LA JOLLA, Calif. - The No. 20 UC San Diego women's water polo team will look to tighten its grip on the Western Water Polo Association's second seed as it heads to the Santa Clara Water Polo Invitational, better known as 'The Bronco,' on Saturday and Sunday, April 9-10, at the Sullivan Aquatic Center on SCU's campus. Three of UCSD's four matches will be WWPA conference games.

THE SCHEDULE
Game No. 25
No. 20 UC San Diego (11-15) vs. No. 7 San Jose State (16-9)
Saturday, April 9 - 8:00 a.m.
Sullivan Aquatic Center - Santa Clara, Calif.

Game No. 26
No. 20 UC San Diego (11-15, 6-1 WWPA) vs. Santa Clara (10-12, 7-3 WWPA)
Saturday, April 9 - 2:40 p.m.
Sullivan Aquatic Center - Santa Clara, Calif.

Game No. 27
No. 20 UC San Diego (11-15, 6-1 WWPA) vs. Colorado State (8-11, 1-3 WWPA)
Sunday, Apr. 10 - 8:00 a.m.
Sullivan Aquatic Center - Santa Clara, Calif.

Game No. 28
No. 20 UC San Diego (11-15, 6-1 WWPA) vs. Cal State San Bernardino (8-23, 1-6 WWPA)
Sunday, Apr. 10 - 2:40 p.m.
Sullivan Aquatic Center - Santa Clara, Calif.

SENIOR DAY, APRIL 16 at CANYONVIEW WEST
UCSD will return home on Saturday, April 16, for its final home contest of the season against No. 6 Michigan at 12:00 p.m. Prior to the match, UCSD seniors Hanalei Crowell, Felicia Orozco and Stephanie Sasaki will be honored for their years of service to the water polo program. Be sure to arrive early and catch the Tritons' final home match before they head off to the WWPA Championships April 29-30 at Cal State East Bay. Admission to any Triton home match is $5 for adults and children. As always, admission is free for UCSD students with valid student I.D. For more ticket information, click here.

BEEN TO SANTA CLARA ON A HORSE WITH NO NAME
It'll feel good to get out of the rain...the San Diego rain that is. The UC San Diego women's water polo team is slated for four matches in Santa Clara at The Bronco, including three against Western Water Polo Association squads. Four of the tournament's nine teams are ranked in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Top 20, including top 10 programs No. 5 Hawaii, No. 8 Loyola Marymount and UCSD's first opponent, No. 7 San Jose State (April 9, 8:00 a.m.). Additionally, seven of nine WWPA teams in attendance combine for 11 games, making it a crucial weekend of play leading up to the WWPA Championships at the end of April. UCSD's first WWPA clash will be against fourth-place Santa Clara at 2:40 p.m. on Saturday. The Tritons previously beat SCU 12-10 on February 12 and hold an 8-6 all-time advantage over the Broncos. UCSD faces Colorado State on Sunday at 8:00 a.m. and follows with another conference tilt against Cal State San Bernardino at 2:40 p.m. The Tritons have dropped only a single match in program history to their Sunday opponents; UCSD is 7-1 all-time against CSU and 15-0 versus CSUSB. For up-to-the-minute coverage of The Bronco, click here.

TRITONS TAKE TWO OF THREE IN WEEKEND HOMESTAND
The Tritons have won three of their last four contests since March 26 while outscoring its opponents 38-33 in the process. UCSD started last weekend with an 11-9 win over Brown; Kirsten Bates scored four goals and Katherine Biehle scored three times. Down by five heading into the final quarter, the Bears would score three unanswered goals, but Allie Taylor's five saves in the fourth preserved the Triton two-goal victory. UCSD followed the win with a doubleheader on Sunday against Fresno Pacific and No. 11 Arizona State. UCSD head coach Brad Kreutzkamp chose to start the FPU match with a younger lineup, but was forced to throw-in the usual starters after the team fell behind early, 3-1. Goals from Hanalei Crowell, Sarah Lizotte and Jessica Tran would help the Tritons even the match at 4-4 heading into the halftime break. UCSD led by as much as three in the second half, but the Sunbirds battled back to tie it 8-8 with 5:47 remaining. UCSD drew an FPU ejection just 15 seconds later, allowing Bates to convert from five meters to give the Tritons a 9-8 advantage. A minute later, Melissa Bartow added an insurance goal out of a timeout to give UCSD its final 10-8 lead and the team's first three-match winning streak of 2011. However, momentum wouldn't last long as the Tritons got off to a slow start against ASU, falling behind 3-0 just six minutes in. Lizotte, Biehle and Bartow netted first half goals, but UCSD trailed 5-3 at the break. The Sun Devils opened the second half by scoring four of the next five goals, digging the Tritons a four-goal deficit after the third period. Although UCSD would outscore ASU 2-1 in the final period, the Tritons dropped to 0-14 against ranked teams this season. Said Kreutzkamp, "We didn't back down anywhere against ASU and I'm really happy with the way we played."

WHAT'S GOING ON @UCSDATHLETICS
There are now more ways than ever to follow the Tritons. Of course, you've always got ucsdtritons.com at your fingertips, but our social media scene is growing by the hour. Get instant updates on Twitter at twitter.com/ucsdathletics and like us on Facebook at facebook.com/ucsdtritons. For a more visual approach, watch us on YouTube at youtube.com/ucsdathletics.

RENAISSANCE WOMAN
Although senior Hanalei Crowell's 44 goals this season are 12th-best in the country and most on the squad (ahead of Kirsten Bates' 43), Crowell is finding more ways to contribute to the team as opponents zero-in on her on the offensive side of the ball. While only scoring a pair of goals, Crowell dished-out seven assists and tallied seven steals over the three games this past weekend, setting a new team-high for assists in a game this season with five against Brown on Friday evening. She reached 100 career assists with her second dish on Sunday, moving her into sixth-place in school history.

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING
Kirsten Bates scored four goals in a single game for a team-high third time this season against Brown... Her seven drawn penalty shots this season are the eighth-most in a single season in program history and her 17 career penalties drawn are sixth-best in UCSD annals... Freshman Melissa Bartow has drawn eight penalties this season, seventh-most in a single season... Sydney Fitzpatrick received her first action of the year in the cage against Fresno Pacific recorded seven saves... Bartow and Sarah Lizotte were the only Tritons other than Bates to score in all three games against Brown, FPU and ASU... All three matches this weekend were decided by three goals or less; the Tritons are 7-7 in those contests... Lizotte has 10 goals, nine assists and seven steals in just six games this year.