'Dogs slated for busy weekend in Berkeley

FRESNO, Calif. - The No. 9 Fresno State water polo team heads north for the Brigitte Donner Daws Memorial Invite, hosted by Cal this Saturday and Sunday at the Spieker Aquatics Complex. The Bulldogs are slated to face four ranked opponents this weekend.

No. 9 Fresno State (3-1, 0-0 GCC) vs No. 12 San Jose State (0-3, 0-0 MPSF)
Saturday, January 24 • 11 a.m. PT • Spieker Aquatics Complex • Berkeley, Calif.
Watch: OverNght ($)
Live Stats: 6-8 Scores
Twitter: @FresnoStateWP
Series History: FS leads, 6-3

No. 9 Fresno State (3-1, 0-0 GCC) at No. 4 Cal (3-0, 0-0 MPSF)
Saturday, January 24 • 3:30 p.m. PT • Spieker Aquatics Complex • Berkeley, Calif.
Watch: OverNght ($)
Live Stats: 6-8 Scores
Twitter: @FresnoStateWP
Series History: Cal leads, 11-0

No. 9 Fresno State (3-1, 0-0 GCC) vs No. 3 UCLA (0-0, 0-0 MPSF)
Sunday, January 25 • 8 a.m. PT • Spieker Aquatics Complex • Berkeley, Calif.
Watch: OverNght ($)
Live Stats: 6-8 Scores
Twitter: @FresnoStateWP
Series History: UCLA leads, 9-0

No. 9 Fresno State (3-1, 0-0 GCC) vs No. 16 UC Davis (2-1, 0-0 Big West)
Sunday, January 25 • 3:30 p.m. PT • Spieker Aquatics Complex • Berkeley, Calif.
Watch: OverNght ($)
Live Stats: 6-8 Scores
Twitter: @FresnoStateWP
Series History: FS leads, 7-4

Bulldog Bones

Fresno State enters its second week of action at the Brigitte Donner Daws Memorial Invite, previously known as the Cal Cup.
The Bulldogs are slated to face another gauntlet of Top 20 teams, including a pair in the Top 5.
Fresno State went 3-1 in its opening week at the home-hosted Polopalooza. The Bulldogs defeated No. 15 Michigan, No. 10 UC Irvine and No. 12 San Jose State.
The Bulldogs were ranked No. 7 in the preseason national rankings, but fell to No. 9 this week.
Fresno State has spent 77 consecutive weeks in the CWPA Top 10
Fresno State's games this season have each been decided by three or fewer goals.
In four games last weekend, the Bulldogs played 15 different field players. All 15 of those players scored at least one goal in the opening weekend.
The only players without a goal last weekend were goalkeepers.
First-year Bulldog Georgia Daly will face her previous team UC Davis on Sunday. Daly spent one season at UC Davis before transferring to Fresno State
Fresno State is led in scoring by senior Hailey Andress with 10 goals.
With 10 goals last weekend, Andress is now 16 goals shy of tying the program's all-time scoring record (217).
Fresno State played six true freshmen in its opening weekend
Fresno State was chosen as the preseason GCC favorite
Fresno State has won four of the last five GCC Championship titles
The Bulldogs are in their ninth season led by head coach Natalie Benson
Benson has an overall record of 117-80 as the Bulldogs' head coach

Quick rematch
Fresno State closed the Polopalooza tournament with a thrilling 15-14 overtime victory over No. 12 San Jose State in Fresno last weekend. The Bulldogs and Spartans face off again in their first game of the tournament this weekend.

Fresno State leads the all-time series with San Jose State 6-3, and has won six-straight in the series.

A note in the matchup: Fresno State senior Megan Cranley and San Jose State sophomore Bridget Cranley are sisters and will face each other for the second time at the collegiate level this weekend.

Freshmen galore
Fresno State added six true freshmen to the roster for 2026, and all six of them saw action in the opening weekend. The young Bulldogs all made promising contributions against top talent, proving depth to the Bulldogs' roster might be more than expected.

Talk of the weekend
One freshman who made a pair of the largest plays of the weekend was Pasadena native Charli Munoz, who drained the game-winning overtime goal over San Jose State at the buzzer. Earlier in the second overtime period, it was Munoz who put Fresno State on the board with 54 seconds remaining but the Spartans responded. Munoz put the game away with the game-winner from the right wing at the buzzer.

MOBES
The Bulldogs started true freshman Katelyn Mobley in the cage for all four games last weekend, including a complete game in the Bulldogs' overtime victory over San Jose State. She proved to be a vital part of the Bulldogs' success, tallying 37 saves and six steals in 112 minutes of action. She had a season-high 12 saves against UC Irvine. The freshman keeper has had a .500 save percentage in all but one game this season.

Last one for Hailey Houdini
For the last three years, Hailey Andress has seen her game progress. The California native enters her senior season as a three-time All-American and three-time GCC all-conference selection. She is in the record books for almost every statistical category, and is nearing the program's all-time scoring record.

Andress finds herself in the Top 5 for career goals (201), hat tricks (36), assists (72) and steals (87). She also owns the single season record for goals (74) and the single game goal record (7).

Year 9 for the head coach
Natalie Benson was hired as the program's head coach for its inaugural season in 2017. Benson enters her ninth year leading the 'Dogs in the pool and has compiled a 117-80 overall record, including four GCC Championship titles since the first year of competition in 2018.

In the rankings
Under Benson's direction, Fresno State has been ranked in the Top 10 nationally for 77 consecutive weeks, dating back to the 2021 season. The Bulldogs were ranked seventh nationally to open the 2026 season, their highest ranking since March of 2025.

International 'Dogs
Of the 25 players on the Bulldogs' roster, 10 are international student-athletes. The Bulldogs have athletes on the roster from New Zealand, the Netherlands, Australia, Russia and Israel (in addition to the United States).

'Dogs repeat as preseason favorites
The Fresno State water polo team was selected as the preseason favorites in the Golden Coast Conference for 2026, announced by the conference office ahead of the season openers and voted on by the league's head coaches.

The Bulldogs have won four of the last five Golden Coast Conference tournament titles (2021-24), falling last season to host LMU. This season, Fresno State plays host of the championship tournament that is set for April 10-12 at the Aquatics Center.

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Players Mentioned

Hailey Andress

Megan Cranley

Georgia Daly

Katelyn Mobley