MORAGA, Calif. — After a difficult stretch in mid-march, the Gaels (11-12) have rebounded to win four of their last six, including a third place finish last weekend at the West Coast Challenge Tournament. The Gaels will once again have to leave the friendly confines of Shaw and Knudsen Courts this weekend, traveling to Berkeley to take on ninth ranked Cal (14-6) and San Jose State (9-13), then going east to Sacramento to take on Santa Clara (10-11) and Sacramento State (5-13). Against these foes, the Gaels are a combined 3-0 this season, having only not seen the Golden Bears of Cal. 

Last week at the West Coast Challenge, the Gaels went 2-2, defeating Portland and falling to #3 LMU in pool play. This was good enough to move them onto the gold bracket where they fell to RV Pepperdine in the semifinals, before rebounding to defeat San Francisco in the third place match. The one pairing of Allie Cataldo and Hannah Couch, and the three pairing of Nya Crump and Angelina Bour paced the Gaels with two wins each, while Sedona Sherman picked up a pair of wins, one with Stephanie Gonzalez in her Gael debut, and one with Renee Nachtigall. Couch picked up her 50th career win, one of just 11 Gaels in program history to reach 50 victories, while Cataldo is not far behind, with 49. That duo is now 15-8 together for the season, and 19-14 together in their careers, tying them for the tenth all-time winningest pair in program history, and the third winningest #1 pair in program history. Bour and Crump are now 6-6 together on the season, giving them the second highest win percentage on the team this season, behind only Cataldo/Couch. 

Cal has won three straight matches to move to 14-6 and ninth in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll. 9th year head coach Megan Owusu continues to keep the Golden Bears in the discussion as one of the top beach programs in the country, having reached 20 wins in each of the last five seasons, and looking like they are on their way to six. With nearly half of their wins against ranked opponents, Cal will hope to make a run at the National Championship this year, looking to make their fourth straight trip to said tournament. Playing together for the first time this season, the duo of Portia Sherman and Emma Donley have paired up to make a near unstoppable force at the one, going a combined 15-4 this year. The Gaels are 5-17 all-time vs the Golden Bears, having lost their last 12 meetings. The Gaels last wins over Cal came in the 2017 and 2018 seasons, when they defeated them in three straight meetings. 

The Spartans of San Jose State are on a bit of a heater, winning five of their last six, all as a part of the Southland Conference Midseason Tournament. Head Coach Gary Hodge is in his third year at the helm of the SJSU program after three seasons leading the Gaels. After winning 36 games in his three seasons in Moraga, Coach Hodge has won 34 games in his first three seasons in the South Bay with 11 games to go this year. Paced by their five pairing of senior Shirley Morrison and freshman Elon Milroy, the Spartans are just six wins away from their most successful season in program history. The Gaels have dominated the all-time series with the Spartans 13-4, however all four SJSU wins have come in the last seven meetings. Earlier this season, the Gaels defeated the Spartans on the rune by a 4-1 scoreline. 

Santa Clara took home a fifth place finish at the West Coast Challenge tournament last week, falling by a tight 3-2 margin in their opening contests before sweeping their next three contests to win the silver bracket. Seventh year Head Coach Jeff Alzina has reached double digit wins for the fourth consecutive season at SCU, and now is looking to lead the Broncos to their first ever winning season, currently sitting at 10-11. The Broncos have had good success in the two and three spots this year. Sadie Snipes and Sammy Wood have gone 6-2 at the twos, while Clara Cantlen and Alexandra Urbina have gone 5-2 at the threes. The Gaels are 27-5 all-time vs the Broncos, and have won five straight. 

After a 4-5 start, the Sacramento State Hornets have dropped eight of their last nine, bringing their record to 5-13 for the year. Angela Lewis has joined Ruben Volta (12th season) as the Co-Head Coaches of the program. Ashlynn Archer and Ellie Tisko have been the most successful duo this year for the Hornets, going 10-8 at the two spot. The Gaels have never lost to the Hornets in 14 straight meetings, including a 3-2 win in Palo Alto earlier this year. 

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