The Aztecs will play five games in four days this week.

Feb. 5, 2013

SAN DIEGO - 2013 Season Preview

The No. 7 San Diego State women's water polo team will come off their Lancer Mini Invite sweep to take on No. 16 Hartwick this Thursday, Feb. 7. The two ranked teams will battle at Aztec Aquaplex at 3 p.m. PT. Following the home opener, SDSU will compete at the Triton Invitational starting Saturday.

In their last outing, the Aztecs (5-1) swept a doubleheader at the Lancer Mini Invite, defeating CSU San Bernardino, 17-3, and CSU Bakersfield, 10-6, on Feb. 2 in Riverside, Calif.

San Diego State faced San Bernardino for the first time after 18 years as a varsity sport. The Aztecs introduced themselves to the Coyotes by scoring the first 10 goals of the game before CSUSB could respond. Leading into halftime, the score was an overwhelmingly 10-1. Amber Pezzolla, Anique Hermann and Madeline Schwartz scored three goals apiece to lead the Aztecs to the 17-3 victory over CSUSB.

Later that afternoon, the Aztecs confronted a challenging CSU Bakersfield squad. Although the score stayed tight the entire game, the Aztecs never trailed. After leading a halftime, 5-4, the Aztecs outscored the Roadrunners 2-0 in the third quarter. The Roadrunners were able to get the score as close as 8-6 in the fourth before the Aztecs pulled ahead to secure the 10-6 win. Bailey Wickliffe was the leading scorer in the game with three goals.

On the season, Pezzolla leads the team with a .679 shooting percentage and 19 goals scored followed by Hermann and Wickliffe with seven goals apiece. Hermann also leads the team in assists with eight. Goalkeeper Rachel Mitchell has 87 saves for the season.

The Aztecs are 6-2 in eight all-time meetings with Hartwick. Last year, the Aztecs were ranked No. 9 and defeated No. 15 Hartwick, 16-6, at Aztec Aquaplex to continue what would end up being an eight-game winning streak. On that day, Pezzolla contributed four goals in the win.

Following the game against Hartwick, the Aztecs will begin the UCSD Triton Invitational this weekend, a tournament in which they finished in third place a year ago. On Saturday, San Diego State will open with Santa Clara at 11:10 a.m. PT. Later in the afternoon at either 4:30 p.m. PT or 5:50 p.m. PT, SDSU will face either Michigan or Long Beach State. Earlier this season, the Aztecs defeated Michigan at Ann Arbor in double overtime, 11-10. The tournament will wrap up on Sunday with a pair of games.