Defending home waters will be the focus for fourth-ranked Hawaii in the final two weekends of the Big West’s women’s water polo regular season.

Protecting the net has been Rainbow Wahine senior Emma van Rossum’s specialty for her five seasons in Manoa.

“I’ve always been a defensive player,” Van Rossum said as she approached her final homestand. “I just love the defensive side and we have a lot of great girls who are attackers and scoring goals. So I think we have a great distribution of roles and strengths in the water and I love playing this role.”

Van Rossum’s role landed her a place among 20 players on the watch list for the Cutino Award, which honors the top player in women’s collegiate water polo.

While goal scorers tend to attract the spotlight, Van Rossum’s efforts as the hub of the Wahine defense have drawn the attention and respect of opposing coaches.

“I don’t think very many coaches would disagree that she’s the best defender in the country,” UH coach Maureen Cole said of the 6-foot-2 van Rossum.

“At this point in the season other teams are subbing out their centers and putting in non-centers to try to create matchups and create offense because she’s just so solid as a center defender.”

Fourth-ranked UH’s defense of the Big West regular-season title will face a pivotal test today when the Rainbow Wahine (18-4, 5-0 Big West) face No. 6 UC Irvine (15-6, 5-0) at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex in a showdown atop the conference standings.

UH picked up a 12-8 win over the Anteaters on Feb. 5 in the Triton Invitational in La Jolla, Calif. But it’s the last meeting in Manoa that lingers for the ’Bows.

UH played host to the Big West Tournament last April as the top seed, but saw the season end with an 11-8 loss to UCI in the final.

“That was a really big disappointment and that’s carried motivation into this season,” Cole said. ”They played great last year and I think the biggest thing we learned is we just have to come out with a lot of energy. The team that has a lot of energy defensively, a lot of things tend to go their way.”

Van Rossum’s efforts on defense have been a constant since she arrived on campus from the Netherlands prior to the 2019 season. She hadn’t planned on attending college in the U.S., but heard about the UH program from a club teammate and figured, “that’s such a cool opportunity.”

Offered a chance to join the program, she thought “I just want to give it a shot and see how it goes and now here I am five years later.”

Ten countries are represented on UH’s 20-player roster, and the way the program’s international nature helps foster the team’s chemistry in and out of the pool has been one of van Rossum’s valued experiences of her UH career.

“All these girls come from literally all over the world and we’re all going through the same thing because no one has their family close, so we become each other’s family,” van Rossum said. “I think that creates such a special bond that made me want to stay for my fifth year.”

While van Rossum’s primary role is on defense, she ranks fifth on the team with 23 goals this season and has remained focused on her academic objectives as well. She’s finishing up her degree work in computer science and psychology and has been accepted into a master’s program in artificial intelligence back in the Netherlands.

“She exemplifies Wahine water polo through and through,” Cole said. “She’s dedicated herself to being a student-athlete, good teammate, everything. She’s all-encompassing.”

Van Rossum and UH’s seniors will play their final match at DKAC on April 22 against UC Davis. The Big West Tournament is set for April 28-30 at UCSB Campus Pool in Santa Barbara, Calif.

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Big West water polo

At Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex

No. 6 UC Irvine (15-6, 5-0) vs. No. 4 Hawaii (18-4, 5-0)

>> When: Today, 6 p.m.

>> TV/Radio: None