Feb. 12, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
Complete Release in PDF Format
No. 5 SDSU Water Polo Opens MPSF Play at UCLA
The fifth-ranked San Diego State water polo team (6-0 overall; 0-0 MPSF) will head to Los Angeles to open Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play against No. 4 UCLA on Friday, Feb. 13. The Aztecs are set to take on the Bruins at 3 p.m. PT at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center.
Aztecs Dominant in Opening Week
SDSU began the 2009 campaign in impressive fashion, going 6-0 in the opening week and brought a second-consecutive UCSD Triton Invitational championship back to Montezuma Mesa. The Aztecs won their eight-consecutive season opener on Thursday, Feb. 5, with a 15-12 victory over No. 14 Hartwick College. Senior Anna Gonzales erupted for six goals, a season and career-high. Classmate Jenna Schuster added five scores of her own, while senior Erinn Greenwood, junior Ronni Gautschi and sophomores Sarah Brady and Brooke Vessey each added one tally. Senior Katie Bentley recorded eight saves in the goal.
On Friday, Feb. 6, San Diego State hit the pool once again, this time dominating Marist 12-3 with eight Aztecs finding the back of the net. Gonzales recorded a hat trick to pace the Aztec offense as Schuster and Vessey each added a pair. Greenwood, junior Melissa de Jonckheere, Brady and Kierstin Hill each added one goal. Freshman Kimmy Keach also scored her first collegiate goal in the fourth quarter. Freshman goalie Kelly Campoli also saw her first action at the collegiate level, pulling down eight saves.
San Diego State traveled across town on Saturday, Feb. 7. SDSU opened the UCSD Triton Invitational with a 14-6 rout of Maryland and a 10-8 victory over 12th-ranked UC Irvine. Greenwood led all scorers with four goals against Maryland as four Aztecs posted multiple-goal performances. With the wins, SDSU advanced to the semifinals on Sunday, where they defeated No. 8 Michigan, 9-6. SDSU opened the game with two straight goals from Greenwood and junior co-captain
Danielle Pelke. Campoli held down the Aztec defensive effort recording 12 saves, two steals and one assist.
In the championship game, San Diego State opened up scoring as Gonzales fired three straight goals in the first quarter to establish a 4-1 lead. SDSU held on strong to a two-goal lead throughout most of the game. Sophomore Brooke Vessey found the perfect time to score her first goals over the weekend when she broke out for three scores in the championship match. In just her fourth collegiate game, Campoli pulled down 14 saves, with two of those coming by way of five-meter penalty shots to help the Aztecs claim the tournament crown.
A Look at the Bruins
UCLA is coming off a rough weekend at the Stanford Invitational as the Bruins watched their 46-game winning streak come to an end. The winning streak was snapped on the opening day of the Stanford Invitational. After defeating tenth-ranked San Jose State 13-6, third-ranked UCLA was taken down by fourth-ranked Hawaii, 13-12, for the first time in their program's history. The weekend would not get much better for the Bruins as they lost the third-place game to Stanford the following day, 10-5, to settle for fourth place at the invite.
Adam Krikorian is in his 11th year at the helm of the Bruin women's water polo program and boasts an impressive 268-40 record.
Gonzales Named Co-MPSF Player of the Week
After leading SDSU with 22 goals scored over the six matches, senior utility Anna Gonzales was named the co-MPSF Mikasa Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday. She broke out with 13 goals in four games to lead the Aztecs to their second-consecutive UCSD Triton Invitational title.
Aztecs Among the MPSF Leaders
As of Feb. 10, senior All-American Anna Gonzales is the league leader in goals in the MPSF. After racking up 22 goals in six matches this season, the Fresno, Calif. native is averaging 3.67 goals per game. Senior All-American Jenna Schuster sits in 8th in the league standings (2.33 g/game) and rounding out the top-20 is senior Erinn Greenwood in 18th place (1.50 g/game).
SDSU freshman Kelly Campoli leads the league in saves per game this season. The Lake Forest, Calif. product amassed 44 saves in a four game span to put her average at 11.00 saves per game, well above Cal's freshman goalie Stephanie Peckham, who's averaging 7.42 saves per game (89 saves in 12 games).
As a team, San Diego State sits in third place in the league standings for team goals scored. The Aztecs offense has already put up 72 scores in 6 games (12.00 goals per game). They sit one goal behind top-ranked USC. Cal takes the top spot, having already netted 185 scores in 12 games (15.42 goals per game).
Moving On Up
In just three-plus seasons on The Mesa, seniors Anna Gonzales, Jenna Schuster and Erinn Greenwood are all moving up the SDSU all-time charts. After the first week of play in 2009, Gonzales and Schuster sit in a tie for 4th on SDSU's all-time charts with 205 scores to each's credit. They are both 15 away from tying for the third spot. Also, ranking among the top 10 in career assists are Gonzales (5th, 107) and Greenwood (6th, 96). All three currently sit in the top 10 for career ejections drawn with Greenwood in third place (229), followed by Schuster (8th, 93) and Gonzales (9th, 89). In addition, Gonzales is also climbing the record book with 139 career steals, which is good enough for 8th place. Gonzales' six goals scored against Hartwick College ranks third on the SDSU single-game records list.
SDSU in the Polls
San Diego State maintained its No. 5 ranking in the National Collegiate Women's Top 20 Poll released Feb. 11 by the Collegiate Water Polo Association. Since the beginning of the 2006 season, the Aztecs have earned a top-10 ranking every week that the poll has been released.
Crawford at the Controls
Head coach Carin Crawford enters her 11th year at the helm of the San Diego State women's water polo team. In each of her 10 seasons on Montezuma Mesa, SDSU has never finished below 11th place in the final national rankings. In 2008, Crawford led the Aztecs to their second consecutive appearance at the NCAA championships, where SDSU finished fifth. During her tenure, the Aztecs have garnered 17 All-America awards and have also claimed 18 all-MPSF accolades. In addition, Crawford's players have earned 36 all-MPSF academic awards, as well as 30 AWPCA all-academic honors.
