April 25, 2007
SAN DIEGO -
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SDSU Water Polo Heads to Valley of the Sun This Weekend for MPSF Championships; Faces UC Santa Barbara in First Round
- The fifth-ranked San Diego State water polo team (25-7, 8-4 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) begins pursuit of its first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament this week when it travels to Tempe, Ariz., for the MPSF Championships, April 26-29, at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center on the campus of Arizona State. The Aztecs received the tournament's fifth seed and will square off against No. 12 seed UC Santa Barbara (15-19, 2-10 MPSF) on Thursday, April 26, beginning at 11:20 a.m.
If SDSU is victorious over the Gauchos, it will face the winner of the Hawai'i-Pacific game on Friday, April 27, starting at 3:20 p.m. If the Aztecs stumble, they will take on the loser of the Rainbow Wahine-Tigers showdown at 10 a.m. that same day. The tournament's top three seeds - Stanford, UCLA and USC - received first-round byes and will begin play on Friday.
San Diego State heads into postseason action with some momentum after knocking off No. 11 Arizona State, 10-7, during Senior Day festivities at the Aztec Aquaplex on April 21. The Scarlet and Black overcame a 5-4 deficit in the third quarter against the Sun Devils, scoring four consecutive goals to take control of the match. Sophomore Anna Gonzales equaled a season high with four tallies on the day, while fellow classmates Erinn Greenwood and Jenna Schuster contributed two scores apiece.
Aztecs in the MPSF Championships
- San Diego State owns a 27-21 overall record in the 11-year history of the MPSF Championships dating back to 1996. Since the beginning of head coach Carin Crawford's tenure in 1999, the Aztecs have finished no higher than fifth in the tournament and have a combined mark of 17-16. Last year, ninth-seeded SDSU posted a 5-3 upset of No. 8 seed San Jose State in the opening round, but fell to USC in the quarterfinals, 11-4. Then in the consolation bracket, the Aztecs dropped a tough 7-5 decision to California before rebounding for a 5-4 triumph over host school UC Irvine in the seventh place game. With its finish, SDSU placed higher than its tournament seed for the second straight season.
UC Santa Barbara at a Glance - Part V
- The Gauchos broke a three-game losing streak last weekend with a 22-4 thumping of Chapman in a non-conference home match on April 21. Senior Sarah Kovach leads the UCSB offense with 42 goals, followed closely by sophomore Gillian Morgan's total of 41. Minding the cage for the Gauchos is junior Jenny Gonzales, who has 217 saves to her credit this season. San Diego State has locked horns with UC Santa Barbara on 43 occasions since 1995, the most ever against one opponent in program history, followed by UC San Diego (36) and USC (33). The Aztecs hold a 33-10 lead in the series, including a 4-0 mark this season. In the last meeting on April 1, SDSU escaped with a 7-6 victory in the semifinals of the ASU Invitational as Jenna Schuster converted a 6-on-5 opportunity with 1:16 left to provide the winning margin.
Hawai'i at a Glance - Part II
- The Rainbow Wahine (15-8, 9-3 MPSF) have been idle since April 14 when they swept a non-conference doubleheader against Hartwick (9-5) and Cal Baptist (7-5) at CBU's home pool in Riverside, Calif. Hawai'i is paced by sophomore utility player Kelly Mason, who notched 55 goals on the season for an average of 2.62 scores per game, good for second in the MPSF. Meanwhile, senior Meike De Nooy has turned away 200 shots in front the net for a league-leading average of 11.11 saves per game. The Wahine hold an 11-7 advantage in the all-time series against SDSU, including a wild 10-9 overtime thriller on Feb.16 in Honolulu.
Pacific at a Glance - Part II
- The Tigers enter the postseason mired in a 15-game losing streak.UOP has not tasted victory since a doubleheader sweep on March 4 against Occidental (14-7) and Cal State Monterey Bay (19-15) in Santa Cruz, Calif. Despite their woes, the Tigers feature freshman sensation Sarah Harris, who led the conference with 97 goals during the regular season. Teammate Kellie Fletcher has also enjoyed a productive campaign with 61 scores of her own. SDSU has never lost to UOP in 20 all-time meetings between the two schools, including a 14-7 triumph on March 17.
One for the Ages
- Through 32 games this year, San Diego State (25-7, 8-4 MPSF) is enjoying one of its finest campaigns in program history and has already surpassed its season- and conference-victory totals from a year ago when it posted a 22-12 overall record and a 5-7 mark in league play. The 2007 Aztecs are also within striking distance of the 1996 squad, which established a school record with 27 wins that season. In addition, SDSU features a pair of 60-goal scorers in the same year for just the third time in school history (Jenna Schuster - 70, Anna Gonzales - 66). The tandem of Larisa Baltgalvis (106) and Sarah Hanneman (79) accomplished the feat in 1999, along with Holly Hartzell (90) and Amber Prestegard (68) in 2001.
