March 8, 2003
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The seventh-ranked San Diego State women's water polo team finished the first day of UC Santa Barbara's Gaucho Invitational with a 1-1 record. The Aztecs defeated host No. 11 UC Santa Barbara, 8-5, before falling to No. 2 USC, 10-4.
The Aztecs jumped out to a 5-0 lead over UCSB in the first quarter as SDSU again benefited from a balanced scoring effort. Five different Aztecs scored, marking the sixth straight game that four or more SDSU players registered at least one goal. Seniors Casey Finnegan and Amber Prestegard and junior Sandy Onweller each tallied two scores as the Aztecs held a 7-1 lead after three quarters before settling for the three-goal win.
SDSU again received a balanced offensive effort in its second game of the day against second-ranked USC, but just not enough of it. The Aztecs hung with the Women of Troy and the score was 3-3 after one quarter and SDSU was down just 4-3 at the half. But USC exploded for four unanswered goals in the third quarter and cruised to its second win over the Aztecs this season, 10-4. Four different players scored one goal for the Aztecs, including Prestegard, who now ranks second on the team with 21 goals for the season.
SDSU continues play tomorrow at 9:10 a.m. against No. 6 Loyola Marymount for the teams' second meeting this season. The winner plays for fifth place in the tournament at 1:50 p.m. against either No. 8 Hawai'i or No. 5 California; the loser is relegated to the seventh-place game against the loser of Hawai'i-Cal.
Aztecs Game 1: No. 7 SAN DIEGO STATE 8, No. 11 UC Santa Barbara 8Campus Pool, Santa Barbara, Calif. 1 2 3 4 TotalUCSB 0 1 0 4 5SDSU 5 0 2 1 8
SDSU Goals: Finnegan 2, Onweller 2, Prestegard 2, Delgado, HartzellUCSB Goals: Kunkel 2, Fay, Gorbett, Lewis
Aztecs Game 2: No. 2 USC 10, No. 7 SAN DIEGO STATE 4Campus Pool, Santa Barbara, Calif. 1 2 3 4 TotalSDSU 3 0 0 1 4USC 3 1 4 2 10
USC Goals: Van Norman 4, Dierolf 2, Trunk, Wenger, Stewart, KonoukhSDSU Goals: Lopez, Matsumoto, Delgado, Prestegard