Rainbow Wahine water polo: Looking to contend

UPDATE: Hawaii defeated UC Santa Barbara 15-9 on senior night. UH sent its four seniors out with a home win and the Rainbow Wahine wrapped up the regular season at 16-5 overall and 4-1 in the Big West — clinching at least a share of the conference title.

🤙🏽🌈 Senior float to cap off a fun night!

Mahalo to seniors Elyse, Femke, Carla, and Irene 😃 #HawaiiWWP | #GoBows pic.twitter.com/9TxPgllHVS

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— Wahine Water Polo (@WahineWP) April 14, 2019

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Senior night could provide some final affirmation for the fourth-ranked Hawaii water polo team on the cusp of the postseason.

UH, UC Irvine and Saturday’s opponent, No. 11 UC Santa Barbara, all entered the day with one loss in Big West play. The Rainbow Wahine (15-5 overall) can attain the top seed in the Big West tournament beginning April 26 at Long Beach State, and strengthen their argument for an NCAA at-large berth should they not win the BWC tourney. First sprint is at 6 p.m. at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.

No. 4 #HawaiiWWP takes on No. 11 UC Santa Barbara for senior night tonight at 6 p.m. at Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.

Here's senior Femke Aan on what she thinks it'll be like. pic.twitter.com/RQqS9bf18E

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— Hawaii Warrior World (@hawaiiwworld) April 13, 2019

Four seniors are playing their final match: Irene Gonzalez, Femke Aan, Carla Abellan and Elyse Lemay-Lavoie. They’ve helped UH to a 71-29 record the last four years and have combined to score 489 career goals.

Gonzalez, the team’s reigning All-American, has 214 of those, good for third all-time at UH.

UH picked up a signature win at home in its last action in the DKAC pool, a 6-5 win over then-No. 4 Cal. But the Wahine weren’t quite able to keep it going on the road, falling 7-6 at UC Irvine on April 5. They rebounded with a convincing 15-7 win at LBSU last Sunday.

Here's #HawaiiWWP coach Maureen Cole on building off the win over then-No. 4 Cal the last time the Rainbow Wahine played at home. pic.twitter.com/xafEMDmEcR

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— Hawaii Warrior World (@hawaiiwworld) April 13, 2019