Bulldogs continue GCC action at LMU

FRESNO, Calif. - The No. 10 Fresno State water polo team heads to No. 7 LMU for a Golden Coast Conference matchup on Saturday.

No. 10 Fresno State (10-7, 1-0 GCC) at No. 7 LMU (11-3, 1-0 GCC)
Saturday, February 28 • 12 p.m. PT • Burns Aquatics Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: TheFOSH
Twitter: @FresnoStateWP
Series History: LMU leads, 6-5

Bulldog Bones

Fresno State will play its second-straight road game this weekend, headed to LMU
The Bulldogs play four-straight on the road before returning home for three final home regular season games before hosting the GCC tournament
Fresno State has an all-time record of 41-10 in Golden Coast Conference play.
Fresno State won its two games last weekend, moving to 10-7 overall
The Bulldogs returned to the Top 10 in this week's CWPA national rankings, sitting at No. 10
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 8-0 when allowing fewer than 10 goals to its opponents this season
Of the Bulldogs' 17 games this season, only three have been against an unranked opponent
Fresno State has 10 international players on its roster
Hailey Andress leads the GCC with 48 goals
Her 48 goals through 17 games this season is already Top 15 all-time in single season scoring numbers
With 141 saves this season, freshman Katelyn Mobley has earned a spot in the Top 5 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
Fresno State is coached by Natalie Benson, in her ninth season at the helm. She has a 124-86 record as the Bulldogs' head coach

The record holder
Senior Hailey Andress became the program's all-time leading scorer earlier this season. She currently has 239 career goals. This season alone, she has added 48 goals behind 13 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.

Andress has a team-high 10 hat tricks this season, bringing her career total to 42.

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. Stephens has 27 goals and Bryant has 25 as the young duo compliment each other's play. They also combine for 35 assists as Stephens leads the team with 19 this season.

Of the team's top five goal-scorers, Bryant has the second-highest shooting percentage with a .490 percentage behind only the team's leading scorer in Andress (.500).

Big weekend for the transfer
Last time out, sophomore transfer Georgia Daly was one goal off of the program record with six goals in the win over FPU. She scored her six goals off of seven shots. She also added four drawn exclusions from the center position. She followed that performance up with another two goals at Santa Clara on Saturday.

Daly, a transfer from UC Davis, has played in all 17 games this season. She has 19 goals this season and is second on the team with 21 drawn exclusions.

Win the sprint
Another year of Marit van der Kolk dominating the sprint. The sophomore Bulldog has a 51-6 sprint win-loss record this season. In 2025, she had the third-best single-season sprint record with a 41-4 record.

With her 51 wins this season, she has moved up to third all-time in single season sprint win numbers. Her career total of 92 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 141 saves. She has started in all 16 games played this season.

Her 141 saves this season are the fifth-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 124-86 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 41-10 in Golden Coast Conference play.

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Players Mentioned

Hailey Andress

Riaan Bryant

Georgia Daly

Katelyn Mobley

Charley Stephens

Marit van der Kolk