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Sophomore Erinn Greenwood and the seventh-ranked Aztecs head to Northern California for three games this weekend.
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Aztec Water Polo Travels to Northern California for a Trio of Games This Weekend
SDSU to face No. 4 California, Pacific, No. 18 Princeton
March 15, 2007 SAN DIEGO -
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SAN DIEGO STATE TRAVELS TO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FOR A TRIO OF GAMES THIS WEEKEND
Coming off a pair of victories in the UC Santa Barbara Mini Tournament, the seventh-ranked San Diego State women's water polo team (10-4, 2-2 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) hits the road once again this weekend for three games in two days. The Aztecs will lock horns with fourth-ranked California in a noon showdown on Saturday, March 17, beginning at noon at Spieker Aquatics Complex in Berkeley, Calif. The following day, SDSU will be looking to tame a couple of Tiger squads as it takes on league rival Pacific and No. 18 Princeton, starting at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively. Sunday's doubleheader will take place at the Chris Kjeldsen Pool Complex on the UOP campus in Stockton, Calif.
The Scarlet and Black has won six out of its last seven games, including a sweep of 12th-ranked UCSB and Marist on March 10 in Santa Barbara. Backed by a superb defensive effort and a late goal by senior Stacy Werner, the Aztecs squeaked past the Gauchos, 4-3, before skating past the Red Foxes, 8-3, in the nightcap.
Following this weekend's slate, San Diego State concludes its road stretch with a Thursday skirmish at Long Beach State on March 22, before playing host to the five-team Aztec Invitational, March 24-25, with Brown, Claremont-Mudd, Pomona-Pitzer and Cal State Bakersfield all paying visits to Montezuma Mesa.
THREE FOR THE ROAD: A LOOK AT CALIFORNIA, PACIFIC AND PRINCETON
California (8-6, 4-2 MPSF) enters Saturday's match with SDSU having won three straight conference games, including a pair of nail-biters on the road last weekend. The Golden Bears needed overtime to dispatch UC Irvine, 8-6, on March 10, before outlasting Long Beach State the following day in a 13-10 slugfest. Individually, Cal is led by freshman Grace Reynolds, who leads the team with 27 goals, followed by junior Molly Hayes with 19 scores. Minding the cage for the Bears is junior Heather Stuart, who has 101 saves to her credit for an average of 7.77 per game.
Unlike Cal, Pacific (5-12, 0-8 MPSF) is headed in the opposite direction having dropped four consecutive league contests, including an 18-11 defeat at No. 8 Hawai'i on Wednesday. The Tigers feature the MPSF's top scorer in freshman Sarah Harris, who has 62 goals on the season, 20 more than her nearest competitor, Kelly Mason of Hawai'i. Junior Kellie Fletcher has also been productive with 41 scores on the year, including an eight-goal outburst against the Rainbow Wahine.
Meanwhile, Princeton arrives on the West Coast with a 9-4 record overall and 2-0 mark in the Collegiate Water Polo Association's (CWPA) Southern Division. Prior to facing San Diego State, the easterners will tangle with No. 9 San Jose State on Saturday at noon, before making a short drive south out of Silicon Valley for a clash at Division III UC Santa Cruz later in the evening. Since a 7-5 loss to Hartwick College on Feb. 18, Princeton has reeled off five straight victories, including a pair wins over Bucknell and Maryland last weekend. Senior Elyse Colgan leads the team with 34 goals, while junior Natalie Kim has stopped 106 shots in front of the net.
SERIES HISTORY VS. CALIFORNIA
The Aztecs and Golden Bears will square off for the 31st time on Saturday, with California holding sizable lead in the all-time series at 22-8. Last year, California claimed a 7-4 victory in San Diego on March 30, which ended SDSU's nine-game winning streak. The Bears also emerged triumphant over the Scarlet and Black by a 7-5 count at the MPSF Championships in Irvine, Calif., on April 29. The Aztecs' last win in the series came during the 2004 campaign as SDSU prevailed in overtime, 6-5, at the UCSB Invitational.
SERIES HISTORY VS. PACIFIC
The Aztecs have never lost to the Tigers in 19 all-time encounters between the two MPSF rivals and sport a 3-0 mark in Stockton. Last year, San Diego State established a school record for goals scored in a 24-5 demolition of Pacific at the Salvation Army Kroc Center. A total of 17 out of 18 roster players scored for SDSU, led by Erinn Greenwood's hat trick.
SERIES HISTORY VS. PRINCETON
The Aztecs have also fared well against this set of Tigers, boasting a perfect 7-0 record against the New Jersey institution. The two schools last met in 2005 with San Diego State claiming a 10-7 victory at the Kroc Center. Nine different players scored for the Scarlet and Black in that contest, including a pair of goals by then-sophomore Elana Cervantes.
