SANTA BARBARA, California. — The UC Santa Barbara women’s water polo team has hired Clara Vulpisi, who represented Canada at the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games, as the Gauchos’ new goalie coach. She brings a wealth of international and collegiate playing experience to the Santa Barbara pool deck as the Gauchos prepare for their 2025 season.

The Montreal native and Pacific University graduate started goaltending twice in Tokyo and three times in Paris. In her most recent season, she posted a 0.54% save percentage against eventual bronze medalist Netherlands and saved 67% of open play against eventual gold medalist Spain. She was also a member of the team that won silver at the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile, and she was named Most Valuable Goaltender when Canada won the 2016 Pan American Junior Championships.

At the college level, Vulpisi played alongside Gauchos assistant coach Emma Myall at Pacific, where she earned honorable mention All-Golden Coast and was selected to the All-Freshman Team as the Tigers won the conference title in 2019. Vulpisi also earned honorable mention All-GCC in 2023 and was named to the All-GCC First Team in 2022. She was also a two-time GCC All-Academic honoree and graduated with a degree in political science in 2023.

This will be Vulpisi’s first collegiate coaching role, although she has previously coached younger players at her hometown club in Montreal, leading the U14 team to a silver medal at a regional tournament. She has also held several leadership roles throughout her career, including captain of the Canadian youth team and co-captain of the 2016 team that won gold at the Junior Pan American Championships.