Feb. 13, 2008
SAN DIEGO -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
NO. 6 SDSU WATER POLO LOOKS TO STAY PERFECT AT PRINCETON INVITATIONAL
The sixth-ranked San Diego State women's water polo team will look to improve on its unblemished 5-0 record this weekend when the Aztecs head to the east coast for five games at the two-day Princeton Invitational. SDSU will open the tournament on Saturday, Feb. 16, with a 10:50 a.m. ET game versus Michigan before its afternoon showdown with Bucknell at 3:30 p.m. ET. The Aztecs will conclude the first day of competition with an 8:10 p.m. ET clash against host Princeton. On Sunday, Feb. 17, the Scarlet and Black will tangle with Indiana (9:10 a.m. ET), before closing out the tournament with an 11:30 a.m. ET match-up with George Washington.
Of the 11 teams participating, four are nationally ranked, with SDSU holding the highest spot at No. 6. Also in the rankings are Michigan (15th), Indiana (18th) and Princeton (19th).
AZTECS DOMINANT IN OPENING WEEK
San Diego State began the 2008 season in impressive fashion, going 5-0 and capturing its first-ever UCSD Triton Invitational championship. The Aztecs won their seventh consecutive season opener on Thursday, Feb. 7, with an 11-8 triumph over No. 10 Hartwick College. Junior Jenna Schuster led the Scarlet and Black with three goals, while senior goalkeeper Heather Fenske recorded a career-high 14 saves.
On Saturday, Feb. 9, SDSU opened the Triton Invitational with a 13-6 rout of Maryland and an 11-6 victory over 16th-ranked Cal State Northridge. Junior Anna Gonzales erupted for five goals against the Matadors, while sophomore Danielle Pelke chipped in two scores. With the wins, the Aztecs advanced to the semifinals on Sunday, where they defeated No. 16 UC Santa Barbara, 8-6. SDSU led 6-3 heading into the final eight minutes of play and were able to hold on for the victory. Junior Erinn Greenwood led the way with four goals, while Fenske turned away 10 Gaucho shots.
In the championship game, the Aztecs trailed 12th-ranked Loyola Marymount 5-2 at the half, but had a five-goal outburst in the third quarter to pull within one (8-7). It was a battle in the fourth period, but Schuster was able to knot the score at 9-9 before notching the game-winning goal with 31 seconds remaining in the game.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
No. 15 Michigan is off to a 2-6 start after a tough schedule at the Stanford Invitational last week, where the Wolverines dropped four games to top 10 opponents, including No. 1 UCLA. On the season, Alison Mantel and Julie Hyrne are tied for the team lead with 10 goals apiece.
Bucknell had a successful first week of play, going 5-0 en route to winning the Hilton Hotels Colorado State Invitational. Valentina Rozas and Haley Prickett lead the Bucknell attack with 12 goals each, while Alison Carter (29 saves) and Rachel McGillis (20 saves) have been splitting time in goal.
The 19th-ranked Princeton Tigers begin their season this week after finishing the 2007 campaign with a 20-9 overall record. Princeton returns nine letterwinners from last year's squad, including first-team all-southern and second-team all-eastern selection Natalie Kim.
No. 18 Indiana (3-5) finished with a 2-2 mark at the UCSD Triton Invitational last week. The Hoosiers fell in the ninth-place game to Hartwick, 8-6. Brooke Zimmerman has been Indiana's top scorer this year with 20 goals in eight games.
George Washington will open the 2008 season on Friday, Feb. 15 at Villanova before making its way to Princeton, N.J. The Corporals had a 6-21 mark last year and return two of their top goal scorers in Greta Pedraza (21) and Bernadette Karandy (18).
GONZALES NAMED CO-MPSF PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After leading SDSU to its best start (5-0) in the program's 13-year history, junior utility Anna Gonzales was named the co-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation player of the week, the league office announced Tuesday. Gonzales broke out with 14 goals in five games to lift the Aztecs to their first-ever UCSD Triton Invitational title. Her efforts included five tallies vs. Cal State Northridge and four more to spark the comeback championship win over Loyola Marymount.
AZTECS AMONG THE MPSF LEADERS
As of Feb. 11, Gonzales ranks second in the MPSF with 2.80 goals per game and is followed by Erinn Greenwood (t-6th, 2.20 g/game), Danielle Pelke (t-18th, 1.80 g/game) and Jenna Schuster (t-18th, 1.80 g/game). Heather Fenske is fourth in the MPSF with 9.20 saves/game.
SDSU IN THE POLLS
San Diego State maintained its No. 6 ranking in the National Collegiate Women's Top 20 Poll released Feb. 13, 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.
CAREER RECORD WATCH
After just two-plus seasons on The Mesa, junior Anna Gonzales is 10th on SDSU's all-time charts with 118 goals, while classmate Jenna Schuster is right behind her with 117 scores to her credit. Also, ranking among the top 10 in career assists are Gonzales (6th, 73) and junior Erinn Greenwood (t-8th, 58).
CRAWFORD IN CHARGE
Head coach Carin Crawford enters her 10th year at the helm of the San Diego State women's water polo team. In each of her nine seasons on Montezuma Mesa, SDSU has never finished below 11th place in the final national rankings. In 2007, Crawford led the Aztecs into the national spotlight with a fourth-place finish in SDSU's first-ever appearance at the NCAA championships. During her tenure, the Aztecs have garnered 15 All-America awards and have also claimed all-MPSF accolades on 15 occasions. In addition, Crawford's players have earned 31 all-MPSF academic awards, as well as 27 AWPCA all-academic honors.
