Water Polo Wednesday: UC-Davis Invitational Provides Excitement

PHOENIX, Arizona, February 20. QUITE a few of the top 20 teams in NCAA women's water polo–among them top ranked Stanford, No. 4 California and fifth-ranked Arizona State–took the opportunity this past weekend to rest up for the prestigious UC Irvine Tournament which will take place this coming weekend. Sixteen of the top 20 teams in the nation are scheduled to take part, and Swimming World will report on all the action in next week's “Water Polo Wednesday.”

The only individual match this weekend saw third-ranked UCLA defeated sixth-ranked UC Irvine on Saturday. The Bruins improved their record to 13-1 as three UCLA players–Emily Donohoe, Gisselle Naranjo and Rachel Fattal–contributed two goals apiece. The Anteaters kept it close in the first half and enjoyed a 4-4 tie at halftime. But UCLA stormed back, scoring five goals to UC Irvine's three in the second half for a 9-6 victory.

Fourteenth-ranked UC Davis hosted the Davis Challenge Feb. 16-17 at the school's aquatic center. The host Aggies won all four of their contests, defeating Cal Lutheran 16-3, 20th-ranked CSU Bakersfield 12-7, No. 18 Pacific 12-5 and Sonoma State 8-6. CSU Bakersfield defeated Cal Lutheran 16-10 on Saturday; Pacific defeated Cal Lutheran 11-6 on Sunday, and Sonoma State edged Cal Lutheran 8-6.

The Lancer Invitational #1 Tournament was hosted by California Baptist Feb. 15-16. Competing were the second-ranked USC Trojans and No. 11 Cal State Long Beach, along with Azusa Pacific, Calgary, Concordia, CSU San Bernardino, Occidental and Redlands. USC opened its portion of the tournament with a 9-1 victory over Cal State Long Beach, then cruising to wins against Azusa Pacific (29-4), California Baptist (22-3) and Concordia (24-6). Cal State Long Beach rebounded from its initial loss to USC to defeat California Baptist (8-3), Occidental (13-6) and Calgary (12-6).

Tenth ranked Princeton and Indiana, ranked No. 12, traveled to Lewisburg, Pa., to compete in the Bison Invitational at Bucknell University. Besides Princeton, Indiana and Bucknell, competing teams included Wagner, Mercyhurst, Hartwick, George Washington, Brown and Marist. Indiana lost to Hartwick, 8-7, in the first game but rebounded for triumphs against Villanova (12-3), Wagner (15-11) and Princeton (4-2). Princeton also defeated Wagner (16-8), Marist (13-6) and Hartwick (7-6).

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