April 18, 2005

SAN DIEGO -

SDSU Water Polo Weekly Release
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SDSU Takes On UC San Diego In 4th Annual Harper Cup; Closes Out Regular Season Against Arizona State On Senior Day
* The Aztecs (12-16 overall, 2-9 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation), after a 1-3 performance over the weekend at the Long Beach State Tournament, head into the final week of the regular season with a Harper Cup matchup against UC San Diego on Friday evening and finish the conference schedule with a game versus Arizona State Sunday afternoon.

The 4th annual Harper Cup will provide SDSU a chance to snap its three-match skid before Sunday's regular season finale and Senior Day game at noon.

Weekly Recap
* San Diego State spent its weekend at the Long Beach State Tournament and went 1-3 in the process. On the first day, the Aztecs jumped out to a 7-2 lead at halftime and never looked back as they defeated Cal State Bakersfield, for a second time this season, 16-4. Ashley Reta led eight SDSU scorers with four goals, while Cia Cobb and Susan Stivers added three each.

Later that day against Hartwick College, the Aztecs were not as lucky, going down 9-7. SDSU trailed throughout the game, but tied the contest at 6-6 in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the Hawks' Bronwen Knox scored the game-winner at the 1:39 mark to give Hartwick the win.

On Sunday, SDSU took on Michigan looking for its second win of the season against the nationally-ranked Wolverines. UM started the game taking a 4-3 lead at intermission, but the Aztecs could never overcome the one-goal deficit as the Wolverines matched every SDSU goal in the second half to win the game, 7-6.

In the final game of the tournament, the Aztecs faced another familiar foe in No. 4 Hawai'i. Earlier this season, SDSU dropped a 9-5 decision at Hawai'i and were looking to avenge that loss on the mainland. The Rainbow Wahine had other things in mind as the jumped out to a 5-1 lead after the first quarter and led 6-3 at halftime. The Aztecs would never find the back of the net the rest of the game as Hawai'i completely shut the SDSU offense down in posting a 9-3 victory.

Harper Cup History
* Friday will mark the fourth Harper Cup contest with SDSU owning a 3-0 advantage. The inaugural game took place in 2002 with the Aztecs claiming a narrow 8-7 win. That year, goalkeeper Heather Stiles garnered MVP honors. The following season, Amber Prestegard took the hardware home as SDSU notched a 9-5 victory. Last season, San Diego State posted a 9-4 victory with four-time All-American Holly Hartzell being named the game's MVP.

The Harper Cup is named for current UCSD men's water polo coach Denny Harper, who coached SDSU head coach Carin Crawford and UCSD women's head coach Larry Sanders while they were attending the La Jolla school. Harper, a San Diego State graduate, coached the Triton women to five national championships during his tenure.

Scouting the Tritons
* UC San Diego (15-15) is fresh off three wins, two of which were against ranked opposition (UCI, CSUN), at the Long Beach State Tournament. The Tritons' leading scorers are Courtney Clevenger and Tobi Lyman, both of whom have netted over 30 goals apiece.

Scouting the Sun Devils
* Arizona State is 9-16 overall, 3-7 in the MPSF and is coming off of a 2-2 performance at the Long Beach State Invitational. The Sun Devils posted wins against Santa Clara and Cal Baptist, while losing to UC Irvine and Hartwick College. ASU is led by its sophomore leader scorers Ashley Bower and Katie Hedley.

Series History vs. UC San Diego
* SDSU is 27-6 against the Tritons all-time with the Aztecs winning the last seven. These two schools last met in last year's Harper Cup, a contest SDSU won by a final score of 9-4. UC San Diego's most recent win in the series came during the 2001 season at the UCSD Invitational.

Series History vs. Arizona State
* The Aztecs are 2-0 all-time versus the Sun Devils with both meetings coming last season. SDSU's first meeting came at the UC Davis Shootout last February with the Aztecs claiming a 9-4 victory. Later in the season, SDSU posted a 6-5 win in Tempe.

See-Saw Season
* The Aztecs have not won more than two in a row this season and have been winners of two straight only twice this year. They did it to begin the season with victories over CS Bakersfield and UC Davis and did it versus Michigan and at Pacific. Besides those two cases, it's been one up and one down for the Aztecs all year long.

Senior Day
* Co-captain Dominique Delgado, Monica DeRosier and Sara Farris will be playing in their final home game on Sunday versus Arizona State. Here is a quick look at their careers.

Dominique Delgado (Lompoc, Calif./Cabrillo HS) is a three-year letter winner at SDSU and had put her mark on the Aztec Record Book. She set the all-time school record for assists in a season with 48 last year and is currently moving up the career charts for assists and steals in a career.

Monica DeRosier (San Diego, Calif./Patrick Henry HS) is a four-year water polo team member and has played in almost every game this season. An excellent student, DeRosier has earned department and league academic honors in her previous three years.

Sara Farris (Seattle, Wash./Golden West CC) came to SDSU out of Golden West CC in Orange County. She played in 24 games last season and has already surpassed that total this season. A criminal justice major, she earned SDSU's Big Red award for academic excellence.