. With 185 career goals, she is third all-time in Fresno State's history. Andress was a first team All-GCC selection in 2024 and 2025, and a second team ACWPC All-American in 2024. 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.

A fantastic career is winding down
Simshauser made an immediate impact on the Bulldogs upon her arrival in 2024. A transfer from Wagner College, Simshauser has netted 117 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 351 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.

Youngin' stepped up
Sophomore goalkeeper Ida Tully-Giles stepped up in a big way this season, filling in large shoes after the graduation of long-time keeper Paula Nieto Jasny who owns each of the program's goalkeeping records. This season, Tully-Giles earned 90 saves while allowing 115 goals. She appeared in 16 games, and started in 14.

In conference play, she was a big factor in holding opponents to low-scoring efforts. She started in six games in conference play. In that span, she allowed 39 goals for an 8.04 goals allowed average. She totaled 48 saves in conference games, for a .552 save percentage.

2024 Tournament Flashback
The Bulldogs won the 2024 GCC Championship and punched their ticket to the NCAA women's water polo championship in dramatic fashion last season.

Fresno State entered the championship as the No. 2 seed, and defeated Santa Clara 22-6 in the opening round. The Bulldogs then defeated No. 3 pacific 11-8 to advance to the championship. Fresno State earned the title with a 13-12 overtime victory over the top-seeded LMU. The championship win last season was the 100th win for head coach Natalie Benson.

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Players Mentioned

Hailey Andress

Megan Cranley

Brooke Ochoa

Abbey Simshauser

Ida Tully-Giles

Marit van der Kolk

Ashley Williams