SAN DIEGO – The No. 22-ranked and 4-seed San Diego State water polo team is set to compete in the 2025 Golden Coast Conference (GCC) championship tournament from Friday to Sunday, April 25-27 at Burns Aquatic Center on the campus of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. In its opening game in the quarterfinals, the Aztecs will face 5-seed California Baptist at 2 p.m. (PT)on Friday afternoon in a quarterfinal matchup.
This Week
GCC Championship
Burns Aquatic Center - Los Angeles, Calif.
Friday, April 25
Game 1: No. 3 Seed (Pacific) vs. No. 6 Seed (Azusa Pacific) - 10 a.m. PT
Game 2: No. 2 Seed (Fresno State) vs. No. 7 Seed (Concordia) - Noon PT
Game 3: No. 4 Seed (San Diego State) vs. No. 5 Seed (California Baptist) - 2 p.m. PT
Game 4: No. 1 Seed (LMU) vs. No. 8 Seed (Santa Clara) - 4 p.m. PT
Saturday, April 26
Game 5: 7th Place – Two lowest seeded losing teams from day 1 - 10 a.m. PT
Game 6: 5th Place - Two highest seeded losing teams from day 1 - Noon PT
Game 7: Semifinal #1 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 - 2 p.m. PT
Game 8: Semifinal #2 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 - 4 p.m. PT
Sunday, April 28
Game 9: 3rd Place - Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8 - 11 a.m. PT
Game 10: Championship - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 - 1 p.m. PT
Links for free live stats and fee-based streaming video for the entire GCC Tournament can be found at its Tournament Central page here.
The Aztecs in the GCC Tournament
-Since it joined the Golden Coast Conference for the 2014 season, San Diego State has an 13-12 record in the GCC Championship Tournament and has never been seeded lower than No. 4.
-SDSU is the 4-seed for the fourth time in its 12 years in the GCC and fourth time in the last four years. As the 4-seed the Aztecs are 3-4.
- San Diego State is 5-0 in quarterfinal games at the GCC Tournament.
- San Diego State finished outside the top three places on only two occasions, in 2022 & 2023, in its 10 previous times competing in the GCC Tournament. SDSU won the event in 2016, was second in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2021, and finished third in 2018, 2019, and 2024.
- The winner of the SDSU/CBU contest advances to the second semifinal game on Saturday at 4 p.m. PT and will play the winner of the game between 1-seed LMU and 8-seed Santa Clara. The loser of the Aztecs/Lancers game will play in either the fifth or seventh place game on Saturday at either 10 a.m. or noon PT, respectively.
San Diego State’s record against opponents in the GCC Tournament are:
Azusa Pacific (3-0)
2017 – W, 13-7 (SF)
2018 – W, 8-5 (3rd place)
2022 – to-W, 8-7 (QF)
California Baptist (3-0)
2015 – W, 11-6 (SF)
2018 – W, 7-6 (QF)
2024 – W, 16-9 (QF)
Concordia (1-0)
2023 – W, 15-8 (QF)
Fresno State (0-4)
2019 – L, 10-15 (3rd place)
2021 – L, 10-14 (CH)
2022 – L, 7-10 (SF)
2023 – L, 11-15 (SF)
Loyola Marymount (1-6)
2014 – 3ot-L, 9-10 (CH)
2015 – L, 5-9 (CH)
2016 – W, 9-4 (SF)
2017 – L, 7-10 (SF)
2019 – L, 5-10 (SF)
2023 – L, 6-14 (3rd place)
2024 – L, 12-18 (SF)
Pacific (4-2)
2014 – W, 9-6 (SF)
2016 – 3ot-W, 10-9 (CH)
2017 – L, 7-11 (CH)
2021 – W, 11-8 (SF)
2022 – L, 6-16 (3rd place)
2024 – W, 12-8 (3rd place)
Santa Clara (1-0)
2019 – W, 10-7 (QF)
About the Aztecs
- Five Aztecs, one shy of its 2021 GCC record of six, earned postseason Conference honors: Mimi Stoupas (So., CTR, Melbourne, Australia) first-team All-GCC, Claudia Valdes (Jr., ATT, Madrid, Spain) second-team All-GCC, Sydney Gish (Jr., ATT, Clovis, Calif.) honorable mention All-GCC, and Delanney Ewing (UTL, Anaheim, Calif.) and Juilanne Stark (ATT, Danville, Calif.) earned inclusion on the GCC All-Freshman Team.
- No. 22-ranked San Diego State finished the regular season 14-13, 4-3 in Golden Coast Conference action and is the 4-seed in this weekend’s GCC Tournament at Burns Aquatic Center on the campus of Loyola Marymount.
-With a win in its quarterfinal game against California Baptist on Friday, San Diego State will secure back-to-back seasons with a winning record for the first time since the 2014 and 2015 campaigns.
