Long Beach State Splits Again On Final Day Of Brigitte Donner Daws Memorial Tournament

Sunday, January 25

Berkeley, Calif.

9:30 a.m.

Long Beach State University

4-1

UC Davis

3-1

UC Davis

Long Beach State

Long Beach State Splits Again On Final Day Of Brigitte Donner Daws Memorial Tournament

1/25/2026 4:02:00 PM | Women's Water Polo

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Freshman Polina Synytsia recorded a career-high 11 saves on the win over No. 16 UC Davis.

By: Luiza Moraes - Athletic Communication Assistant

BERKELEY, Calif. – No. 6 Long Beach State split once again to close the Brigitte Donner Daws Memorial Tournament, defeating No. 16 UC Davis behind a strong second half, 15-6, while dropping a tough match against No. 3 UCLA, 18-7.

After a slow start against the Aggies, the Beach found their rhythm and shut down the Big West rivals in the second half for over 10 minutes, allowing only one goal behind a career-high 11 saves from freshman Polina Synytsia and a team-high four goals from senior Lucy Miszewski. In the second game of the day, the Bruins led wire to wire and controlled the Beach in an 18-7 win to close the BDDM Tournament.

No. 6 Long Beach State 15, No. 16 UC Davis 6

Long Beach State (5-2) struggled on offense early in the game, missing four good chances, and saw No. 16 UC Davis (3-2) capitalize from outside shots to open a 3-0 lead with 3:32 left in the first period. The Beach found their rhythm on defense, making stops and pushing the counter to cut the margin after a goal by senior Lucy Miszewski with under two minutes left, but the Aggies held a 3-1 lead at the end of the first eight minutes of play.

Back-to-back goals by Rita Gurri and Chiara Amoroso tied the game, 3-3, with five minutes left in the first half, but a turnover by LBSU led to an Aggies counter to take the lead once again. A beautiful play by Elisa Portillo found freshman Angeliki Arroyo open to tie the game for the second time with three minutes remaining. Both teams traded goals as two goals from Miszewski put the Beach ahead, 6-5, with one minute left in the second period. An outside shot by Gurri late in the period extended the lead as the Beach headed into halftime up 7-5.

UC Davis got on the board first in the second half, but a 5-0 run by the Beach controlled the rest of the period as Miszewski added her fourth of the day while Amoroso and Arroyo added their second. Zelma Koka and Daniela Quinzada got past the Aggies' defense as LBSU led 12-6 after three periods.

Ellie Goren opened the scoring in the final period after three scoreless minutes of play, extending the lead to 13-6. Continuing to shut down the Aggies, Arroyo added her third of the day for a career high, and Quinzada added her second, leading the Beach to a 15-6 win against conference rival UC Davis.

Synytsia finished the game with a career-high 11 saves, while Arroyo had a team-high three assists to go along with a hat trick, and Miszewski led the team with four goals.

No. 3 UCLA 18, No. 6 Long Beach State 7

No. 3 UCLA (2-0) started the game strong, scoring first on a counterattack, but the Beach found the back of the net to tie the game behind Chiara Amoroso. Back-to-back goals by the Bruins gave them the lead once again, 3-1. Lucy Miszewski cut the margin, but another pair of goals extended UCLA's lead at the end of the first period, 5-2.

The Bruins continued their momentum, shutting down the Beach in the second quarter with a 5-0 run to lead 10-2 at halftime. Goalkeeper Lauren Steele recorded 11 saves at the break as UCLA controlled LBSU's offensive opportunities.

Daniela Quinzada put the Beach back on the board with two straight goals to cut the margin early in the second half, 10-4. UCLA answered with a 3-0 run to extend the lead, but freshman Angeliki Arroyo found the back of the net to shorten the Bruins' lead to 13-5 with two minutes left in the third period. UCLA used a timeout late in the period to score on a 7-on-6 play as the Beach trailed 14-5 with one quarter remaining.

The final period saw both teams trade goals early as Amoroso added her second of the game, but the Bruins offense added two more goals to lead 17-5 with under two minutes left. Rita Gurri's outside skip shot cut the lead once again, but UCLA answered right away to secure the win over Long Beach State, 18-7.

The Beach will remain on the road, facing Pomona-Pitzer on January 30 for the opening round of the Triton Invite, hosted by UC San Diego, at Noon.