Jan. 12, 2005
SAN DIEGO - Entering its 11th season as a sponsored sport at San Diego State, the women's water polo team is looking to put together its 11th consecutive winning season in the most competitive conference in the nation, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The expectations are, once again, high, especially considering the amount of success in the program's short history.
In 11 seasons, San Diego State has won 20 or more games eight times, including 26 last year. The 2004 win total was the second-most in school history and the winning percentage of .743 (26-9) was the highest since 1996.
And the program has no plans of slowing down.
Despite losing seven seniors to graduation, including, all-time leading scorer and four-time All-American Holly Hartzell, All-MPSF selection Ashley Zabel and co-captain Sandy Onweller, the Aztecs have a good, young core of players who are ready to step up and meet the challenge immediately.
Leading the way are the team's two co-captains, senior Dominique Delgado and junior Savanah Kelley.
Delgado enters the 2005 campaign after setting the school record for most assists in a season with 48. Head coach Carin Crawford expects the skillful senior to continue her stellar play from last year.
"Dominique is a lefty and is very crafty. She's a great team leader," said Crawford. "She directs traffic in the water and leads our counter attack."
Kelley, who has played at two-meter defense the majority of her career, will have an expanded role on the team this season.
Said Crawford, "Savanah Kelley is a solid all-around player. She's been a mainstay at two-meter defense, but we are really going to look for her to get more involved at the offensive end with perimeter shooting this season."
Another player who is ready to have a breakout season is sophomore Elana Cervantes. During 2004, the Davis native was the only player to play in all 35 games. While coming off the bench, she tallied 15 goals, 21 assists and 23 steals. Crawford believes that she is ready to step into the spotlight.
"She had a great season last year coming off of the bench as a freshman and really being a solid all-around performer," the coach said. "She has been training hard during the off-season and has great work ethic and a lot of desire. I think she is really looking forward to stepping into a more prominent role for us."
Monica DeRosier is another player who is also looking forward to having an impact this year at two-meter offense. After playing behind Hartzell for three seasons, Crawford believes the time is now for the senior and is confident that she will take advantage of the opportunity.
"Monica DeRosier is a very strong and talented center who has not seen a lot of action her previous three seasons. I know she is ready to have her time in the spotlight. I look forward to her being a strong center for us."
In goal this year is sophomore Sarah Kilgore. Despite playing in only eight games as the number three goalkeeper, she made 52 saves and had a goals against average of 4.38.
According to Crawford, Kilgore has all the tools to be successful this season, "She has great anticipation and is an aggressive goalie. Sarah comes out of the cage well and has great blocking ability. She is a great leader and communicates to the defense very effectively."
Perhaps the greatest asset of this year's squad is its combination of depth and experience.
It is no secret that the Aztecs lost a lot of leadership and offensive firepower from last season. But this team might be as deep or deeper with its crop of transfers, returners and newcomers.
Leading the way are three outstanding transfers. Cassie Zebisch and Cia Cobb, both come to Montezuma Mesa with impressive resumes from Long Beach City College.
Zebisch, a redshirt junior who sat out last season, will give the Aztecs a strong, experienced player at the center position and Cobb will provide another strong option as an all-around player.
The third from this group is Ashley McCullum, who transferred after a year at Michigan. Her smart play and experience will definitely make her a prominent player off the bench.
Of those returning, Crawford envisions great seasons from all of them based on what she has seen so far.
"I will be looking for Susan Stivers, Ashley Reta and Rachel Serna to give us a lot of depth and shooting strength at the driver position. All three are having great preseasons and are shooting the ball well."
Senior Sara Farris, an outstanding shooter, junior Taylor Cranney, a quick and dynamic player and sophomore Stacy Werner, a great defender and center, will also be counted on to provide solid play this upcoming campaign. Walk-on Rachelle Denaro will also compete for playing time.
Of the freshmen, look for Becca Ur to have an immediate impact. With her 6'1" frame and combination of size and speed, she will give Crawford many options and will play an important role in the pool.
Like every season, earning 20+ wins and getting into the NCAA Tournament field is the goal and this year is no exception.
"This season I would like to have 20 or more wins again. That's something we have been able to accomplish the last four seasons. We'd really like to get into the top four nationally, especially with an expanded NCAA field," Crawford said. "We feel that making the NCAA Tournament is a realistic goal and that is what we will shoot for. We want to maintain our position in the upper echelon of the MPSF and get an NCAA berth."