A NEW ERA
A new era of Cal women's water polo commences this weekend with the debut of head coach Coralie Simmons, who was hired to take over the program in October. Simmons spent the previous nine years as the head coach at Sonoma State and has coached on various levels with the U.S. National Team program. She also was a generational player, having won a silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics and twice being named the NCAA Player of the Year while at UCLA. Simmons is the fifth head coach in program history.

STAR-STUDDED ROSTER
The Bears feature their deepest and most talented roster in years with six All-Americans and three Olympians in the mix. Returning to the active roster after a one-year layoff are 2016 Summer Olympians and juniors Dora Antal, Roser Tarrago and Anna Illes. Antal and Illes helped Hungary reach the Bronze Medal match before ultimately taking fourth, while Tarrago tied for second at the Games in scoring while helping Spain finish fifth. Antal is a two-time ACWPC First Team All-American, Tarrago has second team honors and honorable mention to her credit while Illes has earned Third Team honors and honorable mention. Meanwhile, the Bears produced three more returning All-Americans last season - senior Emily Loughlin was placed on the Second Team, junior Carla Carrega on the Third Team and junior Kindred Paul was honorable mention.

OLYMPIC STAFF
The Bears feature an All-Olympic coaching staff, with Simmons leading the program and assistant coach Chris Lee and volunteer assistant coach Heather Petri also on board. Lee has helped the U.S. win the gold medal in each of the past two Olympics as a video analyst, and has also served as head coach for the U.S. Olympic Development Program and as an assistant for the U.S. Cadet National Team. Petri, meanwhile, is a former Cal All-American and the only four-time female Olympian in any sport in Golden Bear history. She helped the U.S. win the gold medal in 2012, silver in 2000 and 2008 and bronze in 2004.

LEGENDS AQUATIC CENTER
Cal opened the Legends Aquatic Center in October, giving the Bears' aquatics programs a new 52-meter training pool with locker rooms and a team room. The facility is primarily for training while the Bears will still play most of their competitions at Spieker Aquatics Complex. Cal will host two tournaments this season at Legends.

EMILY'S EPIC
Senior Emily Loughlin takes readers inside Cal's program this season with her weekly blog, "Emily's Epic" on CalBears.com. Each week, Loughlin will report on all things Bears taking place in and out of the pool.

ABOUT SAN JOSE STATE
• SJSU is playing under first-year coach Gabor Sarusi    
• SO Carla Toha Vilanova was named to the MPSF All-Newcomer Team last season
• Finished last year ranked No. 11 nationally
• CAL ALL-TIME VS. SJSU: 45-1

ABOUT PACIFIC
• The Tigers return 88 percent of their scoring from last season
• JR Karolina Hlavata was an ACWPC All-American Honorable Mention in 2016
• Finished last year ranked No. 15 nationally
• CAL ALL-TIME VS. PACIFIC: 35-0