Sept. 16, 2013
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State water polo is set to play five regular-season home games and multiple non-conference contests at its own Aztec Invitational in March as head coach Carin Crawford announced her team's 2014 schedule on Monday.
SDSU will jump into the pool for the first time to face the Aztec Alumni in the yearly game that is set for Saturday, Jan. 18, at noon PT. Last season, the Alumni escaped with a 14-13 overtime decision despite receiving five goals from then-senior and four-time All-American Amber Pezzolla.
The season officially kicks off on Saturday, Feb. 1, when San Diego State heads to the Cal Baptist Invitational. The one-day event will have the Aztecs playing at least two games in Riverside.
Following the brief trip to the Inland Empire, SDSU will play host to its home opener on Thursday, Feb. 6, when Hartwick visits Montezuma Mesa a the third straight season. In 2013, the Aztecs beat the Hawks, 14-9.
San Diego State will then compete in two tournaments over the next three weeks. First up is the UCSD Triton Invitational at nearby UC San Diego. The Saturday-Sunday event is slated for Feb. 8-9. The second of the two is the UC Irvine Invitational, which is scheduled for Feb. 22-23.
The Aztecs will begin their first season in the newly formed Golden Coast Conference on Saturday, March 1, when Cal Baptist heads south to Aztec Aquaplex. The league opener is set for 11:30 a.m. PT.
Just as quickly as they stepped into conference action, the Aztecs will hop out of it the next day when they travel back to Irvine for a non-league date at UC Irvine. The Sunday, March 2, tilt is slated for 1 p.m. PT.
After its game at UCI, SDSU will head east to Boston for the Harvard Invitational (March 7-9), before returning to campus to play host to the Aztec Invitational, March 15-16. Then the following Saturday, San Diego State is set to compete at the Chapman Mini Invitational on March 22.
Three straight home games, which represents the longest homestand of the year, will greet the Aztecs starting with a GCC clash against Fresno Pacific. The March 29 game is scheduled for 10 a.m. PT and will precede the day's second game vs. Brown at 4 p.m. PT.
The home finale and Senior Day game is locked in for Saturday, April 5, vs. conference foe, LMU. Prior to the 1 p.m. PT game, San Diego State will honor its seniors for their hard work and dedication to the program over the course of their Aztec careers.
SDSU will wrap up its regular-season schedule with four games on the road beginning with Santa Clara on April 11. The GCC contest is set for 3 p.m. PT and following the game, San Diego State will head to Pacific for another league date, which will take place on Saturday, April 12 (noon PT).
The Aztecs will close Golden Coast play on Wednesday, April 16, at Azusa Pacific. The teams will clash under the lights in game scheduled to start at 6 p.m. PT.
Then as customary, San Diego State and UC San Diego will end the regular season by competing for the Harper Cup. This year's game will be contested at UCSD on Friday, April 18, at 6 p.m. PT. The Aztecs will look to keep the Cup for a 13th consecutive season after they beat the Tritons, 6-4, last year.
San Diego State will then play for the Golden Coast title at the three-day league championship. The site has yet to be determined, but will be played Thursday-Saturday, April 24-26.
SDSU is coming off its eighth-straight year of 20 or more victories after posting a 23-11 record. The 23 wins are its most since 2009 when San Diego State turned in an identical record. The Aztecs were also ranked in the top-8 nationally the entire regular season, twice rose to as high as No. 6 and finished campaign ranked 10th. The Scarlet and Black have finished in the top-11 every year of their existence on Montezuma Mesa, which spans 19 years.