LA JOLLA, Calif. – The 15th-ranked UC San Diego women’s water polo team (8-9) returns to the pool with five games this week. The Tritons host No. 19 Brown (14-4) on Thursday, March 29 at 4:00 p.m. in Canyonview Pool. UCSD then heads to the Davis Shootout on March 31 and April 1. The Tritons will square off against Western Water Polo Association opponents in No. 17 Santa Clara (14-10), Cal State Monterey Bay (13-10), No. 9 UC Davis (17-6) and Cal State San Bernardino (15-10). On Saturday, UCSD faces SCU at 11:45 a.m. and CSUMB at 6:00 p.m. On Sunday, the Tritons face the Aggies at 11:15 a.m. and the Coyotes at 3:00 p.m.
BROWN
The Bears continue to pile the wins this year after taking two wins on the road on March 27. Brown defeated Cal Baptist 9-7 in Riverside, and then defeated No. 15 Long Beach State 9-8 in Long Beach. Brown has wins over two ranked opponents this year in LBSU and Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Bears are led by Sarah Glick with 25 goals, Elizabeth Balassone with 23 goals and Lauren Presant with 22 scores. Caitlin Fahey has added 17 goals. Presant leads the team with 15 assists and Fahey has a team-high 28 steals. Stephanie Laing is the goalkeeper with 118 saves and a 7.08 GAA.
SANTA CLARA
This is the second meeting of the season between UCSD and SCU. SCU defeated UCSD 10-9 in overtime at the UC Irvine Invitational in February. The Broncos have wins over ranked teams in Hartwick, Princeton, Cal State Northridge, UCSD and LBSU. SCU is led by Brianna Anderson with 28 goals, while Amy Lamb and Katie Radvanyi have 23 apiece. Lamb has a team-high 19 assists and Anderson has 24 steals.
CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY
The Otters are 13-10 and are coming off a win over Somona State 10-9, and a loss to Maryland 11-8. CSUMB is led by Chelsea Laning with 102 goals while Sarah Burke has added 32. Burke also has a team-high 28 assists and Christy Thompson has 21 steals. Jenna Beer has been the primary goalie with 239 saves and a 10.6 GAA.
UC Davis
The Aggies have dropped two of their last three with a 7-5 loss to LMU, a 16-9 win over LBSU and an 8-7 overtime loss to UC Irvine. Christi Raycraft leads the Aggies with 35 goals while Katherine O’Rourke has added 34 scores. Cassie Schaefer and Laura Uribe have 21 assists apiece. Amber Korner has 137 saves this season and a 7.0 GAA.
CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO
The Coyotes have won eight straight with wins from March 4 through March 17. CSUSB is led by Sarah Reneker with 104 goals while Freyja Berg and Bridget Berg have scored 68 goals apiece. Bridget Berg has a team high 58 steals and Reneker leads with a team high 86 ejections drawn. Heather Dojy has 224 saves.
UCSD LAST TIME OUT
The Tritons were off last week due to finals. UCSD last played on March 15 and 16. UCSD cruised past Coloardo State 12-4 after taking a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Sarah Bajorek and Judy Emaus scored four times in the win.
UCSD then ran into a tough UCLA squad and lost 21-3. Sydney Gstettenbauer, Bajorek and Lauren Woods scored for UCSD.
Courtesy: Jimmy Gekas/Sideline Studios