SAN DIEGO – A native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and product of the Brazilian National Team program, Raquel de Pinho has agreed to attend and compete for the San Diego State water polo team beginning in the 2021 season. Head water polo coach Carin Crawford made the announcement Friday.
"We're excited to have Raquel join our program," Crawford said. "Having played in the Brazilian National Team pipeline, she is an experienced goalkeeper and given her maturity, we expect she will compete for playing time right away. Raquel has great pool vision, is a great blocker and an even better passer, so we expect that she will contribute on offense as well by getting the ball out deep in transition."
Prior to coming to the United States to study and compete on the collegiate level, de Pinho (PEEN-yo) competed for both the Junior and Youth Brazilian National Teams, from 2012-16, and for the Senior National Team in 2017.
For the past two years, she has been the defensive anchor for the water polo program at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif. In that time, she has started in 62 of a possible 63 games. Her team went 22-0 in Coast Conference play, earning two championships, and posted an overall record of 47-16.
Last season, starting every game, de Pinho led her team to a 25-7 mark, 11-0 in Coast Conference play, and a third-place finish in the state tournament. She surrendered 159 goals while saving 305 shots for a .657 save percentage in 119 quarters. She paced the team with 85 assists and added four goals for the cause. For her efforts, she earned All-American, All-State and All-NorCal honors. In addition, she was Coast Conference MVP, first-team All-Coast Conference and Coast Conference Goalkeeper of the Year, as well as the West Valley College Female Athlete of the Year.
In her freshman season, de Pinho played in 107 quarters and received a starting assignment in 30 of the team's 31 contests. She gave up 173 goal and made 227 stops (.568 save percentage) while the team posted a 22-9 record and an undefeated mark of 11-0 in conference play. She scored three times and assisted on nine additional goals. At the conclusion of the year, de Pinho was named an All-American and second-team All-NorCal. Among league performers, she earned Coast Conference Goalkeeper of the Year as well as first-team All-Coast Conference honors.
With the addition of de Pinho, the Aztecs' incoming class for 2021 includes attackers Kori Bento and Katie Scott, center Faith Cerussi, utility players Adrina Daniel, Paige Goemer, Kendall Houck and Laurene Padilla, and center defender Maddie Waasdorp.
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