Rainbow Wahine Sweep Top Big West Water Polo Awards
HONOLULU — After claiming the conference regular season and championship titles, the University of Hawai'i women's water polo team swept the Big West's major awards and a total of seven members of the program received postseason recognition from the conference.
The Big West announced its 2025 awards on Friday and Bernadette Doyle's all-around performance earned the senior conference Player of the Year honors in voting of the league's coaches. Ema Vernoux, the team's leading goal scorer, was named the Freshman of the Year, and James Robinson was voted Coach of the Year in his first season leading the Rainbow Wahine.
Doyle and Vernoux, both attackers, also made the All-Big West First Team along with goalkeeper Daisy Logtens. Senior utility Jordan Wedderburn was a second-team selection and junior attacker Roni Perlman earned honorable mention recognition. Vernoux and attacker Gabrielle Doyle also made the All-Freshman team.
Bernadette Doyle became the fifth UH student-athlete to be voted Big West Player of the Year and the Rainbow Wahine program claimed the honor for the seventh time in 12 years of conference membership. The left-hander from New Zealand has served as a catalyst for the 'Bows on both ends of the pool, ranking second on the team with 91 total points with 53 goals and a team-high 38 assists. She's also tied for the Big West lead with 51 steals and is second on the team with 13 field blocks. In Big West regular-season play, she led the conference with 37 points (19 goals, 18 assists) and tied for second with 14 steals. She has 12 hat tricks this season and posted a career game in the Big West Championship semifinals on April 26 when she tied her previous best with five goals and set a new high with eight steals in an 11-9 win over UC San Diego. She also became just the second player in program history to post at least 100 goals, assists and steals in a career.
Coming off an appearance in the Paris Olympics in her home country, Vernoux made an instant impact in Mānoa, becoming the sixth UH player to be named Big West Freshman of the Year. Her total of 75 goals is the fourth highest single-season total in program history and she is on pace to become just the third UH player to average at least 3.0 goals per match in a season. She's led the UH attack in volume and efficiency with a team-high 16 hat tricks and a .556 shooting percentage.
Logtens made the All-Big West first-team for the second consecutive season and leads the conference with a 9.02 goals-against average and ranks fourth with 193 saves in her sophomore season. She was named the Most Valuable Player of the Big West Championship after posting 14 saves in UH's 8-6 win over Long Beach State to capture the 'Bows' second straight title.
Wedderburn earned All-Big West honors for the first time in her career while anchoring the middle of the UH attack. She's second on the team 65 goals, tied for UH's eighth highest single-season total, and created power-play opportunities with a team-high 69 drawn exclusions. The senior from South Africa has 14 hat tricks this season and scored a career-high seven goals in a win over UC Irvine on Feb. 2 in the Triton Invitational. In Big West matches, she led the team and ranked second in the conference with 22 goals. She tied program records with three Big West Player of the Week awards this season and four in her career. Wedderburn also earned the UH athletic department's highest honor on Wednesday as a recipient of the Jack Bonham Award.
Perlman also earned conference honors for the first time after posting 32 assists to rank second on the team to go along with 15 goals.
Gabrielle Doyle joined the roster in January and ranks second on the team with 34 steals, trailing her older sister. She also has 14 goals and 10 assists.
Robinson ascended to head coach after two seasons as UH associate head coach under Maureen Cole and extended the 'Bows' Big West reign. After losing four of the team's top five scorers following the 2024 season, UH was voted second in the Big West preseason poll. The 'Bows went on to sweep through the conference's regular-season schedule for the second straight year and retained the Big West Championship title. Robinson guided the 'Bows to their third straight 20-win season and 12th overall.
The Rainbow Wahine (21-4) are preparing for the National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship in Indianapolis. UH is the fourth-seed in the bracket and will face California in a first-round match on May 9 at the IU Natatorium.
The Big West announced its 2025 awards on Friday and Bernadette Doyle's all-around performance earned the senior conference Player of the Year honors in voting of the league's coaches. Ema Vernoux, the team's leading goal scorer, was named the Freshman of the Year, and James Robinson was voted Coach of the Year in his first season leading the Rainbow Wahine.
Doyle and Vernoux, both attackers, also made the All-Big West First Team along with goalkeeper Daisy Logtens. Senior utility Jordan Wedderburn was a second-team selection and junior attacker Roni Perlman earned honorable mention recognition. Vernoux and attacker Gabrielle Doyle also made the All-Freshman team.
Bernadette Doyle became the fifth UH student-athlete to be voted Big West Player of the Year and the Rainbow Wahine program claimed the honor for the seventh time in 12 years of conference membership. The left-hander from New Zealand has served as a catalyst for the 'Bows on both ends of the pool, ranking second on the team with 91 total points with 53 goals and a team-high 38 assists. She's also tied for the Big West lead with 51 steals and is second on the team with 13 field blocks. In Big West regular-season play, she led the conference with 37 points (19 goals, 18 assists) and tied for second with 14 steals. She has 12 hat tricks this season and posted a career game in the Big West Championship semifinals on April 26 when she tied her previous best with five goals and set a new high with eight steals in an 11-9 win over UC San Diego. She also became just the second player in program history to post at least 100 goals, assists and steals in a career.
Coming off an appearance in the Paris Olympics in her home country, Vernoux made an instant impact in Mānoa, becoming the sixth UH player to be named Big West Freshman of the Year. Her total of 75 goals is the fourth highest single-season total in program history and she is on pace to become just the third UH player to average at least 3.0 goals per match in a season. She's led the UH attack in volume and efficiency with a team-high 16 hat tricks and a .556 shooting percentage.
Logtens made the All-Big West first-team for the second consecutive season and leads the conference with a 9.02 goals-against average and ranks fourth with 193 saves in her sophomore season. She was named the Most Valuable Player of the Big West Championship after posting 14 saves in UH's 8-6 win over Long Beach State to capture the 'Bows' second straight title.
Wedderburn earned All-Big West honors for the first time in her career while anchoring the middle of the UH attack. She's second on the team 65 goals, tied for UH's eighth highest single-season total, and created power-play opportunities with a team-high 69 drawn exclusions. The senior from South Africa has 14 hat tricks this season and scored a career-high seven goals in a win over UC Irvine on Feb. 2 in the Triton Invitational. In Big West matches, she led the team and ranked second in the conference with 22 goals. She tied program records with three Big West Player of the Week awards this season and four in her career. Wedderburn also earned the UH athletic department's highest honor on Wednesday as a recipient of the Jack Bonham Award.
Perlman also earned conference honors for the first time after posting 32 assists to rank second on the team to go along with 15 goals.
Gabrielle Doyle joined the roster in January and ranks second on the team with 34 steals, trailing her older sister. She also has 14 goals and 10 assists.
Robinson ascended to head coach after two seasons as UH associate head coach under Maureen Cole and extended the 'Bows' Big West reign. After losing four of the team's top five scorers following the 2024 season, UH was voted second in the Big West preseason poll. The 'Bows went on to sweep through the conference's regular-season schedule for the second straight year and retained the Big West Championship title. Robinson guided the 'Bows to their third straight 20-win season and 12th overall.
The Rainbow Wahine (21-4) are preparing for the National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship in Indianapolis. UH is the fourth-seed in the bracket and will face California in a first-round match on May 9 at the IU Natatorium.
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