2000 Women’s Senior National Championships- Day One Results

Summer Sanders Olympic Pool – Roseville, CA

Roseville, CA—United States women’s water polo received a shot in the arm
back on July 9, 2000 with Team USA emerging victorious in the 2000 Holiday
Cup. The tournament, which featured all six teams that will be competing in
Sydney this summer, established the U.S. as a viable gold-medal contender in
these, the first Olympics to include women’s water polo as a team sport.
Now, less than a month later, its time for a booster.

While no National Team members will be in attendance, this weekend’s
Women’s Senior National Tournament will suffer no shortage of action. Twelve
teams and hundreds of hopefuls, all with their sights trained on Greece in
2004, will battle it out over three days for the National Championship, one
of the sport’s most prestigious titles.

Lauren Faust’s three goals weren’t enough for Navy AC in the opener of the
women’s Senior Nationals. TRAP held Navy scoreless in the first half and 5-4
in the second half en route to the 6-4 win.
TRAP’s Erin Lezak and Kristina Kunkle scored two goals apiece, while Navy’s
Lydia Gardner held the edge in the goalkeeper category with six saves.

Sunset was able to withstand a fourth-quarter surge by Golden Bear Blue,
escaping with a 7-5 win. Blue received goals from Brigitte Donner, Cristen
Razzari, and Courtney Devenish in the fourth quarter, narrowing the gap to
6-5, but a goal by Sunset’s Larisa Baltgavis with 51 seconds to play sealed
the deal.
Golden Bear Blue’s Lauren Dennis had seven saves in the loss.

Golden Bear Cub played Davis tight in every quarter…except one. A four-goal
barrage in the second quarter by Davis made all the difference in its 7-3
win over Golden Bear Cub.
Short of the defensive breakdown in that quarter, Golden Bear Cub was none
the worse for wear. Cub goalkeeper Lisa Berquist cracked double-digits in
the save column, notching 10 in the loss. Davis’ Tiffany Hodgens was the
game’s only multi-goal scorer with two.

Golden West outscored ORCA 8-0 in the second half of play, on its way to a
10-1 win. Four goals in the third quarter and four more in the fourth gave
Golden West the biggest margin of victory thus far in pool play.
Golden West was led by Erika Billish-McCormick’s three goals. Teammate
Teresa Gorbett also put up a hat trick with three of her own, two of them
coming in the final quarter of play. Katie Grogan netted two goals for
Golden West. Daylene Coberly scored ORCA’s only goal with 2:26 remaining in
the game.

Golden Bear scored three goals in each of the first three quarters in its
9-2 win over TRAP on Friday.
Five different players got in the score column for Gold, including Massie
Keely, who scorched the net for three goals on the day. Teammates Collette
Glinskowski and Beth Irwin collected two apiece.
Golden Bear goalkeepers Fana Fuqua and Kristen McGlennon combined for 12
saves on the day.

A strong first quarter by Santa Barbara paved the way for a 5-4 win over
Golden Bear Blue. Blue scored a goal in each quarter, but Santa Barbara’s
three in the first quarter proved to be the difference.
Cassie Nichols scored two goals for Santa Barbara, while Chris Lane scored
a pair of her own for Golden Bear Blue. Lauren Dennis collected seven saves
in the loss for Blue.

It took Modesto/Stanislaus’ Margie Dingeldine a quarter to find her groove.
But once she did, she proceeded to score two a quarter, finishing with six
in her team’s 10-7 win against Davis.
Dingeldine netted two of her squad’s four goals in the second quarter,
giving Modesto/Stanislaus a 6-4 lead at the half. The second half brought
more of the same, with Dingeldine scooting two goals in each quarter past
Davis goalkeeper Molly Morris.
Davis’ Tiffany Hodgens had a good showing as well, picking up three saves
in the loss.

Katie Grogan’s three goals led a balanced Golden West offensive in a 9-5
win over Stanford. Golden West managed to be one goal better than Stanford
in each quarter, 3-2, 2-1, 2-1, and 2-1.
Jocelyn Manderino scored two goals for Golden West, while Ali Riddell (3
goals) and Kelly Shovey (2 goals) accounted for all of Stanford’s offensive
output.

Golden Bear Gold scored 10 goals in the first half en route to a 14-5
dismantling of Navy AC.
Julie Arnold scored four goals and Maggi Kelly scored three for the Bears,
who outscored Navy 6-1 in the second quarter. Lauren Faust posted three
goals for Navy in the loss.

Eight different players found the goal for Santa Barbara in its 11-4 win
over Sunset. Mary Blumberg led the way with three goals and Elaina Zivich
scored two, while six other players scored once.
Sunset goalkeeper Ashley Zabel and her Santa Barbara counterpart Yvonne
Conard knocked down six shots apiece.

The Golden Bear Cubs fell to Modesto/Stanislaus, 7-5, despite a
tournament-high 13 stops by goalkeeper Lisa Berquist. Katie Hall picked up
two goals to lead Modesto/Stanislaus. Margie Dingeldine, who scored six
goals earlier, cooled off and was one of five other players to score one
goal. Berquist now has 23 saves in two games.

Kate Pettit scored five goals in Stanford’s 11-5 victory over ORCA. Ali
Riddell and Tiffany O’Ferriell scored two apiece for Stanford in the win.
One bright spot for ORCA was Laura Holsehouser, who stopped 11 shots on
goal in the loss.

National Team Notes:
— It’s ironic that this week’s women’s senior and junior National
Championships are being played at the Summer Sanders Olympic Pool. On
Wednesday, July 26, 2000, the Olympic Swimmer-turned-Today Show personality
spent the day in the pool with the women’s National Team in Los Alamitos,
Calif. Sparing nothing, Sanders actively took part in the whole of Coach Guy
Baker’s Olympic training regiment. From a spectator’s point of view, Sanders
appeared to hold her own. Sanders, however, would tell you otherwise.

“I was completely wiped,” she said, her 6 a.m. smile worn with fatigue.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve swam and it shows. Water polo is much more
tiring than just swimming.”

After her team work, Sanders spent some time going one-on-one with Olympic
team captain Julie Swail, learning some of the finer nuances of the sport,
including what it’s like to take an elbow in the ribs. Swail, demonstrating
how to get away from an opponent, wrapped Sanders under the armpit, catching
her with an elbow. Sanders, demonstrating remarkable journalistic restraint,
had little more to say than “ouch.”

Once she had toweled off, Sanders sat poolside for an interview with rising
star Brenda Villa. Her day was concluded with hugs and smiles and you can
bet it was followed immediately by a deep coma-like nap.

The show, which will be a part of the Today Show’s Olympic lineup as the
games approach, should air in early September.

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