What Sophomore Jinx?
- The sophomore trio of Jenna Schuster, Anna Gonzales and Erinn Greenwood has provided much of SDSU's offensive fireworks in 2007, scoring 172 of the Aztecs' 315 goals (54.6 percent). Schuster has caught fire over the past month with 51 scores in 18 games. The Upland, Calif., native now has 70 goals for the season, which ranks 14th in the nation and second in the MPSF. In the Harper Cup against UC San Diego on April 14, she erupted for four goals during the second quarter en route to earning the game's most valuable player award. With her two tallies against Arizona State last Saturday, Schuster has now scored in 25 straight games and leads the team with 21 multiple-goal performances. She is also tops among Aztec starters with just 13 turnovers on the season and is third on the squad with 46 steals.
Schuster also captured her first MPSF Player of the Week award last month after scoring 11 goals in a three-game sweep over California, Pacific and Princeton on March 17-18. At the Aztec Invitational on March 25, she erupted for a career-high six goals, fueling SDSU's 20-6 rout of Cal State Bakersfield.
Gonzales, meanwhile, is second on the team with 66 scores and has found the back of the net in 29 out of 32 games this season. The Fresno, Calif., product has 20 multiple-goal efforts this year, including a season-high four tallies against Santa Clara (Feb. 24), Long Beach State (March 22), Cal State Bakersfield (March 25), Cal Baptist (March 31) and Arizona State (April 21). Gonzales has also been a force defensively, notching 47 steals.
Completing the triumvirate is Greenwood, who has 12 multiple-goal games to her credit this season - nine more than her 2006 total. The Sanger, Calif., product leads the Aztecs with 70 ejections drawn, while her .414 shooting percentage (36-for-87) ranks third amongst the starters. A versatile player, Greenwood has also posted 32 assists and 38 steals, which are the third- and fourth-highest totals on the team, respectively.
Getting Offensive
- San Diego State has recorded double-digit goals in 12 of its last 17 outings, averaging 11.2 scores per game since a 14-7 victory over Pacific on March 18. Prior to that stretch, the Aztecs tallied 10 or more scores on just three occasions with a goals-per-game average of 8.3. For the season, SDSU has amassed 315 goals in 32 matches, eclipsing a last year's 34-game output of 298. In addition, SDSU's 20-6 thrashing of Cal State Bakersfield on March 25 marked only the eighth time in the progam's 13-year history that the Aztecs have broken the 20-goal plateau.
Meanwhile, on Defense...
- Despite recent hiccups against collegiate water polo's top two scoring teams in UCLA and USC, San Diego State is tied with Marist for the fourth spot in the nation with a goals-against average of 6.3 for the season, trailing only UCLA (5.4), Stanford (5.6) and UC Davis (5.8). At the Aztec Invitational, March 24-25, SDSU limited four opponents to just 13 goals on 78 shots for a paltry 17 percent success rate. The Aztec defense also came up big against cross-town rival UC San Diego in the Harper Cup on Apri 14, keeping the Tritons off the board during 11 6-on-5 opportunities in a narrow 10-8 victory.
Werner Climbing the Charts
- Stacy Werner is enjoying another productive season as the Aztec senior leads the team with 79 steals, is second with 38 assists and ranks third with 53 goals. As a result of her efforts this year, the Lodi, Calif., native has been steadily working her way up SDSU's all-time lists in the three aforementioned categories. Werner recently moved past Casey Finnegan into second place with 233 career steals, while her 106 career assists rank fourth. With her two scores last weekend, Werner also surpassed Finnegan for sixth place in career scoring with 135 goals.
Cervantes Also Lends a Hand
- Senior co-captain Elana Cervantes also achieved a career milestone this year when she surpassed Dominique Delgado in the season opener against Hartwick to become SDSU's all-time leader in assists. The Davis, Calif., native has since added to her total and now has 177 career assists, including a team-high 52 this season.
Kilgore Was Here
- Goalkeeper Sarah Kilgore is in the midst of a spectacular season, amassing 292 saves through 32 games, which is seventh in the nation and second in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. She has recorded double-digit saves in 15 games this season, including 17 stops against Hawai'i on Feb. 16, which tied her collegiate best established in 2006 at Arizona State. In addition, the Aztec senior made 10 stops in the opener against Hartwick on Feb. 8 , which vaulted her into second place on the Aztecs' all-time career saves list. With her 828 career blocks, Kilgore trails only Curran Teigen, who holds the San Diego State record with 904 career saves.
Crawford at the Controls
- Head coach Carin Crawford is in her ninth year at the helm of the San Diego State women's water polo team. In each of her eight seasons on Montezuma Mesa, San Diego State has never finished below 11th place in the final national rankings. During her tenure, the Aztecs have garnered 11 All-America awards and claimed all-MPSF accolades on 13 occasions. Crawford's players have also earned 27 all-MPSF academic awards, as well as 27 AWPCA all-academic honors.