April 16, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
Complete Release in PDF Format
No. 7 San Diego State Closes Out Regular Season on Senior Day with Annual Harper Cup Match Against UC San Diego
The seventh-ranked San Diego State water polo team will close out its regular season on Saturday, April 18, when it squares off against UC San Diego. First sprint for the Harper Cup is at 12:00 p.m. at the Aztec Aquaplex. SDSU will also honor its five seniors - Katie Bentley, Erinn Greenwood, Anna Gonzales, Erin Lester and Jenna Schuster - with a "Senior Day" ceremony prior to the opening sprint.
Scouting the Tritons
Last week, UC San Diego suffered an 11-9 loss to Loyola Marymount and a 10-6 defeat to Michigan. The Tritons (9-18) will travel to Orange to face Chapman before taking on SDSU. This week's games will be UCSD's final matches before the Western Water Polo Association Championships begin on April 24 in Santa Clara, Calif.
Sydney Gstettenbauer continues to pace the Tritons in scoring with 61 goals scored and also leads the team with 41 steals. Jessica Tran has scored 35 times and Stephanie Heinrich has added 34 goals. Bridgette Bugay leads the Tritons with 34 assists and Markayla Quane has a team high 232 saves.
The match-up between the Aztecs and UCSD will be the second this year. San Diego State defeated the Tritons 16-6 at the Gaucho Invitational in March.
Harper Cup- A Brief History
The Harper Cup is named for current UC San Diego men's water polo coach Denny Harper. Harper played at SDSU as an undergraduate and established the San Diego State women's water polo club team. Harper, who graduated from SDSU in 1978, coached the UCSD women's team to five collegiate national championships from 1985-1999.
Senior Day
San Diego State will honor its five seniors prior to Saturday's Harper Cup match against UCSD. Over the past three-plus seasons, this senior class has logged an 104-28 record. These five seniors have led SDSU to the NCAA championships the past two seasons, including the first-ever trip to the NCAAs in San Diego State water polo history. This group of seniors also led the Scarlet and Black to two record-breaking seasons in 2007 and 2008, as each year they established a school record for wins in a season. Three of the Aztecs' seniors rank among the team's top four scorers this spring (Gonzales, 84; Schuster, 57; Greenwood, 33), while one has established personal bests in assists and steals this season. Katie Bentley has logged 106 saves in 16 games in the scarlet and black, posting a career 3.88 goals against average.
Aztecs Among the MPSF Leaders
As of April 13, two Aztecs lead Mountain Pacific Sports Federation categories. Freshman Kelly Campoli leads all goalkeepers in the MPSF, averaging 10.40 saves per game. Senior Anna Gonzales leads all scorers in the MPSF, averaging 2.80 goals per game. In the same category, senior co-captain Jenna Schuster is 13th (1.90 g/game). As a team, the Aztecs are ranked fifth in offensive production (11.27 goals per game) and sixth in team defense (8.03 goals allowed/game).
Greenwood Gets It
Senior Erinn Greenwood set San Diego State's all-time record in career ejections drawn this season. She has drawn 94 ejections in 2009, which is second all-time on the single-season charts. Greenwood currently has 314 total kick outs drawn. In addition to ranking first in the SDSU record books for career ejections drawn, Greenwood also ranks number four all-time on the career assists list with 116 assists.
Gonzales Getting There
Senior Anna Gonzales continues to climb the charts in SDSU's record books. Gonzales remains second in Aztec history in goals scored with 265 scores recorded. She is only 13 goals shy of first place all-time. Gonzales is also currently ranked second among career assists leaders with her 119 assists. She is ranked seventh in the career steals category with 176 thefts to her credit and sixth among the leaders in career ejections drawn with 121. In addition, her 84 goals this season ranks tied for third on in the single-season records and is seven goals better than her total in 2008.
Schuster Sneaking Up
Senior co-captain Jenna Schuster is also within striking distance of SDSU's all-time career goals scored record. She has 248 scores to her credit and is just 17 behind Gonzales for third place in the SDSU record book. In addition, Schuster has recorded 122 career ejections drawn, good enough for fifth place all-time. SDSU in the Polls San Diego State remains ranked seventh in the National Collegiate Women's Top 20 Poll, released April 15 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.
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.
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.