April 14, 2002

DAVIS, Calif. - The Santa Clara University women's water polo team fell to ninth-ranked UC Davis by a 19-5 score this evening at Hickey Pool in Davis. The Broncos' record now stands at 19-13 on the season.

"They brought a much more physical game to the pool than we're used to," Bronco head coach Steve Hanson said. "We played well in the first quarter and then they really started to grind us down."

Junior Kelley Mays, who led the Broncos with three goals on the day, scored twice in the first quarter, as the Aggies took a slim 3-2 advantage. Bronco netminder Anne Ginotti posted four of her six blocks during that frame.

UCD opened up a 9-4 advantage at the half, with Mays and junior Becky Hong adding one score apiece. The Aggies took advantage of Hong's ejection in the third and outscored the Broncos 5-0 in the quarter. Freshman Allison Stover added the Broncos' final tally in the fourth period.

"The team did do well on a lot of the things I asked them to work on for this game," Hanson said. "We did a really good job on fronting two meters, but then we weren't doing as well denying the cross pass. I was hoping we could stay with Davis on the weak side, but they move the ball so well, their team is really in sync."

Santa Clara concludes the regular season next weekend, returning home to the Leavey Pool to face CS Hayward. The Broncos, looking for their 20th win of the season, will host the contest on Saturday, April 20, at noon.

"Davis exposed some weaknesses today," Hanson added. "The girls are eager to get back into the pool to work on them. We want to be ready for Hayward and the conference championships."