CBU Women's Water Polo Faces Tough Test on the Road, Bounces Back at Home

The California Baptist University (CBU) women's water polo team experienced a challenging and eventful weekend, splitting its recent matches against top competition.

On Friday, March 13, CBU traveled to Irvine for its second top-10 matchup of the season against the #10-ranked UCI Anteaters. The Lancers put up a strong defensive performance early, holding UCI to a single goal for more than ten minutes and even claiming an early lead with two goals. The teams entered halftime tied at 3-3, but UCI surged ahead in the third period with five unanswered goals, ultimately defeating CBU 15-11. Standout performances included sophomore attacker Emmie Ramirez, who scored five goals on nine shots, and Niya Bumbaca, who contributed three points with a goal and two assists. Delilah Moreno led the defense with four steals and an assist. The loss dropped CBU to an 11-8 record.

The following evening, the Lancers quickly regrouped and returned home to take on Cal State Fullerton at the Lancer Aquatics Center. CBU continued its impressive home form, edging the Titans 13-11 and improving to 12-8 overall with a 6-1 home record. The Lancers jumped out to an early lead with goals from Bella Raynes and Niya Bumbaca, then built an 8-3 advantage before Fullerton closed the gap to 8-6 at halftime. Despite Fullerton pulling within one late in the third quarter, clutch goals from Bumbaca and two more from Ramirez secured the win for CBU. Ramirez notched a hat trick with three goals and two assists, Raynes also scored a hat trick, and Bumbaca posted two goals with two assists. Beringer added three points to round out the scoring effort for the Lancers.

CBU will next hit the road for a pair of Golden Coast Conference (GCC) matches, starting with a trip to Fresno to face the Bulldogs on Friday, March 20.