USC Wins UCSD Invite Title
Feb. 10, 2015 MPSF Women's Water Polo Release 4
USC (6-0 Overall, 0-0 MPSF) won the UC San Diego Invitational title, defeating CSU East Bay 22-4, Long Beach State 15-1, CSUN 19-3, and defending Big West Champion UC Irvine 10-5 in the title game. Monica Vavic and Stephania Haralabidis each totaled 14 goals in four games. Vavic scored seven vs. CSUEB, reaching 219 in her career, and moving into third in Trojan history and 19th in MPSF history. Haralabidis put away five goals in each of the Sunday games against CSUN and UCI, and was the only multiple-goal scorer for either team in the title game. Victoria Chamorro collected a career-high15 saves vs. UCI.
ARIZONA STATE (9-1 Overall, 0-0 MPSF) defeated CSUN 12-7 in the third-place game of the UCSD Invitational (Feb. 8). The Sun Devils beat Sonoma State 16-2 and San Diego State 12-11 on the first day (Feb. 7). E.B. Keeve collected 14 saves vs. SDSU, anchoring the Sun Devils to an 8-0 start. She then had a 2015 MPSF-high 19 vs. UCI in the semifinals, and totaled 50 for the 4 games (12.50 S/G). Keeve moves into 11th in MPSF history with 792 career saves. Izabella Chiappini had a hat trick in each of the Saturday wins.
CALIFORNIA (10-1 Overall, 0-0 MPSF) Anna Illes poured in five goals, dished four assists, and had three steals in three-plus quarters to lead the Bears in a 16-4 rout of Pacific in the home opener in Berkeley (Feb. 7). Dora Antal, Roser Tarrago, and Tiera Schroeder each scored twice.
CSU BAKERSFIELD (5-6 Overall, 0-0 MPSF) has won four straight after posting another doubleheader victory, 14-6 over Fresno Pacific and 12-6 over CSU Monterey Bay (Feb. 7) at Sunnyside HS in Fresno, CA. Nicola Barrett scored a career-high five goals against the Sunbirds and drew three ejections in that game and against the Otters. Brittany Tyra combined for 11 saves over the two wins.
UCLA (9-1 Overall, 0-0 MPSF) was off last week, and hosts defending Big West Champion UC Irvine Friday (Feb. 13) at 3:00 pm on Pac-12 Networks. The Bruins posted wins over Hawaii 12-4, California 10-5, and Indiana 11-4, on their way to the finals of the Stanford Invitational. Alys Williams had four goals vs. Cal, as did Emily Donohoe vs. Hawaii on the first day. Sami Hill had 12 stops vs. Cal. Williams had three goals on day two vs. Indiana, and finished with nine for the tournament. Sami Hill's 32 tournament saves gives her 791 for her career, and 25 away from cracking the MPSF's all-time top-10 list. Freshman Devin Grab collected three goals and two assists through the 3-1 weekend.
SAN JOSE STATE (9-3 Overall, 0-0 MPSF) was off last week, and returns to action at the UC Irvine Invitational (Feb. 21-22). The Spartans picked up their ninth win of the year with a decisive 15-6 outcome over UC Davis at Stanford (Jan. 31). Clara Espar Llaquet scored five goals in the win, and Bianca Seyfert had hat tricks in the win as well as against Stanford. Espar Llaquet had four goals in the Spartans' first loss of the year vs. UCI, while Katelynn Thompson picked up a career-high 14 saves.
STANFORD (6-0 Overall, 0-0 MPSF) was last in action when it defeated UC Davis 16-4, UC Irvine 11-3, San Jose State 11-8, and UCLA, 10-6 to capture the Stanford Invitational Championship (Jan. 31-Feb. 1). The win over San Jose State was the 500th all-time victory in Stanford's remarkable women's water polo history, before finishing the week with an all-time program record of 501-81 (.861). In the finals vs. the Bruins, the Cardinal pulled away in the fourth quarter with three straight goals after a 7-6 lead after three. Anna Yelizarova had two hat tricks during the weekend, one in the final and one vs. UCI, a game in which the opponent did not score until the fourth quarter. Ashley Grossman poured in five goals and Kiley Neushul four goals vs. UCD. Katie Dudley had scored in five of her first six collegiate games with three more goals. Gabby Stone collected 27 saves in 13 quarters (5.23 GAA).