April 13, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Water Polo Weekly Release
Game Week Preview
No. 22 California Baptist (20-8; 4-1 GCC) at No. 14 San Diego State (13-14; 5-0 GCC)
Friday, April 15 | Aztec Aquaplex | San Diego, Calif. | 4 p.m. PT
No. 19 LMU (10-17; 3-2 GCC) at No. 14 San Diego State (13-14; 5-0 GCC)
Saturday, April 16 | Aztec Aquaplex | San Diego, Calif. | 1 p.m. PT
No. 4 Arizona State (17-5; 3-2 MPSF) at No. 14 San Diego State (13-14; 5-0 GCC)
Sunday, April 17 | Aztec Aquaplex | San Diego, Calif. | 1 p.m. PT
Storylines
- No. 14 San Diego State will play host to its final regular-season homestand this week with three games in three days. First up for the Aztecs are a pair of key Golden Coast games vs. No. 22 California Baptist on Friday and No. 19 LMU on Saturday. SDSU will finish the weekend with a Senior Day contest on Sunday vs. No. 4 Arizona State. Admission for all games is free.
- The Aztecs enter the final conference weekend atop the league standings at 5-0 after beating Santa Clara and nationally ranked Pacific on the road last week. A win over California Baptist, which is 4-1 in league, would give San Diego State at least a share of the regular-season crown. SDSU has won the only two regular-season titles in conference history.
- San Diego State is looking to go undefeated in Golden Coast action for the third straight season. The Aztecs posted 6-0 conference records in the first two years of the league and are looking to finish their third campaign with a 7-0 record. The task will be a tall one with the second-place Lancers coming to town and an LMU team that beat SDSU, 7-4, in the first game of the Triton Invitational on Feb. 13.
- A win over California Baptist would clinch the top seed at the GCC Championship, which is scheduled for April 29-May 1 at SDSU's Aztec Aquaplex. Games on April 29 and April 30 are slated for noon, 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. On May 1, the three games are set for 11:30 a.m. (5th place), 1 p.m. (3rd place) and 2:30 p.m. (championship). Tickets for the first two days are $10 for adults and $5 for students/youth. On May 1, tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students/youth.
- San Diego State is playing its best water polo of the season and is 6-3 over its last nine games. The three blemishes have been to teams ranked in the top 8, with two of them occurring on the road (at No. 8 California, at No. 3 Stanford). During the current streak, the Aztecs have also upset a pair of teams that were ranked ahead of them at game time (at No. 16 Long Beach State, at No. 12 Pacific).
- SDSU posted a pair of convincing wins to help propel it to a 5-0 conference record. In the 9-3 win at Santa Clara, the Aztecs scored five unanswered goals in the second half to end the game after the Broncos closed to within 4-3 after halftime. The very next day at Pacific, San Diego State went on a 3-0 run to end the first half ahead, 6-5, and then scored four straight goals after UOP took a 7-6 lead after halftime. SDSU ultimately kept the Tigers off the scoreboard in the fourth period to secure the 10-7 victory.
- San Diego State's game vs. Arizona State on Sunday will represent the final regular-season home game for five Aztec seniors - Nikole Ferrari, Taylor Gums, Rachel Mitchell, Nika Sedghi and Tayla Walsh. This year's senior class is responsible for two Golden Coast regular-season titles, 76 victories and three top-17 finishes nationally.
- SDSU will face a California Baptist team that it has defeated 13 straight times, a streak that dates back to the 2001 season. Overall, the Aztecs are 15-2 vs. the Lancers and in 2001, the teams split four games.
- For San Diego State, LMU has been a thorn in the Aztecs' side the last two postseasons. SDSU has been able to get the better of the Lions during the Golden Coast Conference campaign, but Loyola Marymount has had the upperhand in the GCC final, winning the last two tournament championships. Since the start of 2012, the teams are an even 4-4 against each other.
- The Aztecs will face an old foe from their MPSF days in Arizona State on Sunday. SDSU and ASU were both in the MPSF until 2012 when the Aztecs moved to the Big West for the 2013 campaign. Since the start of 2009, the school have split 12 games with 11 being decided by three or fewer goals. Of the 11, five were one-goal games with ASU posting a 3-2 record in those situations.
Opponent Notebook
California Baptist - The Lancers have won three of their last four games, which have all come during conference play... The one loss was a narrow 10-9 decision vs. Pacific... CBU rebounded from the disappointment by beating Santa Clara on the road, 8-5, on Saturday... After its game at SDSU, California Baptist will face UC San Diego in La Jolla on Saturday.
LMU - The Lions got back on the winning side of the ledger with a 12-9 road win at Azusa Pacific on Saturday... Prior to the victory, LMU was 2-5 in its previous seven games... The Lions are 2-2 on the road (8-12 road/neutral games) this season and the game at SDSU is the second of a three-game road trip before finishing with CSUN at home.
Arizona State - The Sun Devils will head to California riding a three-game winning streak, which included a Senior Day win over California and a sweep of San José State and Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday... ASU will face UCLA in Los Angeles on Friday before heading to America's Finest City for a Sunday showdown with the Aztecs.