SAN DIEGO – Claudia Valdes, a sophomore attacker, is the Golden Coast Conference women's water polo Player of the Week after scoring 12 goals to go along with eight assists and six blocks as the San Diego State water polo team went 3-1 last weekend at The Convergence in Claremont, Calif.
The Aztecs, ranked No. 25 last week, defeated No. 23 Marist last Friday as part of a two-game sweep on the day. The Marist win was the program's first over a higher ranked opponent since March 6, 2022, when then No. 21 San Diego State topped No. 19 Princeton, 12-11. Valdes had a hat trick against Marist and followed that with a four-goal effort later in the day in a 12-10 win over the top ranked Division III team and host Pomona-Pitzer.
The following day, she had two goals in a 15-10 win over Biola and then against No.7 UC Irvine she led the team with her third hat trick in four games.
San Diego State, No. 24 in this week's poll, is 10-7 and its 10 wins in its first 17 games are its most since 2014.
Valdes, a native of Madrid, Spain, leads the Aztecs in shots (65), goals (42), points (61), steals (22), and blocks (12) and is second in assists (19).