- Mimi Stoupas (So., CTR. Melbourne, Australia) is a 2025 first-team All-GCC performer who has played in each of the team’s 27 games, leads the squad, and ranks fifth in the GCC, with 64 goals. In addition to her goal scoring prowess, the sophomore center tops the team in ejections drawn (63), shot percentage (.593), and steals (28), and is second in shots (108). She has at least a hat trick in 10 contests, among 17 games in which she has scored multiple goals, and twice: against California Baptist on Jan. 18 and again on Feb. 14, totaled a team-best matching, and career-high, six goals. This is the third All-GCC honor for Stoupas, who was an honorable mention and all-freshman team designee last season. Stoupas reached the 100 career-goal plateau on the first of her three goals at UC San Diego last Saturday, enters the GCC Tournament with 102 for her career, and is the program’s 18th first-team honoree in its 12 years in the league.
- Claudia Valdes (Jr., ATT, Madrid, Spain) is a 2025 second-team All-GCC performer and has scored 60 goals, which ranks second on the team and seventh in the GCC. In addition, her 104 points and 15 blocks are both No. 3 in the league, and 44 assists slot in at No. 7. Among her teammates, she tops the squad in shots (122), points (104) and steals (15) and is second in assists, exclusions drawn (30) and steals (21), and her .492 shot percentage is the third best on the team. Valdes has 18 multi-goal games, including nine games with at least a hat trick and three games: vs. California Baptist (Jan. 18), at Concordia (March 7), and at UC San Diego (April 19), with a season-best five goals. In addition, the attacker has 12 games with multiple assists, which includes a season-high four versus UC Davis (Jan. 19). This is the third time Valdes has been recognized by the GCC for her play after being named to the all-freshman team in 2023 and a first-team performer last year. Valdes has scored 190 goals in her three-year career as an Aztec and is ranked No. 10 on the program’s career goal scoring list.
- Sydney Gish (Jr., ATT, Clovis, Calif.), a 2025 honorable mention All-GCC performer, had the best goal scoring year of her career in 2025 with 41 tallies, which ranks third on the team. In addition, she produced career-highs in shots (70), shot percentage (.586) and blocks (6). Her shot percentage is second on the team and her shot total, 55 points, and 19 ejections drawn are all fourth among the Aztecs. Gish has at least four hat tricks this year, including a career-high tying six goals against Mount St. Mary’s (Feb. 28), among 15 games with multiple goals scored. She has four games of multiple assists and four with multiple steals. This is the first GCC honor for Gish in her three-year Aztec career.
- Julianne Stark (Fr. ATT, Danville, Calif.), a member of the GCC All-Freshman Team, led the SDSU freshman in appearances (25), shots (34), goals (16), assists (8), points (24), shot percentage (.471), ejections drawn (8) and steals (4). She produced four multi-goal games with a single-game best four vs. Cal Lutheran (Jan. 19). Twice, vs. California Baptist (Feb. 1) and at Santa Clara, she had a season-high two assists and three ejections drawn.
- Delanney Ewing (Fr., UTL, Anaheim, Calif.) earned GCC All-Freshman Team designation and played in 21 games with five goals on 14 shots for a .357 shot percentage and with two assists totaling seven points for the season. She has three exclusions drawn, two steals, and led the Scarlet and Black freshmen with three blocks. She recorded one multi-point game, versus Cal Lutheran.
- Rose Kanemy (Sr., ATT, Montreal, Canada) has, in 27 appearances, taken 60 shots to produce 22 goals (.367 shot percentage), to go along with 60 assists for 81 points, with 10 steals and 10 blocks. She equaled her single-game career best with six assists in the team’s game last week at UC San Diego to add on to her mark as the program’s all-time assist leader and enters this week with 196 for her career. Her 60 assists this season and 54 last year rank No. 4 and No. 6, respectively, on the SDSU single-season list. Kanemy has six games with a season-high two goals among her 22 total for the year. She leads the squad in assists, with multiple assist games in 16 of her 27 appearances this year. She recorded a single-game best six vs. Chapman (2/28) and repeated the feat last week, which are the second and third time in her college career that she totaled six assists in a game. Within the squad she leads in assists, ranks second in sprint wins, is tied for second with 10 blocks, and is No. 3 in points.
- Shannon Murphy (Jr., ATT, Orinda, Calif.) has played in all 27 contests and taken 73 shots converted into 27 goals (.370 shot percentage) with 20 assists for 47 points, to go along with 21 exclusions drawn, 18 steals with three blocks. She leads the team in sprint wins (20), is third in exclusions drawn and is third with shots and assists, and fourth in goals. Murphy has logged nine multi-goal games, including four hat tricks. She has four multi-assists contests to go along with six games with two or more steals, which includes a season-high four vs. Cal State Fullerton (2/2). Among GCC players she is No. 6 in sprint wins.
- Tiaare Ahovelo (Jr., Auckland, New Zealand), Ava Ratajczak (Sr., Carlsbad, Calif.), and Mandy Lagerlof (Jr., Irvine, Calif.) have all seen time in the cage. Ahovelo has played 440 minutes in goal, while Ratajczak logged 280 and Lagerlof 136.
