Dec. 16, 2015
SAN DIEGO -
2016 SDSU Women's Water Polo Schedule
San Diego State Women's Water Polo announced its 2016 schedule Wednesday, which begins with the annual alumni game on Saturday, Jan. 23, at Aztec Aquaplex. Following the alumni game festivities, San Diego State won't see home waters for another 41 days.
The Aztecs will play their first official match the following Saturday when they make their lone out-of-state trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for the Michigan Kick Off from Jan. 30-31.
Following its trip to the Midwest, SDSU will return to its home county to participate in the UCSD Invite in La Jolla from Feb. 13-14. UCSD finished the 2015 season ranked No. 20 by the College Water Polo Association.
After a 12-day break, the Aztecs will begin their Golden Coast regular-season title defense with a trip to Irvine on Feb. 26 for a Friday afternoon matchup with Concordia. In three contests with the Eagles since 2011, the Aztecs have gone unbeaten while outscoring their conference foe 43-18.
SDSU will remain in Irvine through the weekend to take part in the UC Irvine Invitational. The Aztecs will be looking to make another statement in the invitational this year after knocking off 18th-ranked UC Santa Barbara, 7-4, in 2015.
SDSU will move on from the UCI Invitational to play its second Golden Coast contest of the year on Friday, March 4, against Azusa Pacific on the road. The Aztecs are 2-0 all-time against the Cougars in Golden Coast play.
The long season-opening road trip will come to a close the very next day when San Diego State makes a short trip from Azusa to Irvine to face UC Irvine on March 5.
SDSU will return to the friendly confines of the Aztec Aquaplex for the Aztec Invitational on Saturday and Sunday, March 12-13. In 2015, the two-day event featured three teams ranked inside the CWPA top 20.
After its brief visit home, SDSU will travel to the Bay Area for a meeting with California on Saturday, March 19. The Bears capped their 2015 season with a fourth-place finish in the NCAA Championship and a No. 4 ranking in the CWPA top 20.
The tough competition will continue for the Aztecs when they face Long Beach State in the first game of a doubleheader on the following Thursday, March 31, in Long Beach. SDSU will get a few hours of rest before jumping back in the pool with Brown.
Fresno Pacific will make the trip to San Diego on Saturday, April 2, for the first of three consecutive conference battles for SDSU. The Aztecs are 4-0 against the Sunbirds all time with a plus-60 goal differential, and are 2-0 since the inception of the Golden Coast Conference.
League play continues the following weekend with back-to-back-to-back road games against Santa Clara, Pacific and two-time defending national champion Stanford from April 8-10. The Aztecs will be looking for their third straight win against Santa Clara and their 30th consecutive victory against Pacific. SDSU will put its conference dominance on short hiatus and attempt to make program history by defeating the Cardinal, a feat that has alluded the program since 1997.
After a big weekend in Northern California, the Aztecs will enjoy their longest homestand of the season from April 15-17 when they face off with California Baptist, Loyola Marymount and Arizona State in consecutive days.
The regular season will end the next weekend on the road when SDSU faces cross-town opponent UCSD in the Harper Cup on Friday, April 22.
The Aztecs try their hand at capturing their first conference tournament title when they host the GCC Championship from April 29 to May 1, and will look to earn an automatic bid in the 2016 NCAA Championship.
San Diego State is set to return four All-Americans in 2016, and the group will look to continue SDSU's dominance in the Golden Coast as the Aztecs have posted a 12-0 GCC record in the league's two years of existence, while winning back-to-back regular-season titles.