March 27, 2009
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- After suffering a setback midweek loss, the No. 20 Santa Clara women's water polo team looks to return to their winning ways this weekend at the ASU Invitational in Tempe, Ariz. The six-team Arizona State hosted tournament will slate two days chalk full of water polo action from March 28-29. On Saturday, March 28, SCU will take on No. 9 UC Irvine at 9:45 a.m. for the second time this season. In the afternoon, the Broncos (11-11, 6-2 WWPA) will square off with host's No. 8 Arizona State at 4:20 p.m. The following day Santa Clara will face off with California Baptist at 8:15 a.m. and conclude the weekend with California Lutheran, who is ranked No. 5 in the Division III polls, at 12:35 p.m.
"After dropping a road game at Sonoma this week, we are looking forward to playing some high caliber water polo versus four strong teams," said head coach Keith Wilbur. "We will need to ignite both our offense and defense to have good results this weekend."
Last Time Out
The Broncos dropped a disappointing 12-4 loss to conference rival Sonoma State on Thursday, March 26. SCU, who had defeated the Seawolves 8-7 in double overtime at home on February 1, could not get their offense rolling, as they were stunned by the hosting SSU team. Marina Allen, Amy Lamb, Claire Linney and Meg Zimmerman tallied the four goals scored for Santa Clara and goalie Wren White posted 12 blocks in the cage. The Broncos offense struggled to move the ball around and reach the back of the net in Sonoma's non-regulation sized pool. SCU did tally 14 steals and seven kick outs in the game.
Scouting No. 9 UC Irvine
The Broncos look to avenge their 14-8 loss this season versus No. 9 UC Irvine. The Anteaters (13-6) head to Arizona after going 1-1 this week. On March 24, they defeated Brown 12-7, and fell to the top-ranked Cardinal of Stanford 14-7 two days later. This season UCI has split time between Lauren Davis and Morgan Vickers in the cage. The tandem posts 117 saves and 141 goals against. Davis, the primary goalie for the Anteaters, has 63 saves and 69 goals allowed in 326 minutes played. Offensively, Gianna Rossi and Julia Fancher lead UCI with 35 and 30 goals, respectively.
Scouting No. 8 Arizona State
The eight-ranked Sun Devils of Arizona State host the ASU Invitational after going 1-5 since February 22. ASU saw their only win in the last month on March 13, at Pomona-Pitzer. The 15-3 victory and one-game win streak was short lived, as they fell 15-6 to then No. 2 USC the following day. Arizona State is just over .500 this season with a 10-9 overall record and the Sun Devils have yet to see a conference victory with a 0-4 MPSF record. ASU is led offensively by Addison McGrath, who's tallied 48 goals in 19 games played. Goalie Dana Harvey posts 112 saves in 17 games played in the cage. She has allowed 148 goals to reach the back of the net this season.
Scouting California Baptist
California Baptist (17-10) travels to Tempe, Ariz. after earning a 15-6 win over Chapman on March 24. Four different Lancers recorded hat tricks in the home contest and goalie Camryn Rogers had a game-high of 13 saves in the cage. Rogers posts 61 saves, 17 steals and eight assists this season. Jennifer Grutz leads CBU with 71 goals, 37 steals and five assists on the season. Her goal total is almost twice as many as her fellow teammates.
Scouting California Lutheran
California Lutheran is currently manning the No. 5 national ranking in the Division III polls this week. The Regals head ASU after earning 10th win of the season over Whittier on March 25. The 17-11 victory was a season-high goal scoring record for Cal Lutheran. CLU (10-9) has won their last four straight games and seven of its last nine. Meredith Butte leads the Regals this season offensively. On March 15, she was the fifth player in CLU history to reach 100 goals scored.
