SAN DIEGO – In the final week of regular season action, the San Diego State water polo team wraps up Golden Coast Conference play at California Baptist on Thursday evening and then on Saturday afternoon hosts in the 20th edition of the Harper Cup against UC San Diego.
Prior to Saturday's game, the Aztecs will honor eight seniors who will be making their final appearances at the Aquaplex. The octet includes goalies Raquel de Pinho and Zoe Morgan, drivers Delaney Binette, Spencer Samuel and Karli Canale, center Sydney Hurst, defender Lucia Carballo and student assistant Grace Halliday.
This Week
Thursday, April 14
No. 20 San Diego State at California Baptist – 6 p.m. PT
Lancer Aquatics Center, Riverside, Calif.
Live Stats/Streaming Video
Saturday, April 16
No. 12 UC San Diego at No. 20 San Diego State – 4 p.m. PT
Aztec Aquaplex, San Diego, Calif.
Senior Day/Harper Cup
Live Stats
Know This
• San Diego State is 11-14 overall, 3-3 and in fourth place in Golden Coast Conference (GCC) play and No. 20 in the nation at the start of the week.
• Raquel de Pinho leads the team's goalies with 109 saves and 437:38 minutes and has a goals against average of 12.28. Through the games of April 7, she is No. 7 in saves, No. 8 in save percentage and No. 7 in goals against average in the GCC.
• Zoe Morgan has a 4-3 record, a 10.29 GAA in 248:53, and has made 67 saves. Her 15 appearances, four wins, 67 saves and 11 steals are all single-season highs, and in game through April 7 in the GCC she is No. 4 in goals against average, No. 5 in save percentage, and No. 10 in saves.
• Rose Kanemy is tied for the team lead with 36 goals and tops the squad with 27 assists. Through the games of April 7, she ranks No. 4 in the GCC in assists. In addition, she leads the team with 99 shots and is tied for the team lead in blocks (6).
• Laurene Padilla is tied for the lead of the Aztecs offense with 36 goals and is tied for second with 27 assists, both are career-bests and among GCC players, through the games of April 7, she is No. 7 in assists and No. 6 in points and 10th in goals.
• Karli Canale is third in goals (34), is tied for second in assists with 26 and leads the squad with 38 steals. Her assists and 12 sprints won are both career-bests. Among GCC performers, through the games of April 7, she is No. 2 in steals, No. 4 in assists, No. 5 in sprint win percentage, No. 6 in sprints won, and No. 10 in points.
• Sydney Hurst has drawn a team-leading 38 ejections, is fourth on the squad with a career-high 22 goals and among Aztecs with at least one shot attempt per game, her .489 shooting percentage ranks third on the team.
• Seven other San Diego State players have reached double-digit goals (Spencer Samuel – 19, Katie Ratcliff – career-high 17, Kendall Houck – career-high 13, Lucia Carballo – 10, Samantha Loughlin – career-high 12, Jessica Leckich – 10, Delaney Binette – career-high 10).
• In addition to Padilla, Canale, and Kanemy, who all have over 20 assists, four other Aztecs; Spencer Samuel (16), Delaney Binette (15), Lucia Carballo (career-high equaling 14) and Kendall Houck (career-high 10) are all in double digits. Through the games of April 7, Houck is No. 5 in the GCC is sprint wins with 14.
• In her 24th year leading the San Diego State water polo program, head coach Carin Crawford has amassed 473 career victories.
Senior Day
• Saturday's Harper Cup game will be San Diego State's senior day celebration for eight Aztecs who will be appearing at the Aquaplex for the last time as active members of the team.
• In a ceremony prior to the game, goalies Raquel de Pinho and Zoe Morgan, drivers Delaney Binette, Spencer Samuel and Karli Canale, center Sydney Hurst, defender Lucia Carballo, and student assistant Grace Halliday will be honored.
Harper Cup
• Saturday will be the 20th playing of the Harper Cup, named for UC San Diego men's water polo coach Denny Harper, who announced his retirement last month. Harper played at San Diego State as an undergraduate and established the SDSU women's water polo club team. He graduated from SDSU in 1978 and went on to lead the UCSD women's team to five collegiate national championships from 1985-1999.
• The inaugural game of the Harper Cup was in 2002 and continued annually through 2019. The 2020 event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic and resumed in 2021.
• SDSU holds a 12-7 lead in the Harper Cup series, but has dropped the last five, regardless of location. In the nine games played at San Diego State, the Aztecs lead 7-2, but at one time had a 7-0 advantage.
• San Diego State's last win in the Harper Cup was in 2015, a 6-3 win at the Aquaplex with Anique Hermann winning the game MVP.
California Baptist (12-15, 0-6 Golden Coast Conference)
• This will be the 23rd meeting between these two programs, with the Aztecs holding a commanding 21-2 advantage in the all-time series, which began in the 2000 season.
• San Diego State was 2-2 in the first four matchups against the Lancers, but has won the last 19 in a row, having not lost to CBU since April 13, 2001.
• This will be the fifth meeting at Lancer Aquatics Center, where the Aztecs have never lost (4-0) and score an average of 10.0 goals per game while allowing 7.5 in the four previous meetings at the facility.
• San Diego State is 8-0 against California Baptist at the Aquaplex and 9-2 in neutral site encounters.
• CBU is 3-3 in its home pool this year, is averaging 12.3 goals and surrendering 8.6 in its home wins, but in its losses is scoring an average of 7.6 goals and giving up 10.0.
• In Kira O'Donell (63 goals) and Jamie Hutton (45 assists), California Baptist has the league's leaders in each category through the games of April 7.
• In 2022, against ranked opponents, the Lancers are 1-9 with its lone win coming against then No. 23 CSUN, 9-8, on Jan. 29 in Riverside.
• Head coach Carin Crawford has been on the pool deck for each of the 23 previous meetings.
No. 12 UC San Diego (18-9)
• This will be the 62nd meeting between these two programs, dating back to the first matchup in the 1995 season, with the Aztecs holding a 44-17 advantage in the all-time series.
• Ahead of its matchup with the Aztecs on Saturday, the Tritons are at UC Irvine on Friday, April 15, for its Big West regular-season finale.
• In games played in SDSU's pool, the Aztecs have won 11-of-15 meetings (11-4), but three of San Diego State's four losses to the Tritons at the Aquaplex have come in the last three matchups.
• In the history of San Diego State water polo, its 61 meetings with the Triton are second only to 67 matchups against UC Santa Barbara.
• Ciara Franke leads the Tritons and is No. 5 in the Big West in goals (47), Courtney Okumura is No. 6 in the Big West and leads the squad in assists (24) and goalie Bennett Bugelli, the MVP of the last two Harper Cups, has 149 saves, which is No. 3 in the Big West.
• Aztec head coach Carin Crawford has been on the pool deck for 42 of the 61 previous meetings and has a 28-14 record against the Tritons.
-SDSU-
Aztecs Wrap Regular Season Slate This Week
