May 11, 2016
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State head coach Carin Crawford has been named the Golden Coast Conference Coach of the Year, the GCC announced on Wednesday. The award is the first given to an SDSU water polo head coach in program history.
In her 18th season atop Montezuma Mesa, Crawford helped the Aztecs to their third straight GCC regular-season championship after SDSU went a perfect 7-0 in league. In the three seasons of Golden Coast action, Crawford has guided the Aztecs to a 19-0 conference record. Earlier this month, she coached San Diego State to the school's first postseason tournament title.
As a result of winning the GCC Championship, the Aztecs captured the league's automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. The school's first auto bid came after SDSU earned at-large invitations in 2007 and 2008, which both occurred under the direction of Crawford.
San Diego State's championship effort placed them in yesterday's NCAA Play-In Game at UC San Diego where the Aztecs defeated Wagner, 7-4, to snap the Seahawks' 14-game winning streak. SDSU now advances to the NCAA quarterfinals where top-seeded USC awaits. The Aztecs and Women of Troy will square off on Friday at 3:30 p.m. PT at UCLA's Spieker Aquatics Center.