Weston’s four-goal day leads Hawai’i to third consecutive Big West water polo title

For the second time in the history of the Big West, there is a back-to-back-to-back champion.

The top-seeded University of Hawai’i women’s water polo team claimed the Big West Championship title for the third straight season on Sunday, pulling away from No. 2 seed Long Beach State (17-11) in the second half for a comfortable 13-9 victory at the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Complex in Long Beach, California.

Along with the Big West crown, the Rainbow Wahine clinched the conference’s automatic berth into the National Collegiate Women’s Water Polo Championship in two weeks. It marks the third straight year that Hawai’i will make an appearance in the bracket of national title contenders, the longest streak in program history.

Hawai’i also joined UC Irvine (‘09-‘13) as the lone programs to win three or more consecutive conference titles since the Big West added women’s water polo. It’s the seventh Big West tournament title in Hawai’i history, trailing only the nine championships of the Anteaters.

Redshirt sophomore Agatha Weston was named the Big West Championship’s Most Valuable Player after leading the Rainbow Wahine with four goals to go along with two steals in the title match against LBSU. Hawai’i had seven different players score, five of whom found the back of the net multiple times on Sunday.

Hawai’i (16-5) completed a dominant run through the regular season and conference tournament slates, going unbeaten through league play and never trailing throughout the entire Big West Championship tournament.

Weston got the Rainbow Wahine off to a fast start on Sunday, scoring before the midway point of the opening period thanks to an early penalty shot. Senior Camille Radosavljevic added on less than two minutes later with her lone goal of the day, but back-to-back scores from LBSU’s Chiara Amoroso and Rita Gurri quickly knotted the match at two after eight minutes of action.

The Rainbow Wahine pushed back ahead for good in the second frame, rattling off five goals from five different players while allowing just a couple on the other end of the pool to head into halftime leading the Beach, 7-4.

The second half brought more offensive fire power for Hawai’i as Weston tallied her hat trick in a hurry with her third goal of the match coming just over 90 seconds after action resumed.

After trading a couple scores with Long Beach State, the Rainbow Wahine rattled off five straight goals to go up 14-7 with 2:03 left in regulation and start the celebration slightly early.

The Beach tried to make one last late push, getting a pair of goals in the final 120 seconds from Lucy Miszewski that ultimately proved cosmetic to the final result as Hawai’i took down Long Beach State in the Big West Championship match for the third straight year.

After guiding the Rainbow Wahine to consecutive titles in his first two seasons, Hawai’i head coach James Robinson became the third coach in conference history to lead a program to multiple Big West titles, joining his predecessor Maureen Cole (5) and UC Irvine legend Dan Klatt (9).

Hawai’i will await to see their placement in the 2026 National Collegiate Women’s Water Polo Championship bracket on Monday, April 13 during the NCAA selection show at 2 p.m. HT. The bracket reveal can be seen on NCAA.com.