Feb. 21, 2005
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Water Polo Weekly Release
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Seventh-Ranked SDSU Heads Back to Santa Barbara for the UCSB Invitational
* After two conference-opening road defeats to Southern California and UC Santa Barbara, the Aztecs (2-4; 0-2 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) will again hit the road and return to Santa Barbara for the UCSB Invitational, Feb. 25-27.
Once SDSU arrives, they will see some familiar faces in the tournament, particularly UC Santa Barbara which is in the same pool as the Aztecs and the team they lost to on Feb. 19. More information on the tournament is in this release.
USC, UCSB Recap
* The seventh-ranked Aztecs went on the road to open up its MPSF season this past weekend and suffered two consecutive losses to ranked opposition in No. 2 USC and No. 10 UCSB.
San Diego State could not hold onto a first quarter lead as USC defeated the Aztecs in SDSU's MPSF opener, 12-7, at McDonald's Swim Stadium.
The Aztecs jumped out of the gate early against the defending national champions by taking a 3-2 lead after one period. But the Women of Troy outscored the Aztecs 5-1 in the second quarter and never looked back.
SDSU received two goals apiece from junior Rachel Serna, sophomore Stacy Werner and freshman Becca Ur. Senior Sara Farris chipped in with a goal as well.
Sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Kilgore recorded five saves for SDSU.
The next day, San Diego State fell to UC Santa Barbara, 7-2, at Campus Pool.
The Aztecs took an early first quarter lead behind Serna's goal, her 12th of the season, but UC Santa Barbara responded with five unanswered goals over the next two periods to lead 5-1 after three quarters.
In the final period, SDSU received a goal from Elana Cervantes, but it was not enough as the Gauchos went on to score two more goals to seal the victory.
Kilgore made nine saves for the Aztecs.
SDSU in the Polls
* For the fourth consecutive week, the Aztecs have been nationally-ranked in the National Collegiate Women's Top 20 poll.
In the first three polls, SDSU has been ranked eighth, but in the latest edition of the poll, the Aztecs moved up one spot to number seven in the country.
Of the top 20, SDSU will play 14 schools ranked in the weekly poll. So far this season, the Aztecs have gone 1-4 against nationally ranked opposition.
Serna Says Score
* Junior driver Rachel Serna leads the team in scoring through six games of the young 2005 season. So far, Serna has a goal percentage of .429 with her 12 goals in 28 attempts and has netted a goal in every game this season.
In 2004, the Coronado native tallied just 15 goals in 70 attempts. At this pace, Serna should reach her 2004 goals scored total this weekend.
In addition to being on pace to break last year's goals scored and attempted marks, Serna has already broke her career total for games started. The past two seasons, Serna has received the nod four times. In 2005, she has six starts to her credit.
UCSB Invitational History
* SDSU enters the UCSB Invitational with a 19-12 all-time record at the tourney. The Aztecs have never won this invitational in eight previous attempts.
The most wins SDSU has recorded in the annual tournament was four back in 1996. That squad defeated UCSC, UCSD, Stanford and Shores before losing in the championship game to California, 7-5.
A Look at the UCSB Invite
* The UCSB Invitational will feature 24 teams from around the country, including the top 13 schools and 19 of the top 20 in country.
The tourney will have eight pools of three and will take place Friday through Sunday. Friday's games will begin at 7:30 a.m., with Saturday and Sunday's games slated for an 8 a.m. start.
The Aztecs will begin pool play at 10:45 a.m. on Friday against Marist. Later, SDSU will look to avenge Saturday's 7-2 loss to UC Santa Barbara at 7:25 p.m. Both of those games will take place at Campus Pool.
Scouting the Red Foxes
* Marist heads west to Santa Barbara sporting a 2-6 record. Most recently, the Red Foxes are coming off of a split at the Bucknell Invitational, splitting two games with Maryland, losing to Princeton and defeating Slippery Rock. At the conclusion of the invite, Marist took on Bucknell in a regular season game and was downed, 9-4.
Scouting the Gauchos
* After defeating the Aztecs last Saturday, the Gauchos hosted No. 1 UCLA and lost 13-4 on Sunday.
For the season, UC Santa Barbara is 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the MPSF. The Gauchos are led by Katy Kunkel who has recorded three goals in her last two games.
For the complete water polo release, click on the link at the top of the page.