Hawaii’s winningest women’s water polo coach began her final season accomplishing a feat never achieved in the program’s 26 years.

Maureen Cole’s 205th victory in her 13 years as head coach was Hawaii’s first in 37 meetings against Stanford. The Rainbow Wahine shocked the two-time defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Cardinal 9-7 in overtime on Saturday to open the season 2-0.

Hawaii jumped to No. 4 in the national rankings ahead of tonight’s home opener against No. 9 Princeton.

UH also plays Azusa Pacific and No. 5 Fresno State on Saturday. By Thursday, Cole had already moved ahead in preparing for this week’s matches, but she admitted it’s a good sign in a season she feels is wide open.

“I think just the monkey off the back in terms of we go into every game thinking and believing we can play with anyone, but it’s another thing to actually do it,” Cole said. “So to (beat Stanford) for the first time is definitely a special thing. It builds confidence going into whoever we play in the future.”

Cole, who announced in November that this would be her last season, has guided the program to four NCAA Tournament appearances, the last coming in 2021.

Hawaii is coming off a 21-6 campaign in which it finished second in the Big West regular season.

Sophomore center Bia Mantellato Dias, who was one of seven players selected to the All-Big West Preseason Coaches Team, was named the conference Player of the Week on Wednesday. She combined for six goals and two assists in wins over the Cardinal and Michigan.

“I love this group. It’s a really fun group. They’re very coachable,” Cole said. “We’ve got a good mix of youth and veterans, so I think we’re going to get a lot better. I think we have a lot of potential. This year is an interesting year because it’s the Olympic year.”

Every year Olympics are held, collegiate players who play for their national teams sit out the college season to prepare for the Olympics.

Hawaii is missing Camille Radosavljevic, who would have been a junior defender but is instead playing in her home country of France.

“Everyone is kind of missing a few pieces, so it just makes it a really exciting year in our sport,” Cole said.

Hawaii’s last win in the NCAA Tournament was in 2015 and UH has never finished higher than fourth.

The three games in the next two days are Hawaii’s only home matches until March 16, when it hosts new No. 1 Southern California. Hawaii is 3-47 all-time against the Trojans.