Women's Water Polo Weekly Release
April 28, 2008
UCLA (30-0 overall/12-0 MPSF) improved to 30-0 overall and extended its win streak to 38 straight by repeating as MPSF Tournament Champions. The Bruins topped San Jose State (12-1), Hawaii (8-6), and USC (8-7). Senior Jillian Kraus was named to the all-tournament team, while senior Courtney Mathewson was tournament MVP with seven goals. She tallied a hat trick in the championship game. The Bruins are the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, May 9-11 in Palo Alto, CA, first meeting No. 8 seed Pomona-Pitzer Friday (May 9) at 5 pm.
USC (19-7 overall/10-2 MPSF) was the tournament runner-up, following a 2-1 weekend. The Trojans topped Arizona State (12-6) and edged No. 2 Stanford (5-4) in overtime. Senior Veronika Bartunkova earned all-tournament honors. USC is seeded third as an NCAA At-Large selection, and takes on No. 6 seed Michigan Friday (May 9) at 3:15 pm.
STANFORD (25-4 overall/11-1 MPSF) won two of three and claimed the Bronze in San Diego with a 10-8 win over Hawaii. Senior Lauren Silver was named to the all-tournament team. Palo Alto is the site of this year's NCAA Tournament, May 9-11, where the Cardinal is the No. 2 seed, facing No. 7 Marist Friday (May 9) at 1:30 pm.
HAWAII (20-10 overall/7-5 MPSF) placed fourth and picked up tournament wins over UCSB (15-11) and No. 4 seed San Diego State (10-9). Junior Angela Turnbull scored five goals vs. UCSB while junior Lisa Van Raalte added three vs. SDSU. Junior Kelly Mason was named to the all-tournament team.
SAN DIEGO STATE (29-6 overall/8-4 MPSF) hosted this year's MPSF Tournament and turned in a 3-1 weekend. Junior all-tournament honoree Jenna Schuster totaled eight goals while junior Anna Gonzales added six. The Aztecs claimed one of the weekend's most thrilling games, a 12-11 overtime win over California in Sunday's fifth-place contest. The Aztecs received the final at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, and will be the four-seed playing No. 5 UC Davis Friday (May 9) at 6:45 pm.
CALIFORNIA (18-11 overall/6-6 MPSF) took sixth in splitting four MPSF Tournament games, with wins over Long Beach State (10-7) in the first-round and Arizona State (11-8) on day three. Senior Molly Hayes tallied five goals in the win over the Sun Devils. Sophomore Grace Reynolds had a hat trick vs. the 49ers.
SAN JOSE STATE (16-15 overall/4-8 MPSF) split four games at the tournament, including a win in the seventh-place game over Arizona State (12-8). Junior Juliet Moss combined for eight goals and ended with 60 on the year (1.94).
ARIZONA STATE (21-13 overall/7-5 MPSF) won its opening game, 10-8 over CS Northridge, before dropping the next three. Senior MPSF scoring leader Addison McGrath scored three goals in the win, while the Sun Devils also delivered a 4-0 fourth period in the comeback. In a memorable year, ASU knocked off three top-four opponents, while McGrath ended atop the league with 81 goals (2.45 GPG). Senior goalkeeper Caylinn Wallace also led the MPSF in saves with 346 (10.18 SPG).
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (14-18 overall/2-10 MPSF) claimed ninth-place with two victories, both one-goal decisions. The Matadors edged UC Irvine (7-6) for ninth following a tight win over Long Beach State (8-7) the day before. Sophomore goalkeeper Jillian Stapf notched 10 saves vs. UCI, 13 vs. LBSU. Junior Jessica Coy tallied three goals vs. the 49ers.
UC IRVINE (16-12 overall/6-6 MPSF) took one of three, with the win against UCSB 7-5 on day three. The Anteaters scored five goals in the first quarter in that game. Senior Lauren Machanis stopped 12 shots and junior Julia Fancher nailed a hat trick.
LONG BEACH STATE (16-17 overall/4-8 MPSF) finished 11th, winning one of three. The 49ers took 11th-place in a fourth quarter comeback against UCSB, 8-6, as freshman Lauren Sieprath and sophomore Cecilia Canetti each scored a hat trick on the day. Senior Dayna Wawrzynski led the 49ers with 68 goals this year (2.06 GPG).
UC SANTA BARBARA (6-21 overall/1-11 MPSF) placed 12th in a 1-3 weekend, with the win against Pacific 10-7 on day two. The Gauchos were led by junior Gillian Morgan this year, posting-------goals
PACIFIC (4-27 overall/0-12 MPSF) lost both of its games, 16-2 to San Diego State and 10-7 to UCSB. The Tigers were led by one of the top scorers in the conference, senior Kellie Fletcher, with 74 goals (2.47 GPG).
MATHEWSON OF UCLA NAMED MPSF TOURNAMENT MVP UCLA senior attacker Courtney Mathewson (Anaheim Hills, CA/Canyon HS) was named MPSF Tournament Most Valuable Player as voted on by the conference coaches. She scored four goals in the semi-final win over Hawaii and three more in the championship against USC. Mathewson owns 50 goals on the year in 30 games (1.67 GPG) heading into the NCAA Tournament.