March 7, 2004

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - The Santa Clara University women's water polo team earned won its fourth straight game this morning, defeating Redlands 5-3 at UC Santa Cruz' East Field house. The Broncos returned to the Silicon Valley and fell to 10th-ranked San Jose State 10-5 to move their overall season record to 11-9.

"This was a hard-fought battle against a good team," head coach Keith Wilbur said after the match against the Bulldogs. "It was a clutch win for our program, as we're a young team and it's great to pull a strong victory against an experienced team like Redlands."

Bryn Asher and Katie Radvanyi scored two goals each, and Catherine Flynn added one. Anne Ginotti notched six saves, two steals and one assists while protecting the cage.

The game was tied 2-2 after the first quarter, and then became a defensive battle, as neither team added a goal to the scoreboard for the next two frames. Santa Clara broke the contest open in the middle of the fourth, when Alanna Simpkins sent a pass to Asher on a man-up situation for the go-ahead goal. Danielle Mansfield then found Radvanyi for a score to put SCU ahead 4-2. Redlands closed the gap, but a Bronco goal at the final buzzer secured the win.

Radvanyi added four steals to her performance, while Flynn drew three kick outs.

Against the Spartans, Asher added two more goals, while Simpkins, Kellie Dunn and Kathleen Hamm added one apiece. Defensively, Mansfield had three steals and Kristin Barnes netted eight blocks in the cage.

"We played them well in spots," Wilbur added post-match. "They took advantage when we weren't playing our 'A' game. We played them better than the first time and that's the first step, however, we need to play them at a top level throughout an entire match."

The Broncos return to Davis and face Hartwick and the Aggies on Saturday. Match times are at 1 and 4 p.m., respectively, at UCD's newly-opened Schaal Aquatics Center.