SAN DIEGO – The No. 18 San Diego State water polo team jumps into the deep end of the pool with a pair of contests against top-10 opponents on Sunday. In its opening weekend of competition in the 2022 season, the Aztecs play twice on Sunday: at 9 a.m. against host and No. 2 Stanford and 1:30 p.m. against No. 9 Arizona State.
This Week
Sunday, February 6
No. 18 San Diego State at No. 2 Stanford – 9 a.m. PT
No. 18 San Diego State vs. No. 9 Arizona State – 1:30 p.m. PT
Streaming video (vs. Stanford) and live stat links are on the Water Polo schedule page at www.goaztecs.com.
Storylines
-No. 18 San Diego State opens the 2022 season this weekend at No. 2 Stanford in Stanford, Calif. The Aztecs play two games on Sunday: at 9 a.m. against the Cardinal and 1:30 p.m. against No. 9 Arizona State. The Stanford game will be live streamed and live stats links for both games are on the Aztecs water polo schedule page.
-The Aztecs are picked to finish fourth in the Golden Coast Conference (GCC) preseason coaches' poll.
-San Diego State found itself ranked No. 15 in the national preseason poll, and currently sits at No. 18. San Diego State finished last season ranked No. 12 in the nation.
-The Aztecs open their 28th season of competition, the 24th under the direction of head coach Carin Crawford. San Diego State is 553-354 (.610) all-time and 451-294 (.605) with Crawford at the helm.
-SDSU is looking to win its season opener for the fifth time in the last seven years. Last season San Diego State was edged by No. 6 Arizona State 15-9 in its season opener in Tempe, Ariz.
-The Aztecs are 19-8 all-time in the first game of the season and 16-7 with Crawford as head coach. Although this is not that situation this year, under Crawford, San Diego State is a perfect 15-0 in season openers when the Aztecs are the higher ranked team.
-San Diego State trails the all-time series with Stanford 33-9. The last time the teams played, on March 14, 2021, the Cardinal beat SDSU 16-10 at Stanford. The last time the Aztecs and ASU met was an 11-5 win for the Sun Devils on Feb. 14, 2021, and overall, the Aztecs trail in the all-time series 17-12.
-In games played at Stanford, the Cardinal lead the series 11-0. The program's first meeting came at a neutral site, Santa Barbara, Calif., on April 9, 1995, The Aztecs won that game 11-2 and went on to take nine of the first 13 matchups, but since an 8-7, triple overtime win in Ann Arbor, Mich., on March 11, 1997, SDSU has been shut out by the Bay Area team.
-The series against Arizona State began in 2004 with a 9-4 neutral site victory for the Aztecs and in the first meeting in the ASU pool, San Diego State won 6-5 (March 27, 2004). However, from there, Arizona State won six of the next seven meetings. SDSU's lone win came sandwiched in the middle of a pair of three game win streaks for the Sun Devils.
-The Aztecs' first official home contests are scheduled for Sunday, March 3 with a pair of games against CSUN, currently receiving votes in the College Water Polo Association's poll and No. 21 Princeton.
-Ready to lead the Aztecs' offense in 2022 is senior Karli Canale. Last year the driver had 133 career goals, including 53 in 22 games last season, which led the team. The San Diego product also led the team in shots (136), points (71), field blocks (12) and sprints won. She ranked second in steals (25), third in exclusions drawn (17), and was fourth in assists (18). In the GCC she was first in goals, tied for first in points, second in goals per game, eighth in steals and 10th in prints won. On a national level, she was sixth in goals, tied for sixth in goals per game, ninth in points, and 10th in blocks. She was recognized as an honorable mention ACWPC All-American and a second-team All-GCC performer in 2021.
-Spencer Samuel, another San Diego product, is back for her senior year after a 2021 in which she was named an honorable mention All-GCC performer after ranking fifth in assists (21), eighth in points (43) and tied for eighth in steals (17) in the league. She exploded last year with career-highs of 22 goals, 58 shots, the aforementioned assists, points, steals and ejections drawn (25).
-Goalie Raquel de Pinho, a native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, earned GCC Newcomer of the Year honors as well as first-team All-GCC and GCC All-Tournament Team designation from the GCC Championship tournament. In the conference she ranked No. 1 in saves (139), save percentage (.523) and saves per game (9.9), was No. 5 in goals against average (9.07) and tied for eighth in steals per game (1.1). Nationally she was eighth in saves.
- Overall, the Aztecs feature a roster that has eight freshmen, seven sophomores, two juniors and nine seniors.
-SDSU-
No. 18 Water Polo Opens 2022 Season At No. 2 Stanford
