Hawaii women’s water polo coach Maureen Cole will be passing the torch soon, at a time when it has never shined brighter.
Cole, who announced her retirement in November, will coach her final home game Saturday as Hawaii takes on UC Santa Barbara at 6 p.m. at Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.
“While I’m very proud of everything this group has brought, it will be fun to celebrate with them at the end of the game. All I’m thinking about is the game and the preparation,” she said.
Cole, a Punahou graduate, has compiled a 221-95 record in 13 seasons leading the Rainbow Wahine. Cole previously served as a UH assistant for five seasons.
“Coach Mo puts 100% effort in everything she does,” said Lot Stertefeld, one of four seniors who will be honored after Saturday’s game. “She’s always here for us trying to get us as good as we can be. She’s really motivated to also finish her last season here as best as she can. I’m really grateful for having the time with her and I learned a lot from her.”
Rainbow Wahine associate head coach James Robinson will take over for Cole.
For now, the Rainbow Wahine have come together from diverse backgrounds and pooled their talents to have one of the most successful seasons in program history.
Hawaii (18-3, 6-0 Big West) is ranked a program-best No. 2 in the nation, has two wins over No. 1 opponents and can complete a perfect run through the Big West with a win over No. 16 UC Santa Barbara (14-12, 1-4).
“Mo’s had an incredible career in Hawaii and I’m very proud to be a part of the team that’s ushering her out of her career,” senior Emma Gurasich said. “I would love to make it a really good one to end on.”
The Rainbow Wahine have spent eight total weeks at No. 2 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Women’s Varsity Top 25, which is the highest ranking for a Big West team since the conference began sponsoring the sport in 2009.
This season, they have 15 wins over teams ranked in the CWPA Top 25.
On Jan. 20, then-No. 5 Hawaii beat No. 1 and two-time defending national champion Stanford 9-7 in overtime at the Fresno State Polo-Palooza for the Rainbow Wahine’s first victory over the Cardinal in 37 meetings.
On Feb. 4, Hawaii beat top-ranked USC 10-6 in the Triton Invitational to end a 27-game losing streak in the series. On March 16, the host Rainbow Wahine beat the Trojans again, 9-8.
“This team, I give them a hard time that they’re not that tough. But in those games, they were tough,” Cole said. “It’s one thing to be in the game, but to get over the hump and finish in tight games was really great earlier in the season.”
On Saturday, Hawaii will look to complete its third undefeated run through the Big West regular season since joining the conference in 2013. The Rainbow Wahine accomplished the feat in 2018 and 2022.
Hawaii seniors Alba Bonamusa Boix, Lucia Gomez de la Puente, Gurasich and Stertefeld will be honored after Saturday’s game.
Bonamusa Boix, an attacker from Barcelona, leads the Rainbow Wahine with 74 points (40 goals, 34 assists). She was an AWPCA honorable mention All-American last season.
“It’s been a very long journey. I’ve been here for almost six years, and played five seasons with this team,” Bonamusa Boix said. “I definitely consider the journey as very unique and I got a chance to grow up a lot as a person and as a player. When I look back five years, I’m not the same person I am now.”
This year’s roster has 14 players representing seven foreign countries, as well as six players from California and one from Oregon.
“I got to meet the best people I would otherwise never met,” said Stertefeld, a utility player from Nijverdal, Netherlands. “One of my best friends is from South Africa, so we’ll always have a nice vacation place to go after this.”
Gurasich, a goalie from Long Beach, Calif., joined the team this season as a graduate transfer from La Salle.
“It’s been awesome. I’ve never met so many different girls from so many different places, and it’s a really special thing how close everyone has become and how we all embrace each other’s cultures and make each other feel at home like each other’s family,” she said.
Hawaii, which has won six games in a row, has already clinched at least a share of the Big West regular-season title and will be the No. 1 seed at the upcoming Big West Championships, which will be held April 26-28 in Davis, Calif.
