CSUN Begins 24th Season of Water Polo on Friday

Friday, January 30

Thousand Oaks, Calif.

9:00 a.m.

California State University at Northridge

Cal Lutheran

Photo by: Chuck Marvel

CSUN Begins 24th Season of Water Polo on Friday

1/29/2026 10:04:00 AM | Women's Water Polo

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---No. 25 CSUN Water Polo officially kicks off its 24th season of competition this week with four matches on tap. The Matadors open the 2026 slate at Cal Lutheran on Friday, taking on the host Regals at 9 a.m. and Fresno Pacific at 12 p.m. On Saturday, CSUN heads to Riverside to meet California Baptist at 10:00 a.m. and Biola at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available for all four matches.

TEAM OVERVIEW
The Matadors registered their third consecutive winning season in 2025, eventually finishing at 16-13 overall and 1-6 in Big West play. CSUN was seventh in the Big West standings and fell in the first round of the 2025 Big West Championship.

This year's team consists of 11 returners, coupled with eight true freshmen. Senior Kianna Melvin is the team's top returning goal scorer, totaling 35 goals with 17 assists and 20 steals, each of which were new career highs at CSUN. Melvin has hit the net 52 times in her CSUN career and registered 84 total points. Another top returner, sophomore Sofia Martinez had a breakout freshman campaign where she racked up 34 goals, 15 assists and 11 steals in 29 contests. Other double-digit goals scorers from last season include sophomores Lucie Lapuz (16 goals) and Mackenzie Wood (15 goals). Rounding out the returning field players are seniors Alexis Smith and Leah Huisar, junior Jade Cuevas and sophomore Abigel Kiss.

In front of the cage, CSUN returns all three of its goalkeepers from 2025, led by junior Erika Staine, who had a team-high 117 saves in over 447 minutes of action. Sophomore Marin Byars had 55 saves last season while junior Kianna Melvin totaled 43 saves as each played in over 200 minutes at goalkeeper.

CSUN's eight newcomers feature a pair of international players in attacker Mira Dravucz (Budapest, Hungary) and utility Sophia Cooper (Sydney, NSW). The trio of Marjorie Krueger (Sanger High School/Praetorian Water Polo Club), Ashley Strickland (Clovis West High School) and Claire Summers (Riverside Poly High School/CHAWP) each will play at attacker while Raygan Carroll (Elsinore High School/CHAWP) and Dakota Bumbaca (Monterey Trail High School/Davis Water Polo Club) fill utility roles. Ella Furuholmen (Grossmont High School/San Diego Shores) brings added depth to the center position as well for CSUN.

DEPARTING MATADORS
Over the offseason, CSUN graduated perhaps its most decorated senior classes in school history. Four-time All-Americans Dorottya Telek and Anna Pal were among the departing seniors as each made indelible imprints in the history of the program. A two-time All-Big West First Team honoree, Telek left CSUN as the all-time career goals leader with 376 tallies while she reached nine total all-time top-10 lists. Pal closed her CSUN career as the school's all-time leader in assists (209) and the sixth leading goal scorer (200) in program history. Another multi-time All-American, Helena Sandhagen wrapped up her CSUN career as well in 2025, amassing over 156 goals and 69 assists in five years in the pool.

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RANKINGS?
CSUN will open its 2026 season ranked tied for No. 25 in the national rankings with Pomona Pitzer. The Matadors, who were idle last week, received votes in the week one of the top-25 national rankings. Last season, CSUN spent much of the year ranked in the national poll, peaking at No. 16. In the Big West, CSUN was picked to finish seventh by the league's head coaches as the Matadors scored 12 points in the annual Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll.

A DECADE ON THE POOL DECK
Head coach Matt Warshaw enters his 10th year leading the CSUN Water Polo program in 2026. Warshaw is the longest tenured head coach in program history as he enters his ninth year of competition this season (CSUN did not play in 2021). Warshaw has totaled 117 career victories, highlighted by three consecutive winning seasons from 2023-25. The three straight winning campaigns tied the school record, last accomplished from 2013-15. Entering 2026, Warshaw is just 11 wins away from breaking Molly Barnes' all-time CSUN wins record of 127.

ABOUT CAL LUTHERAN
The Regals opened up the 2026 season last Saturday, falling to Azusa Pacific 15-10. Aleaha Gonzalez had a team-high four goals in the team's opener. Hudson Geier sported 92 points for the team last season with 64 assists. Last season, Cal Lutheran was 14-15 overall. Series History: CSUN has won all 11 meetings in the all-time series with eight of those taking place in Cal Lutheran. The teams played last season in Thousand Oaks with CSUN notching a 19-8 victory.

ABOUT FRESNO PACIFIC
The Sunbirds are 0-3 thus far on the year, dropping matches to Division I teams: UC Davis, Santa Clara and Pacific. Maggie Cook tops the team with four goals and six points as she is coming off scoring 50 goals last year. In 2025, the Sunbirds wrapped up with a 14-13 record. Series History: The Matadors lead Fresno Pacific 7-0 in the all-time series. The teams squared off last season at the Claremont Convergence Tournament with CSUN coming away with a 22-11 win.

ABOUT CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
No. 23 CBU is 2-3 on the season thus far, highlighted by a win over No. 18 UC Santa Barbara, 16-9 on Jan. 16. Five Lancers have already scored 10 or more goals this season with Emmie Ramirez leading with 11. Niya Bumbaca, who has 10 goals in 2026, totaled 46 points last season. The team finished with a 12-16 record in 2025. Series History: CSUN leads CBU 20-10 in the head-to-head series, but the Lancers have won the past two meetings. The teams played a high scoring affair last season with CBU winning 15-13.

ABOUT BIOLA
The Eagles are 0-6 on the season but have played four of their six games against top-25 teams. Ava LoBue has eight goals and five points to lead the squad while she is coming off netting 24 goals to go with 47 assists in 2025. Biola was 10-18 overall last season and played in the WWPA championship game. Series History: CSUN and Biola have played twice in women's water polo with each side winning once. Biola was victorious in the teams' last matchup in 2024 by a 12-10 score.

#GoMatadors