Feb. 26, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
Complete Release in PDF Format
No. 5 SDSU Water Polo Looks to Remain Unbeaten at Home in 2009
Following a fifth-place finish at the elite UC Irvine Invitational, the fifth-ranked San Diego State women's water polo team looks to remain undefeated at home this weekend when the Aztecs play host to No. 10 UC Irvine and No. 16 Long Beach State. San Diego State will take on the Anteaters on Saturday, Feb. 28 at noon PT at the Aztec Aquaplex. The Scarlet and Black will return to the pool on Sunday for its match against the 49ers. Game time for that contest is also noon PT.
Aztec Water Polo Pink Game Slated For Saturday
The San Diego State water polo team (9-2) has designated its match against UC Irvine (8-4) on Saturday, Feb. 28, as its "Pink" game to help raise breast cancer awareness. Game time is set for noon PT at the Aztec Aquaplex.
In conjunction with the "Pink" game, the Aztecs will wear pink caps on Saturday and have pink ribbons sewn onto their suits. San Diego State will also have a special guest in attendance that the Scarlet and Black will dedicate the game to.
The American Cancer Society will have representatives at the match with information for fans to learn more about breast cancer and will also be accepting donations. They will also have pink ribbons on hand for fans to dedicate to someone affected by breast cancer.
As part of this special promotion, fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game. Free Aztec water polo t-shirts will also be handed out to fans who make donations to the American Cancer Society.
Scouting the Anteaters
The No. 10 Anteaters went 2-2 at the UC Irvine Invitational to finish 10th at the tournament. UCI defeated No. 7 UC Davis 11-7 and No. 13 Long Beach State 7-6 in overtime. Sophomore Caitlin Haskell led UCI with seven goals over the four games. Freshman keeper Morgan Vickers had 18 saves in two matches to lead the team.
Julia Fancher leads the team with 24 goals, while Gianna Rossi is second with 23 goals. Kat Plummer is third on the team with 21 goals. Caitlin Haskell is fourth with 12 and sophomore Cortney Collyer is fifth with 11. Sophomore keeper Lauren Davis has 40 saves to lead the team.
A Look at Long Beach State
The 12th-ranked 49ers had a 3-1 outing at the UC Irvine Invitational last weekend. Long Beach State fell to UCLA (18-2) and UC Irvine (7-6 OT) on the first day. The 49ers split the results of day two, falling to UC Santa Barbara (11-10) before defeating UC San Diego (9-8 OT) in sudden death.
Long Beach State will stop across town for a rematch against No. 18 UC San Diego on Saturday afternoon before meeting the Aztecs on Sunday, March 1 for a noon PT showdown.
Last Time Against the Anteaters
There will be familiar faces in the pool when SDSU takes on No. 10 UC Irvine. The two teams battled it out in a second-round match at the UCSD Triton Invitational on Feb. 7, with the Aztecs topping the 12th-ranked Anteaters, 10-8. Seniors Julia Fanche and Sarah Frost, along with junior Kat Plummer each had two goals apiece for UCI in the loss. Senior Gianna Rossi and sophomore Cortney Collyer each tallied one score.
Aztecs Among the MPSF Leaders
As of Feb. 23, senior Anna Gonzales is third among all scorers in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation with a 2.63 goals per game average. In the same category, classmates Jenna Schuster is seventh (2.45g/game) and Erinn Greenwood is 20th (1.36 g/game). Freshman Kelly Campoli ranks second among the league's goalkeepers, averaging 6.67 saves a game. As a team, the Aztecs are eighth in offensive production (9.33 goals/game) and rank fourth in defense (7.25 goals allowed/game).
Gonzales Named Co-MPSF Player of the Week
After leading SDSU with 22 goals scored over the six matches, senior utility Gonzales was named the co-MPSF Mikasa Player of the Week, the league office announced Feb. 9. She broke out with 13 goals in four games to lead the Aztecs to their second-consecutive UCSD Triton Invitational title.
Moving On Up
After last week's play at the UC Irvine Invitational, Schuster put her stamp firmly on fourth on SDSU's all-time charts with 218 career goals, while Gonzales maintained her 5th position with 213 scores to her credit. Gonzales (5th, 107 assists) and Greenwood (6th, 98 assists) maintained their rankings among the career assists leaders. Gonzales remained eighth in on the all-time charts with 149 career steals. Lastly, Greenwood moved up to second in school history with 252 career ejections drawn, passing 2008 senior co-captain Becca Ur (3rd, 250 ejections drawn). Schuster also moved up into a tie for 6th (98 ejections drawn) and Gonzales (9th, 94 ejections drawn) maintained her standing.
SDSU in the Polls
San Diego State earned one spot in the polls, as the Aztecs are ranked fifth in the National Collegiate Women's Top 20 Poll released Feb. 25 by the Collegiate Water Polo Association. Since the beginning of the 2006 season, the Aztecs have earned a top-10 ranking every week that the poll has been released.
Crawford at the Controls
Head coach Carin Crawford enters her 11th year at the helm of the San Diego State women's water polo team. In each of her 10 seasons on Montezuma Mesa, SDSU has never finished below 11th place in the final national rankings. In 2008, Crawford led the Aztecs to their second consecutive appearance at the NCAA championships, where SDSU finished fifth. During her tenure, the Aztecs have garnered 17 All-America awards and have also claimed 18 all-MPSF accolades. In addition, Crawford's players have earned 36 all-MPSF academic awards, as well as 30 AWPCA all-academic honors.