Nov. 1, 2002
SAN DIEGO - The Aztecs posted solid results at the United States Water Polo 2002 Women's Open Championship, held Oct. 25-27 at the Coggan Family Aquatic Complex in La Jolla. SDSU's "A" Team won its first three matches and advanced to the finals of the eight-team tournament, while the SDSU "B" Team won two of its last three matches to earn seventh place.
The Aztecs' A Team swept through the qualification round, winning its three matches by a combined margin of 36-13, to advance as the top seed out of its bracket. The A Team suffered a loss to the other bracket's top seed, NYAC, in the first match of the advancement round, but then defeated Newport to gain a second chance against NYAC in the tournament's championship match. NYAC won the rematch, 9-2, and the Aztec A Team had to settle for second place.
The Aztecs' B Team dropped two one-goal matches and went winless in three qualification-round matches. However, the B Team claimed a victory over the CHAWP team in the next round and again defeated CHAWP, 7-3, in the seventh-place game.
SDSU was represented well among the all-tournament selections, as the first team contained three Aztecs: senior Amber Prestegard (A Team), junior Holly Hartzell (A Team) and Monica DeRosier (B Team). The Aztecs also had two honorable mention picks, senior Casey Finnegan (A Team) and senior Becky Sensney (B Team).
The Aztecs' 2003 regular season opens Feb. 8-9 at the UCSD Invitational.
United States Water Polo * 2002 Womens Open Championship * Oct. 25-27, 2002 * Coggan Family Aquatic Complex
Qualification Round - Brackets
A1 - NYACA2 - UCSD/TritonA3 - NewportA4 - SDSU/Aztec BB1 - SDSU/Aztec AB2 - SoCalB3 - CHAWPB4 - SD Masters
Friday Results9:00a - A1 NYAC (16) v A2 UCSD (6)10:10a - A3 Newport (10) v A4 SDSU B Team (9)11:20a - B1 SDSU A Team (9) v B2 SoCal (4)12:30p - B3 CHAWP (8) v B4 SD Masters (10)1:40p - A2 UCSD (8) v A3 Newport (11)2:50p - A1 NYAC (15) v A4 SDSU B Team (3)4:00p - B2 SoCal (10) v B3 CHAWP (4)5:10p - B1 SDSU A Team (14) v B4 SD Masters (8)
Saturday Results8:00a - A1 NYAC (13) v A3 Newport (3)9:10a - A2 UCSD (5) v A4 SDSU B Team (4)10:20a - B1 SDSU A Team (13) v B3 CHAWP (1)11:30a - B2 SoCal (10) v B4 SD Masters (6)
Advancement Round BracketsC1 - 1st A (NYAC)C2 - 2nd A (NEWPORT)C3 - 1st B (SDSU A Team)C4 - 2nd B (SoCal)D1 - 3rd A (UCSD)D2 - 4th A (SDSU B Team)D3 - 3rd B (SD Masters)D4 - 4th B (CHAWP)
Saturday Results2:30p - C1-NYAC (9) v C3-SDSU A Team (2)3:40p - C2-Newport (7) v C4-SoCal (6)4:50p - D1-UCSD (8) v D3-SD Masters (5)6:00p - D2-SDSU B Team (5) v D4-CHAWP (4)
Sunday Results8:00a - D1-UCSD (9) v D4-CHAWP (5)9:10a - D2-SDSU B (5) v D3-SD Masters (11)10:20a - C1-NYAC (13) v C4-SoCal (3)11:30a - C2-Newport (5) v C3-SDSU A (13)12:40p - SDSU B (7) v CHAWP (3) - 7th Place1:50p - UCSD (9) v SD Masters (6) - 5th Place3:00p - Newport (5) v SoCal (8) - 3rd Place4:10p - NYAC (9) v SDSU A (2) - Championship
2002 Women's Open National ChampionshipTournament All American SelectionsTournament co-MVP's:Aniko Pelle/Nina Wengst
First TeamAdele McCarthy- Beauvais - NYACAniko Pelle - NYACCourtney Johnson - NYACKathy Sheey-Dunkly - NYACMargaret Philips - NYACNina Wengst - NYACKelly Falcone - SD MastersAmber Prestegard - SDSU A TeamHolly Hartzell - SDSU A TeamMonica DeRosier - SDSU B TeamJillian Kraus - SoCalRose Redaelli - SoCal (Goalie)Meris Bantilan-Smith - UCSD
Honorable MentionAshley Hays - CHAWPAnnie Wight - NewportJenna Murphy - NewportAli Henry - NYAC (Goalie)Kris Koblik -NYACCindy Clarke - SD MastersLiz Garcia - SD MastersSara Hanneman - SD MastersCasey Finnegan - SDSU A TeamBecky Sensney - SDSU B TeamCourtney Mathewson - SoCalDana Tucker - UCSDPaige Lansing - Newport