Road stretch continues at Azusa Pacific and UCLA

FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State water polo team heads back to the Los Angeles area for a pair of games this weekend. The Bulldogs will continue Golden Coast Conference play at Azusa Pacific on Saturday, then face UCLA in a nonconference match on Sunday.

No. 12 Fresno State (10-8, 1-1 GCC) at Azusa Pacific (16-7, 0-3 GCC)
Saturday, March 14 • 12 p.m. PT • Citrus College Aquatic Center • Glendora, Calif.
Watch: Here
Live Stats: TheFOSH
Twitter: @FresnoStateWP
Series History: Fresno State leads 9-2

No. 12 Fresno State (10-8, 1-1 GCC) at No. 2 UCLA (13-2, 2-1 MPSF)
Sunday, March 15 • 1 p.m. PT • Spieker Aquatics Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
Watch: Overnght
Live Stats: 6-8 Sports
Twitter: @FresnoStateWP
Series History: UCLA leads, 11-0

Bulldog Bones

Fresno State returns to the pool after a week off
Last time out, the Bulldogs fell 12-9 to No. 7 LMU on the road
Fresno State is 1-3 in true road competitions this season
The Bulldogs continue their road stretch, extending it to four games this weekend. This weekend is the final weekend away from home for the season as the Bulldogs close the year with three regular season home games and host the GCC Championship
The Bulldogs will face UCLA for the third time this season. The Bulldogs are 0-2 versus the Bruins to start the year with the games decided by eight goals and seven goals
The Bulldogs are looking for their first-ever win over UCLA
Of its eight losses this season, all have been to Top 20 opponents
Of its eight losses, six 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' 18 games this season, only three have been against an unranked opponent
Fresno State has 10 international players on its roster
Fresno State is coached by Natalie Benson, in her ninth season at the helm. She has a 124-87 record as the Bulldogs' head coach
Benson is a graduate of UCLA with a dominant water polo career, earning recognition on the Pac-12 All-Century Women's Water Polo Team. She guided the Bruins to three National Championships, was a three-time All-American and was eventually an inductee into the UCLA Hall of Fame (2016)

The record holder
Senior Hailey Andress became the program's all-time leading scorer earlier this season. She currently has 242 career goals. This season alone, she has added 51 goals behind 14 multi-goal performances. The senior leads the team and is fifth in the conference in scoring following the bye week. She has had at least one goal in all but two games on the year.

Andress has a team-high 11 hat tricks this season, bringing her career total to 43.

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 37 assists as Stephens leads the team with 20 this season.

Of the team's top five goal-scorers, Bryant has the highest shooting percentage with a .490 percentage.

In the mix
Last time out, freshman Noa Markovsky had her most productive day as a Bulldog. The Israel native scored three goals at LMU, her first career hat trick. Markovsky, another promising freshman in the lineup, has appeared in 11 games this season and has nine goals with seven assists.

Win the sprint
Another year of Marit van der Kolk dominating the sprint. The sophomore Bulldog has a 54-7 sprint win-loss record this season. In 2025, she had the third-best single-season sprint record with a 41-4 record.

With her 54 wins this season, she has moved up to third all-time in single season sprint win numbers. Her career total of 95 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 is second in the GCC with 153 saves. She has started in all 17 games played this season.

Her 153 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 124-87 overall record, including four GCC Championship titles since the first year of competition in 2018.

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 41-11 in Golden Coast Conference play.

The hosts
Fresno State will host the GCC Championships this season. Just under a month away, the Bulldogs will host for the first time since the 2019 season. More information on the championship regarding bracket and tickets will be available soon.

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Players Mentioned

Hailey Andress

Riaan Bryant

Noa Markovsky

Katelyn Mobley

Charley Stephens

Marit van der Kolk