USC Wins Inaugural Barbara Kalbus Invitational
Feb. 28, 2017 MPSF Women's Water Polo Release 7
USC (0-0 MPSF, 18-0 Overall) has reached a 45-game winning streak, one away from the MPSF's all-time record (46--UCLA, 2007-09), with four wins and a tournament championship at the inaugural Barbara Kalbus Invitational at UC Irvine (Feb. 24-26). The Trojans ousted No. 20 Loyola Marymount 14-0, No. 7 Hawaii 12-5, No. 3 UCLA 10-9, and No. 1 Stanford 10-9 in overtime. Ioanna Haralabidis accumulated 10 goals, the last of which was the game-winner in the second overtime session of the finals. She also dished six assists during the weekend. Maud Megens scored twice vs. the Bruins and Victoria Chamorro collected a career-high 17 saves against Hawaii. USC visits CSU Bakersfield Saturday (Mar. 4) in its MPSF opener.
STANFORD (0-0 MPSF, 11-1 Overall) placed second at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, with wins over CSUN 16-5, Michigan 13-5, and California, 12-9. Maggie Steffens put away a tournament-high 13 goals, recording a hat trick in each contest, with a high of four in the semifinals against Cal. Makenzie Fischer added 11 goals through the four games, including an MPSF single-game weekend-high of five in the semis. Stanford is off until it visits Arizona State in its MPSF opener on March 11.
UCLA (0-0 MPSF, 11-1 Overall) won the third-place game at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, 12-11 over California. The Bruins also scored wins over the host UC Irvine 16-1, and UC San Diego, 19-3. Freshman Bronte Halligan accumulated a weekend stat line of eight goals (three vs. USC in the semifinals), six assists, eight steals, and four earned exclusions. UCLA's MPSF opener is Saturday (Mar. 4) at San Jose State.
CALIFORNIA (1-0 MPSF, 12-3 Overall) placed fourth at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational with wins over San Jose State, 13-6, and Arizona State, 10-4. Anna Illes poured in four goals vs. ASU. Dora Antal, who had a hat trick vs. Stanford in the semifinal, is tied for second in the conference in scoring average with 2.50 goals per game. The Bears next compete at home on March 11 against Harvard on Pac-12 Networks.
ARIZONA STATE (0-0 MPSF, 9-2 Overall) won the fifth-place game at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, defeating tournament host UC Irvine, 12-7. The Sun Devils also took down Michigan 7-6 in overtime and Long Beach State, 9-5. Mia Rycraw collected a 2017 MPSF-high 18 saves vs. UCI, and finished the weekend with 51 (12.75 SPG). Freshman Bente Rogge scored twice during the weekend. ASU travels to the Michigan Invitational this weekend, facing Santa Clara, Pacific, Bucknell, and the host Michigan.
CSU BAKERSFIELD (0-1 MPSF, 8-7 Overall) swept through four games at the Tina Finali Invitational in Thousand Oaks for the second straight year by a combined 64-9, defeating St. Francis-Brooklyn 18-3, Siena 17-2, Occidental 18-1, and tournament host Cal Lutheran, 11-3. Ashley Paz totaled 12 goals and six steals, while Courtney Wahlstrom collected 29 saves. The one goal allowed to Oxy was the fewest by CSUB since 2008. The Roadrunners host USC in an MPSF game Saturday (Mar. 4), before visiting UCSB Sunday (Mar. 5).
SAN JOSE STATE (0-0 MPSF, 6-10 Overall) split its four games in Irvine, finishing in 10th. The Spartans edged Long Beach State 6-5 and UCSB, 9-7. Donia Momen scored a hat trick vs. UCSB, as did Spartan leading scorer Carla Toha Vilanova against LBSU. She owns 24 goals on the year. San Jose State is next in action March 11-12 at the San Diego State Tournament.