MORAGA, Calif. — For the second time in as many years, the Saint Mary's Gaels (5-3) will spend the first weekend of March on the Island of Oahu as they get set to take part in the Heineken Queen's Cup at Waikiki Beach from March 6 through March 8. The Gaels have scheduled games against Chaminade (2-0) and San Francisco (0-4) on day one, #15 Hawaii (0-6) and #17 Washington (3-5) on day two, and RV Tulane (6-3) on day three before opening up bracket play. A year ago, the Gaels went 3-3 at this event, finishing in fourth place in the six team field.
Last time out, the Gaels went 3-1 at the Battle of the Bay tournament, co-hosted by Stanford and San Jose State. Saint Mary's only loss was the fifth ranked Stanford, as the Gaels were able to best NorCal foes Sacramento State, UC Davis and San Jose State to run their record to 5-3 for the year. The one pairing of Allie Cataldo and Angie Bour went 3-1 for the weekend, while Hannah Glick made her 2025 beach debut, playing alongside Genevieve Bane and going 2-1.
Chaminade, a Division II program in Honolulu, is off to a 2-0 start, defeating crosstown rival Hawaii Pacific in their opening two matches. The Silverswords dropped just one point in each of those matches against the Sharks. In their debut season a year ago, Chaminade went 7-9, with all seven of their wins coming against rival HPU, meaning that all nine of their wins in program history have come against their rival Sharks. Sophomore Leilani Ama is the best returner on the squad, and is off to a 2-0 start this year. The Gaels defeated Chaminade in this very tournament 5-0 last year.
San Francisco will serve as the Gael first WCC foe of 2025. The Dons are winless in their first four matches, falling to San Jose State, Santa Clara, Cal and Sacramento State, three of which the Gaels have seen and defeated. The three pair of Rylie Reeves and Raine Stevens have split their four matches this season. The Gaels are 28-3 all-time vs USF, including taking three of four last year.
Checking in at 15th in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll, the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine have yet to win a game this year, but also have yet to play a match against an opponent ranked outside the top-15. Their best showing of the year came against then top ranked USC, when they dropped a narrow 3-2 decision. The 1 and 4 pairs for Hawaii, Sarah Burton/Caprice Lorenzo and Jasmine Wandeler/Jessie Mann each won their points against the Trojans, but those are the only points that Hawaii has taken all year. The Gaels have never beaten Hawaii in eight tries, including a 5-0 loss at the Queen's Cup last year.
Sitting at 3-5, Washington, like Hawaii, has only suffered losses to ranked opponents this year, and does have a signature win already against then 13th ranked Georgia State. The Huskies have only been swept once this season, by second ranked LMU. True freshman Emma Hohenauer and sophomore Sarah Wilcock have shined in their first year playing together, leading the Huskies with five wins on the campaign. The Gaels are 0-3 all-time vs the Huskies, and have not seen them since 2022.
Making the trek all the way from New Orleans to the Aloha State is Tulane. With a 6-3 record and receiving votes in the latest polls, the Green Wave ride a two game winning streak heading into the Queen's Cup. After a stellar season last year, Amelia Mullen has been paired with redshirt freshman Avery Burks, and the duo have combined to go 6-3 on the young campaign to lead Tulane. This will be just the second ever meeting between the Gaels and Green Wave, who met two years ago, with Tulane besting Saint Mary's 4-1.
Following the culmination of the Tulane game, bracket play will start in this event. The Gaels will hope to find themselves in the top four again in this year's event.
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