Feb. 29, 2012
SAN DIEGO - Fifth-ranked San Diego State returns to the pool and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action on Saturday when it faces No. 6 Arizona State in Tempe. The Aztecs (11-3; 0-1 MPSF) and Sun Devils (14-2; 0-0 MPSF) will look to win the opening sprint at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center beginning at 1 p.m. PT.
SDSU will hit the road with its brand-new No. 5 ranking, which is a four-spot improvement over last week, after its fifth-place finish at the UC Irvine Invitational. While in Irvine, the Aztecs defeated No. 8 San Jose State, fifth-ranked ASU and No. 10 Loyola Marymount. San Diego State's only blemish was a loss to top-ranked Stanford.
In that SDSU-Arizona State game last Sunday, the Aztecs entered the fourth quarter trailing, 6-5, before pulling away for the 9-8 victory. Meaghan Poland led San Diego State with three goals, while Amber Pezzolla and Anique Hermann each scored twice. Emily Whalen and Taelor Moreno added single goals, and Kelly Campoli made 12 stops to help trigger the come-from-behind win.
At 11-3, the Aztecs are off to their best start since the 2009 campaign when they opened with an identical mark after 14 games. That squad went on to post five more wins to improve to 16-3 before suffering their fourth loss of the season.
The Sun Devils, meanwhile, opened 2012 with 12 consecutive victories before going 2-2 at the UCI Invitational. ASU downed No. 13 UC Davis, lost to fourth-ranked California and No. 9 SDSU, before closing tournament action with a 14-5 win over 12th-ranked Michigan. As a result, Arizona State fell one spot in the national rankings to No. 6.
After its quick trip to the desert, San Diego State will return to campus before hitting the road once again for dates at USC and UCI. The Aztecs will face the Women of Troy in Los Angeles in an MPSF game on Friday, March 9, at 5 p.m. PT. Then on Saturday, March 10, SDSU will continue southbound for a 1 p.m. PT non-conference contest at UC Irvine.