SAN DIEGO – San Diego State water polo, the No. 22-ranked team in the nation, has one game this weekend, at No. 6 Loyola Marymount on Saturday at Burns Aquatics Center on the LMU campus in Los Angeles.
This Week
Saturday, April 6
No. 22 San Diego State at No. 6 LMU – 1 p.m. PT
Storylines
- San Diego State stands at 12-12, overall and 1-2 in Golden Coast Conference (GCC) play after two weeks of its league schedule. The Aztecs 12 victories after 24 games matches the program's most since the 2019 squad was 12-12 after its first 24 games and are one behind the 2017 team which was 13-11 after two dozen games. The 2017 team was also the last one to win the GCC regular season title.
-Sophomore attacker Claudia Valdes earned inclusion on the 2024 John R. Cutino Award Watch List last week. The Cutino Award recognizes the best collegiate water polo player in the nation and Valdes is the first Aztec to receive recognition from the Award since Holly Hertzell was one of four finalists for honor in 2004.
-In the 30 seasons of Aztec water polo, SDSU has a 590-403 record (.594).
-In its 11th season as a member of the Golden Coast Conference, San Diego State has an overall record of 54-14 in league contests, four regular season titles and one conference tournament title.
-The Aztecs hold a 25-18 record against LMU (22-2, 4-0 GCC), but are 3-5 when competing in the Lions home pool. Except for a game at LMU in the 2010 season, a 11-6 loss for the Aztecs, no game between the teams in Los Angeles has been decided by more than three goals and four of the last six have been one goal affairs. In the last nine meetings, regardless of location, San Diego State has just one win, an 11-4 thrashing in the 2021 campaign.
-The March 8 game between San Diego State and Concordia, each team's conference opener, was postponed and will be made up on Friday, April 12 at noon at the Aquaplex.
-Sophomore Claudia Valdes has played in each of the team's 24 games and leads the Aztecs in shots (101), goals (55), points (79), steals (29) and blocks (14), and is second in assists (24) and shot percentage (.545). Among Golden Coast Conference performers, the attacker leads the league in blocks, is No. 3 in goals and points, No. 5 in steals, and No. 10 in assists. The Madrid, Spain native, has 17 multi-goal efforts in 24 appearances, including 11 games of at least three goals and five with a season-best four tallies. In addition, Valdes has seven contests with multiple steals which includes a season-high four at Pomona-Pitzer.
-Junior Rose Kanemy leads the team with 34 assists and ranks No. 2 in shots (55), points (50) and sprint wins (16). The native of Montreal, Canada, has scored 16 times to go along with 12 steals and six blocks. Kanemy is No. 3 in the GCC in assists and No. 7 in sprint win percentage (.516) and is No. 10 in sprint wins (15). She has 11 multi-assists games this year, including a game high four vs. Biola.
-Freshman Mimi Stoupas has a team-best 37 exclusions drawn and ranks No. 2 in goals with 28 on 48 shots for a team-best .583 shot percentage. She has eight steals and nine multi-goal games including four hat tricks and a season-high four goals vs. Azusa Pacific. In 12 contests, she has drawn multiple exclusions, including a season-high five vs. No. 19 Wagner and No. 22 CSUN.
-Sophomore Sydney Gish has scored 23 goals and assisted on 11 more for a total of 34 points. Her goals and points rank third on the team. On 41 shots she has a .469 shot percentage which is also the third best among the Aztecs. Her 25 ejections drawn are second on the team and 15 steals rank fifth. Gish has six multi-goal games, which includes a six-strike game in the season opener, the most goals for an Aztec since Emily Bennett hammered the back of the net as many times vs. Bucknell on March 11, 2018.
-Goalie Tiaare Ahovelo has spent more than twice the minutes in the cage as any other Aztecs. In 463:45, Ahovelo has seen 189 goals go in the net, made 143 saves (.431 save percentage), has five assists, 17 steals and a 6-9 record.
No. 22 Water Polo at No. 6 LMU on Saturday
