California women’s water polo has announced that its early-season tournament, previously known as the Cal Cup, will now be called the Brigitte Donner Daws Memorial Invitational. The renaming honors Brigitte Donner Daws, who played for the Golden Bears from 1998 to 2002 and died in 2020.
The first edition of the Brigitte Donner Daws Memorial Invitational is scheduled for January 24-25, 2026, at Spieker Aquatics Complex. The event will feature several top teams. Brigitte’s family members have been invited to participate in a ceremonial ball drop before the Cal-Fresno State game. During halftime of that game, there will be a moment of remembrance for Brigitte and other alumni and community members who have passed away in the past year.
Brigitte was originally from Orinda, California. She is remembered by those who knew her for her energy and kindness.
“Brigitte lived life at two speeds — zero and 150,” her former Cal teammate Julia Cesnik said. “She didn’t do anything halfway, which always meant infectious energy… and usually meant costumes, neon and glitter.”
At Cal, Brigitte earned ACWPC All-Academic honors as an English major and served as president of Pi Beta Phi sorority. She later received an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. Her professional career included leadership roles at Salesforce and various startups before she returned to Salesforce as Chairwoman of Dreamforce.
She continued playing water polo with former teammates at San Francisco’s Olympic Club, competing internationally in Australia, Italy, and Sweden.
Brigitte maintained close ties to Cal throughout her life. She married Philip Daws (Cal 2000) and attended football games with her brother Alan (Cal 2007). She is survived by her husband Philip, parents Heidi and Alvan, brother Alan, sister-in-law Molly, as well as many teammates and friends.
The university invites people to attend the event in Berkeley on January 24-25 to honor Brigitte’s memory and support collegiate water polo.
