April 4, 2006
Santa Clara, Calif. - The No. 20 Santa Clara women's water polo team will put their six-game winning streak on the line this weekend, when they will partake in the Davis Shootout, a 10-team tournament hosted by UC Davis. The last time the Broncos dropped a contest was a 10-6 loss at the hands of the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. However, before the Davis Shootout takes place on Saturday, Santa Clara (17-6) will play host to UC Santa Cruz Friday afternoon at the Leavey Center Pool. Game time is set for noon.
Santa Clara and UC Santa Cruz (9-15) met earlier in the year, with SCU coming away with a 13-2 win at the Slugfest Tournament. Ten different Broncos scored in that contest, showcasing their offensive diversity, with Bryn Asher and Alanna Simpkins leading the way with their five combined goals. Kristin Barnes and Randahl Capurro split time in the cage, playing solid defensive and stopping a total of seven attacks. Randy Whitchurch and Alan Cima are co-coaches of the Banana Slugs women's water polo program and this is their sixth year of sharing the head coaching duties.
"Santa Cruz has very good speed this year. The last time we played them, we had a hard time scoring on the counter attack," stated head coach Keith Wilbur. "We expect a similar type game, so we are going to have to play good defense and execute well in our half court offense and 6-on-5 opportunities."
The following day, Santa Clara will head up to Davis, Calif. to participate in the Davis Shootout, where it will face four teams in two days. On Saturday at 12:20 p.m., Santa Clara will face off against Cal State Bakersfield, followed by a 5:45 p.m. match with No. 4 Loyola Marymount. The next day, No. 13 UC San Diego will be SCU's first opponent at 8:50 a.m., with Cal State Bernardino next up with a 2:15 p.m. contest.
"We are going to have four very tough games in the the Davis Shootout. We are playing Cal State Bakersfield, Loyola Marymount, UC San Diego and Cal State San Bernardino," said Wilbur. "All four of these teams are quality teams, ranked in the top half of our conference and every game will be important towards seedings for the Western Water Polo Association tournament at the end of April. We expect some really good competition throughout the weekend."