WERNER CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Stacy Werner is enjoying another productive season as the Aztec senior leads the team with 27 goals and 36 steals and is second with 17 assists. As a result of her efforts this year, Werner has been steadily working her way up the school's all-time lists in the three aforementioned categories. With her three tallies at the UCSB Mini Tournament last weekend, the Lodi, Calif., native now has 109 goals for her career, which ranks ninth in SDSU history. Werner also finds herself in fourth place with 190 career steals and now ranks fifth all-time with 82 assists.
CERVANTES ALSO LENDS A HAND
Senior co-captain Elana Cervantes also achieved a career milestone this year when she surpassed Dominique Delgado in the season opener against Hartwick to become SDSU's all-time leader in assists. The Davis, Calif., native has since added to her total and now has 145 career assists, including a team-high 20 this season.
WHAT SOPHOMORE JINX?
The sophomore trio of Anna Gonzales, Erinn Greenwood and Jenna Schuster has provided much of the SDSU scoring punch thus far in 2007, accounting for nearly half of the Aztecs' 117 goals with 58. Gonzales is second on the team with 25 scores and has found the back of the net in 13 out of 14 games this season. The Fresno, Calif., native has recorded eight multiple-goal games, including a season-high four tallies against Santa Clara on Feb. 24. Gonzales has also contributed on the defensive side with 14 steals.
Greenwood, meanwhile, has five multiple-goal games to her credit, which is two more than her total for the entire 2006 season. The Sanger, Calif., product leads the team with 36 ejections drawn, is second with a .457 shooting percentage (16-for-35) and ranks third with 12 assists.
Completing the triumvirate is Schuster, who leads the Aztec starters with just seven turnovers on the season. The Upland, Calif., native is also second on the team with 24 steals and ranks third with 17 goals and 18 ejections drawn.
ACC-UR-ACY
Junior Becca Ur has been on target so far this season, leading the team with a .520 shooting percentage after converting 13 of 25 shot opportunities. Averaging just under one goal a game, the Aztec co-captain is on pace to better her scoring output from last year when she notched 22 goals in 34 games. She also leads the SDSU starting six with only two ejections given on the year.
KILGORE WAS HERE
Goalkeeper Sarah Kilgore is in the midst of another solid season, amassing 130 saves in 14 games, which is 11th in the nation and second in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Her 17 stops against Hawai'i on Feb. 16 tied her collegiate best established last year on April 22 at Arizona State. With her effort, the Aztec senior has recorded double-digit saves in seven games already this year and is well on pace to eclipse her total of 10 set in 2006. Her 10 stops against Hartwick on Feb. 8 vaulted her into second place on the Aztecs' all-time career saves list, surpassing Ashley Zabel. With her 666 career stops, Kilgore trails only Curran Teigen, who holds the San Diego State record with 904 career saves.
CRAZY EIGHTS
The Aztecs have scored at least eight goals in nine of their 10 wins thus far in 2007 and have recorded that exact total in five of those victories. Conversely, San Diego State has given up at least eight goals in all four of its defeats this season, while opponents have matched that precise figure in two of those losses. Coincidentally, the Aztecs returned eight letterwinners this year and were ranked eighth in the country in last week's collegiate poll!
CRAWFORD AT THE CONTROLS
Head coach Carin Crawford is in her ninth year at the helm of the San Diego State women's water polo team. In each of her eight seasons on Montezuma Mesa, San Diego State has never finished below 11th place in the final national rankings. During her tenure, the Aztecs have garnered 11 All-America awards and claimed all-MPSF accolades on 13 occasions. Crawford's players have also earned 27 all-MPSF academic awards, as well as 27 AWPCA all-academic honors.
THE AZTEC AQUAPLEX-SAN DIEGO STATE'S HOME SWEET HOME
With its prime location, the Aztec Aquaplex is one the final pieces of the puzzle for the San Diego State athletic department. The new facility is situated on the west side of campus nestled between San Diego State Softball Stadium and Aztec Tennis Center. The 112,000 square-foot complex was built a cost of $12 million and features an Olympic-sized pool for competitive swimming and diving, a 7,300 square-foot recreation pool with a beach-style entrance and a cloverleaf-shaped hydrotherapy spa that fits up to 20 people. The main competition pool measures 51 meters by 25 meters and includes a one-meter movable bulkhead along with two one-meter and two three-meter diving boards.
The nerve center of the Aztec Aquaplex lies in the 5,000 square-foot operations building, which contains showers, locker rooms, restrooms, administrative offices, guest services and storage. The facility, which will also serve as home for the San Diego State swimming and diving team, is equipped with an 8,000 square-foot solar water heating panel that doubles as a shading structure for participants.
Funding for the Aztec Aquaplex, which is being generated through a $16 increase in student union fees, was approved in an April 2004 referendum as SDSU students voted 64 percent in favor of the project. The facility is operated by Associated Students of San Diego State University.
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