Water Polo Wednesday: No. 1 USC Remains Undefeated

THERE were a lot of position changes in last week's NCAA women's water polo top 20. Loyola Marymount made the biggest leap, going from 16th in the last pool to No. 13 in the most recent poll. In last weekend's action there were a couple of upsets and plenty of action to be seen as conference play began for most schools.

No. 1 USC vs. No. 5 UC Berkeley, March 2
The newly-crowned No. 1 USC Trojans traveled to Berkeley, Calif., to take on the fifth-ranked Golden Bears. It was the opening MPSF match for both squads. Aided by a five-goal third period, USC defeated Cal 10-5. USC now has a 13-0 record. Sophomore Monica Vavic scored three times for the Trojans with freshmen Annie Espar and Jayde Appel contributing two each. Cal was led by senior Breda Vosters, who found the net twice.

Cal State Bakersfield vs. No. 2 Stanford, March 2
Six different Cardinals– Freshmen Maggie Steffens and Anna Yelizarova, sophomore Cory Dodson, juniors Annika Dries and Kaitlyn Lo and senior Melissa Seidemann–scored two goals apiece. Stanford -dominated the Roadrunners in Stanford, 16-3. Stanford broke it open with a six-goal second quarter and an 8-0 run.

No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 4 Arizona State, March 2
The Bruins traveled to Tempe, Arizona for its initial MPSF match. They were upset by the Sun Devils, 7-6. UCLA now sports a 16-3 record, while Arizona State is now 12-3. Sophomore Emily Donohue scored first for UCLA, with Arizona State sophomore Gao Ao tying it up at 1-1. The score was 4-1 at the half. Arizona State took the lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter. UCLA had a chance to tie in the last moments of the game, but Arizona State forced a turnover and UCLA could not rebound.

No. 7 UC Irvine vs. No. 6 San Diego State, March 2
The UC Irvine Anteaters welcomed the UC San Diego Tritons to the Big West Conference by upsetting them 6-5 at UCSD's pool. Junior Hanna Croghan got a hat trick–including the winning goal–for the Anteaters. Senior Amber Pezzolla scored twice for the Tritons.

No. 7 UC Irvine vs. No. 17 UC San Diego, March 3
The Anteaters traveled to La Jolla the next day to meet UC San Diego, and were rewarded with an 8-6 victory. It was a seesaw battle throughout the match; finally, UC Irvine had a pair of three goal leads in the fourth quarter. Senior Taylor Morrison scored twice for UC Irvine, and freshman Alexis Wieseler scored three for the Tritons.

No. 13 Loyola Marymount vs. No. 17 UC San Diego, March 1
The Tritons warmed up for their contest with UC Irvine with a Friday contest with Loyola Marymount. UC San Diego upset the Lions 11-10. Freshman Alexis Wieselr scored seven goals for the Tritons, including three in the fourth quarter–to give UC San Diego an 11-9 lead. LMU freshman Ivana Castro scored with 1:37 left in the match to bring it to 11-10. The Lions had a 6-on-5 chance with just 5 seconds left, but couldn't put the ball past goalie Courtney Miller.

No. 9 Cal State Long Beach
Cal State Long Beach went 4-0 at the Posada Royale in Thousand Oaks, Calif., defeating Cal Lutheran 17-3, Azusa Pacific 15-3, Occidental 13-3 and Chapman College 12-2. That gave the 49ers a goal differential of 5711 in their four contests. They have a nine-game winning streak so far this season and have a 12-2 record–their first such start wince 2003.

No. 14 UC Davis
UC Davis hosted their 34th annual Aggie Shootout March2-3 at the school's aquatic center. Participating with the Aggies were No. 20 Pacific, Concordia, Santa Clara, Colorado State and Sonoma State. UC Davis had a perfect 3-0 record during their portion of the tournament, defeating Concordia 14-9, Santa Clara 8-4 and Colorado State 13-6. The Aggies were led by seniors Carmen Eggert and Jessica Dunn, who combined for 17 goals on the first day of action alone, and senior Riane Woods, who proved she is back from her recent injury and made a total of 18 saves over the three games.

No. 15 CSU Northridge
The Matadors also competed at the Posada Royale. They enjoyed victories over Occidental 16-4 and Chapman 11-7. Their 16-4 margin of victory in the first game was the largest so far this season for the Matadors. They were 3-1 after the first period and 8-3 at the half. Sophomore Marisa Young contributed five goals, classmate Kelcie Ferreira put three in the net and juniors Jennie Jamison, Holly Henahan Lindsy Nelson all scored twice. Jamison scored 4 goals and Henehan 3 in the Chapman game.

Tournament website for more information here.

No. 19 Hartwick
Hartwick attended the Marist Tournament in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and had a perfect 3-for-3 series of matches against Notre Dame-Ohio (15-5), Iona (16-8) and Wagner(16-10). Junior Sami Capparelli scored four goals in the Notre Dame game, with freshmen Britt Tait and Lilly Gail each getting a hat trick. The Hawks built up a 10-3 halftime lead, and the defense held Notre Dame to just two goals in the second half. Sophomore Kamila Zakirova scored four goals in the Iona game with junior Katie Ermakova adding in three. Capparelli went on to score five goals in the Wagner game, with Zakirova, senior Allison Kosich, junior Jemma Dendy Young and senior Lily Martinez contributing two each.

No. 20 Pacific
The Tigers attended the Aggie Shootout, and defeated Concordia 12-3, courtesy of a five-goal first period. Sophomore Taylor Adair had a hat trick, and goalie Michelle Renton (junior) stopped two penalty shots as well as 10 saves. Sophomore Brydie Pie scored three goals in the second and third periods to seal the game for the Tigers. Pacific held Santa Clara to a single first half goal on their way to a 9-4 victory. Renton had eight saves, and Adair added another hat trick to her total.

No. 8 Hawaii will host No. 18 Michigan later today. Teams enjoying a weekend of rest included tenth-ranked Indiana, planning on coming west for the Claremont Convergence this weekend in Pomona; co-No. 10 San Jose State, who will travel to Stanford for Saturday contest; No. 12 Princeton, who will meet George Washington University in Washington, D.C., Friday; and No. 15 UC Santa Barbara, whose next contest will be against UC Davis on Saturday.

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