April 23, 2000
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's water polo team finished in third place at the Southern California Regional Tournament hosted by USC, April 21-22. With that finish, the Aztecs earn a berth in the National Collegiate Championships which will be held in Bloomington, Ind., May 7th-9th.
The Aztecs defeated Loyola Marymount, 12-4, in the third-place contest. USC won the regional title by upsetting UCLA, 9-7.
Seniors Larisa Baltgalvis and Curran Teigen were named first team All-Region while freshman Amber Prestegard earned second team honors. Two-meter specialist Baltgalvis was SDSU's leader on offense, scoring six goals on the weekend, while Teigen directed the Aztecs' defense from goal. Prestegard was a valuable member of SDSU's offensive attack, netting nine scores on the weekend.
The first game of the tournament saw SDSU defeat UC San Diego by a 5-2 score. The Aztecs then fell to the eventual-champion Trojans, 10-8. SDSU earned a spot in the third-place game by defeating UC Santa Barbara by a 9-8 score.
"We played very well this weekend," said Aztec head coach Carin Crawford. "Our seniors came through for us while our freshmen stepped it up a notch to elevate our game. We had some break downs this weekend, but we'll work on those before nationals."
San Diego State has qualified for nationals every year since the program began in 1995. The Aztecs' highest finish came that year when they placed second. SDSU finished fifth last season.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
First Team
Aniko Pelle USC
Nina Wengst USC
Jennifer Durley USC
Erin Golaboski UCLA
Larisa Baltgalvis San Diego State
Curran Teigen San Diego State
Elizabeth Garci Long Beach State
Lucy Windes Loyola Marymount
Second Team
Julia Wald Loyola Marymount
Jessica Lopez UCLA
Elaine Zivich UCLA
Amber Prestegard San Diego State
Diana Campos California Baptist
Lynn Nisbet UC Santa Barbara
Stacy Blank Long Beach State
SDSU GAME ONE
SAN DIEGO STATE 5, UC SAN DIEGO 2
UC San Diego 0 1 1 0 - 2
San Diego State 2 2 1 0 - 5
GOALS
UC San Diego Emma Kudritzki, Kari Lyman
San Diego State Larisa Baltgalvis 2, Prestegard 2, Falcone
SDSU GAME TWO
USC 10, SAN DIEGO STATE 8
San Diego State 1 2 1 4 - 8
USC 4 1 1 4 -10
GOALS
San Diego State Amber Prestegard 4, Falcone, Matsumoto, Lopez and Baltgalvis
USC Aniko Pelle 3, Nina Wengst 2, Selah Mapes 2, Katrin Dierolf 2, Sandra Milicev
SDSU GAME THREE
SAN DIEGO STATE 9, UC SANTA BARBARA 8
UC Santa Barbara 4 2 0 2 - 8
San Diego State 5 2 1 1 - 9
GOALS
San Diego State Amber Prestegard 2, Casey Finnegan 2, Larisa Baltgalvis 2, Jackie Lopez 2, Dunbar
THIRD PLACE GAME
SAN DIEGO STATE 12, LOYOLA MARYMOUNT 4
Loyola Marymount 1 1 2 0 - 4
San Diego State 4 4 1 3 - 12
GOALS
Loyola Marymount Danielle Worrill, Julia Wald, Lucy Windes, Bryn Britton
San Diego State Casey Finnegan 3, Dunbar 2, Falcone 2, Baltgalvis, Prestegard, Matsumoto, Lopez, Winlow