'Dogs return home, open GCC play at Santa Clara

Friday, February 20

Fresno, CA

5 p.m. PT

Fresno State

Fresno Pacific

'Dogs hold No. 5 Hawai'i to close matchup

Sunday, February 15

'Dogs defeat No. 7 LBSU in full team effort performance

Saturday, February 14

'Dogs drop tight game to No. 2 UCLA

Friday, February 13

Bulldogs head south for matchups at Barbara Kalbus Invite

Thursday, February 12

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Fresno Pacific

Feb 20 (Fri)

5 p.m. PT

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'Dogs return home, open GCC play at Santa Clara

2/19/2026 4:00:00 PM | Water Polo

Game Notes

By: Savannah Stoeckle / Associate Athletics Director for Strategic Communications

FRESNO, Calif. - The No. 13 Fresno State water polo team returns home for the first time in a month, hosting Fresno Pacific on Friday evening. The Bulldogs will then turn and head to Santa Clara on Saturday for the Golden Coast Conference opener.

No. 13 Fresno State (8-7, 0-0 GCC) vs Fresno Pacific (4-7, 0-0 WWPA)
Friday, February 20 • 5 p.m. PT • Aquatics Center • Fresno, Calif.
Watch: Overnght
Live Stats: TheFOSH
Twitter: @FresnoStateWP
Series History: FS leads, 10-0

No. 13 Fresno State (8-7, 0-0 GCC) at Santa Clara (1-10, 0-0 GCC)
Saturday, February 21 • 1 p.m. PT • Sullivan Aquatic Center • Santa Clara, Calif.
Watch: Here
Live Stats: TheFOSH
Twitter: @FresnoStateWP
Series History: FS leads, 8-1

Bulldog Bones

Fresno State returns home for the first time since Polopalooza
Fresno State will host Fresno Pacific on Friday evening before traveling to Santa Clara for the GCC opener
Fresno State is 3-1 at home this season
Fresno State has won its last six GCC openers. The Bulldogs are 6-2 in GCC openers
Of its seven losses this season, all have been to Top 20 opponents
Of its seven losses, five have been decided by four or fewer goals
Fresno State is 6-0 when allowing fewer than 10 goals to its opponents this season
Of the Bulldogs' 15 games this season, only one has been against an unranked opponent
Fresno State has 10 international players on its roster
Hailey Andress leads the GCC with 41 goals
Her 41 goals through 15 games this season is already Top 15 all-time in single season scoring numbers
With 127 saves this season, freshman Katelyn Mobley has earned a spot in the Top 10 single season save numbers and will continue to climb the list
Mobley leads the GCC in saves
Marit van der Kolk is the conference leader in sprint wins

The record holder
Senior Hailey Andress became the program's all-time leading scorer earlier this season. She currently has 232 career goals. This season alone, she has added 41 goals behind 11 multi-goal performances. The senior leads the team and the conference in scoring. She has had at least one goal in all but two games on the year.

New faces making noise
The Bulldogs' second and third leading scorers are both new faces to the program in freshmen Charley Stephens and Riaan Bryant. Bryant has 23 goals and Stephens has 22 as the young duo compliment each other's play. They also combine for 30 assists as Stephens leads the team with 17 this season.

Of the team's top five goal-scorers, Bryant has the highest shooting percentage with a .489 percentage.

Win the sprint
Another year of Marit van der Kolk dominating the sprint. The sophomore Bulldog has a 44-6 sprint win-loss record this season. In 2025, she had the third-best single-season sprint record with a 41-4 record.

With her 44 wins this season, she has moved up to third all-time in single season sprint win numbers. Her career total of 85 sprint wins is second all-time behind Cynthia Rosa (2020-24), who coincidentally, also wore cap number three for the Bulldogs.

Van der Kolk leads the GCC in sprint wins this season.

The freshman in the cage
Fresno State goalkeeper Katelyn Mobley leads the GCC with 127 saves. She has started in all 14 games played this season.

Her 127 saves this season are the seventh-most by a goalkeeper in program history, and she continues to climb. She already has the most saves by a Bulldog keeper since Paula Nieto Jasny in 2024 (201). Nieto Jasny is the program's all-time leader in every goalkeeper statistic.

International 'Dogs
Of the 24 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).

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 122-86 overall record, including four GCC Championship titles since the first year of competition in 2018.

'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.

GCC Flashback
Fresno State has won four Golden Coast Conference titles, falling last season to LMU and ending the championships winning streak.

In regular season play, Fresno State has only lost three regular season GCC games in the last four years.

Fresno State has an all-time record of 40-10 in Golden Coast Conference play.

WP Media Availability [1/12/26]

Monday, January 12

Water Polo 2025 Bass Lake team retreat vlog

Tuesday, October 28

WP: GCC Championship Quarterfinal vs CUI [4.25.25]

Saturday, April 26

WP highlight vs CUI [2.22.25]

Saturday, February 22

Fresno State Athletics

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Hailey Andress

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Katelyn Mobley

Charley Stephens

Marit van der Kolk

'Dogs return home, open GCC play at Santa Clara

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