Ahovelo (8-9), who has played in 23 contests, 18 of which have been starts, leads the team in saves (140), with a save percentage (.458), while allowing 166 goals in with a goals-against average of 12.07 to go along with eight assists and 15 steals. Among GCC goalies, she is No. 2 in save percentage, No. 5 in goals-against average and saves. She has four games of double-digit saves, including a season-best 14 versus UC Davis (1/19), as well as a single-game high three assists against Concordia (3/7) and a pair of three-steal games: versus Concordia and at Pacific (4/4).
Ratajczak (5-3) has started seven times and appeared in 14 contests. She has surrendered 110 goals (12.57 GAA), made 67 saves (.379 save percentage) with 12 steals and eight assists. Among GCC goalies, she is No. 9 in saves. Her season-high in saves is 15 against Fresno State (3/29) with three steals against California Baptist (2/14) and three assists versus CSUN (3/15) also single-game highs this season.
Lagerlof (1-1) has appeared in 10 games with one start. She’s made42 saves and allowed 47 goals. She has a save percentage of .472, and a 11.06 goals-against average to go along with eight steals and six assists. She matched a season-high in saves (7) at UC San Diego (4/19), has a single-game best four steals against Bucknell (3/15) and three assists at Santa Clara (4/5).
- Sofia Righetti (Sr., DEF, Kingsburg, Calif.) is tied for No. 2 on the team in blocks (10) and No. 3 on the team with 26 assists. Luna Sarmiento (Sr., DEF, Madrid, Spain) ranks third on the squad in steals (20). Lucy Bullock (So., DEF, London, England) is tied for fourth among the Aztecs in blocks (9).
- Fourteen Aztecs have scored at least 10 goals this season and 11 have double-digit assists.
-Head women’s water polo coach Dana Ochsner has a 43-49 record in three seasons, but 31-28 in the two seasons she has been the fulltime leader of the program. She led the team to a third-place finish in the Golden Coast Conference Tournament in 2024, its best finish in the event since it was the second-place team in 2021.
About the Opposition in the Quarterfinal and Semifinal Rounds
Versus California Baptist (No. 5 seed)
- The Aztecs are 28-3 all-time against California Baptist, which includes a 13-3 mark in neutral site contests.
- San Diego State has won 25 of its last 26 games against CBU and has lost once to the Lancers since April 13, 2001.
- The Aztecs and California Baptist have met three times in the GCC Tournament and is 3-0 in those games. SDSU defeated CBU last year 16-9 in a quarterfinal game, 7-6 in the same round in 2018 and 11-6 in the 2015 tournament.
- In 2025, San Diego State is 2-1 against California Baptist. SDSU defeated California Baptist (Jan. 18) 19-16 in its season opener at the ASU Invitational, lost 11-14 (Feb. 1) at the Triton Invitational, and 22-14 (Feb. 14) at the Aquaplex in its GCC encounter. First-team All-GCC performer Mimi Stoupas has 14 goals against the Lancers and second-team All-GCC honoree Claudia Valdes has 10. Sofia Righetti totaled eight assists in the three games. Each of the Aztecs goalies earned a win against the Lancers this year, with Ava Ratajczak playing a team leading 48 minutes and 12 saves.
Versus Loyola Marymount (No. 9 ranked & 1-seed)
- The Aztecs are 18-28 all-time against Loyola Marymount, which includes a 3-6 mark at the Lions’ pool.
- San Diego State has not won its last nine games against the Lions and has not beaten LMU since March 20, 2021.
- The Aztecs and Loyola Marymount have met seven times in the GCC Tournament with the Lions holding a 6-1 advantage in the event. The pair have met four times in the semifinal round of the GCC Tournament with the Aztecs taking a 9-4 victory in 2016 on its way to that year's tournament title. In 2018, 2019 & 2024 the Lions got the better of SDSU with 10-7, 10-5 & 18-12 victories, respectively.
- In 2024, San Diego State fell to Loyola Marymount in a 17-11 decision on April 12 and those 11 goals allowed were the second most a GCC team has scored against the Lions this year. Megan Holcomb led the Aztecs with a hat trick in the game with Ava Ratajczak splitting time in the cage and Ratajczak with a team-high four saves.
Versus Santa Clara (8-seed)
- The Aztecs are 17-1 all-time against Santa Clara, which includes a 5-1 mark in neutral site contests
- The Aztecs and Broncos have met once in the GCC Tournament a 10-7 SDSU victory in the quarterfinals of the 2019 tournament. San Diego State had hat tricks in the game from Emily Bennett and Hannah Carrillo. Maura Cantoni was in the net for 32 minutes, picked up the victory and stopped 16 shots.
- In 2025, San Diego State defeated SCU 14-10 on April 5 at Santa Clara. Megan Holcomb recorded a hat trick while Claudia Valdes, Lucy Bullock and Julianne Stark scored twice each. Tiaare Ahovelo played the first half, made six saves, and picked up the victory.