April 2, 2009
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara women's water polo team will host The Bronco women's water polo tournament from April 4-5, at the Sullivan Aquatic Center. Eight teams are slated to participate in the two-day tournament and each team will play two games on both days.
SCU (13-13, 6-2 WWPA) will take on four conference rivals this weekend. On Saturday, April 4, the Broncos will face Colorado State at 9:20 a.m. and No. 10 Loyola Marymount at 2:40 p.m. Santa Clara will close out the weekend with games versus CS San Bernardino at 9:20 a.m. and No. 18 UC San Diego at 2:40 p.m.
The tournament schedule and all box scores can be found at The Bronco tournament central.
Last Time Out
The Broncos went 2-3 last week and are coming off a two-game winning streak. SCU closed out the ASU Invitational in Tempe, Ariz. with a 10-7 win over California Baptist and an 11-6 victory over California Lutheran, who was then-No. 5 in the Division III polls. The two wins snapped a Santa Clara three-game losing streak.
SCU suffered a midweek loss to conference foe Sonoma State, in a 12-4 upset, for only their second WWPA loss of the season. At day one of the ASU Invitational, SCU fell to two top-10 opponents. They dropped a 9-7 decision to then-No. 9 UC Irvine and were edged 11-10 by tournament hosts and then-No. 8 Arizona State.
Lefty Leads Bronco Offense
Senior tri-captain Amy Lamb quarterbacked the Bronco offense throughout the season. The SCU lefty has scored a team-leading 38 goals this season. In Santa Clara's last five contests, the Long Beach, Calif. native tallied 10 goals, five steals, four kick outs and an assist to garner WWPA Top Performer honors.
Stowe: Offensive and Defensive Threat
Bronco 2-meter defender Rochelle Stowe has developed into a strong offensive and defensive threat for SCU this season. In Santa Clara's last four games, she has scored eight goals and drew three kick outs. On the defensive end of things she's tallied five steals, helping the Broncos post back-to-back wins over California Baptist and California Lutheran at the ASU Invitational.
White Bounces Back in the Cage This season has proven to full of ups and downs for sophomore goalie Wren White. After starting the season the Los Gatos, Calif. native broke her finger at the Triton Tournament on February 7. After missing almost a month of play, White came back to action helping the Broncos go 8-6. In 22 starts, she posts 166 blocks, for fourth best in the WWPA, and 13 steals.
Scouting Colorado State
The Rams of Colorado State head to the West Coast riding a four-game winning streak. CSU (13-12, 8-2 WWPA) is holding the third-place spot in the WWPA, one place above Santa Clara. The Rams are led by Ali Pavlik, who has scored 46 goals this season, including 11 goals at the Lancer Invite from March 20-21, in their last outing. This will be the first time SCU will square off with CSU this season.
Scouting No. 10 Loyola Marymount
No. 10 Loyola Marymount (17-5, 6-0 WWPA) travels to Northern California manning the first place slot in the WWPA. They are the only team in the WWPA to post an undefeated record in the conference and suffered their five losses this season to top-10 opponents. The Lions enter this weekend after going 4-0 at the Roadrunner Invitational from March 27-28. They will play No. 2 USC on April 2, prior to heading to The Bronco. LMU is led by Nicole Hughes, who posts 81 goals in 22 games to lead both Loyola Marymount and the WWPA.
Scouting CS San Bernardino
Cal State San Bernardino (9-17, 1-7 WWPA) enter The Bronco after going 1-3 at the Roadrunner Invitational from March 27-28. Their lone 11-5 win was over Fresno Pacific in day one of action. The Coyotes are 0-6 versus top-20 opponents and are 0-4 when on the road this season.
Scouting No. 18 UC San Diego
The No. 18 Tritons of UC San Diego (7-14, 1-2 WWPA) are riding a 1-3 week. They earned their lone win at the Roadrunner Invitational, with a 9-7 victory over Brown. While UCSD has remained in the national rankings all season, they are in ninth place in the WWPA out of 11 teams total. Leading UCSD this season is Sydney Gstettenbauer, who's tallied 50 goals. Goalie Markayla Quane posts 176 saves this season in the cage.
