May 2, 2001
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LMU will be looking for its first ever national title as they enter the event with a program-best 22-6 record. The Lions will face No. 2 UCLA in Game 2 on May 12. Game 1 features No. 1 Stanford and No. 13 Brown. The winners will meet for the NCAA Championship game on May 13.
Coming Up -
The No. 7-ranked Lions travel north to Stanford, Calif. for the inaugural 2001 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship. LMU will be looking for its first ever national title as they enter the event with a program-best 22-6 record. The Lions will face No. 2 UCLA in Game 2 on May 12. Game 1 features No. 1 Stanford and No. 13 Brown. The winners will meet for the NCAA Championship game on May 13.
Briefly -
The 7th-ranked Lions clinched the WWPA Championship and the conference's automatic bid to the inaugural 2001 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championships with a 7-6 win over No. 10 UC Davis. LMU advanced to the final after convincing wins against CS Hayward (15-0) and CS Bakersfield (12-4).
Loughran Named WWPA Coach Of The Year -
Loyola Marymount women's water polo head coach John Loughran was named Coach of the Year by the Women's Western Water Polo Association. Loughran has led the Lions to a 22-6 record this season, LMU's best ever, and a trip to the inaugural NCAA Women's Water Polo Championships next week. Loughran is in his fourth season at the helm of the women's water polo program at LMU. Including this season, he owns an impressive 67-49 record with the Lions for a .578 winning percentage mark. This season he has guided the Lions to their highest national ranking ever (7th currently) and to a perfect 14-0 record against conference (WWPA) opponents.
Five Lions Earn All-WWPA Honors -
Five Loyola Marymount women's water polo players were named all-conference by the Western Water Polo Association. Junior Lucy Windes earned the WWPA's Most Valuable Player award. She is LMU's first MVP recipient in program history. Windes, a Portland, Oreg. native, leads the squad with 58 goals on the season. In 1999 she set a school record for single-season goals with 70. Windes is the all-time goals leader at LMU with 182 in her career. Named to the WWPA first team was senior goalkeeper Devon Courtney and senior field player Cara Schindler. Courtney has started all 28 games for the Lions and has made 166 saves on the year. Schindler, a native of Saratoga, Calif., has scored 20 goals this season while also picking up 14 assists. She is LMU's all-time assists leader with 99 in her career. All-WWPA second team selection was Teresa Guidi. Guidi, a freshman from Yorba Linda, Calif., is second among Lions with 32 goals on the year. She also leads the team in assists (21) and steals (49). Rounding out the list of honorees is Danielle Worrill. Worrill, a senior utility player, received WWPA honorable mention honors. She has tallied 11 goals this season and picked up 29 steals. Worrill has been a defensive force for LMU as well. She leads the Lions with 15 field blocks on the year.
2001 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championships -
The NCAA Championship on May 12-13 will be a single elimination tournament with losers' bracket to determine places three and four. The first game on Saturday will feature top-seeded Stanford (26-0) and fourth-seeded Brown (21-9) while the second game slates second-seeded UCLA (16-4) and third-seeded LMU (22-6). The winners of both games will compete for the National Championship on Sunday. Tickets are still available for the event, which is expected to be a sellout, and can be purchased by calling 1-800-STANFORD. Additional information can also be obtained through the web at www.gostanford.com on the women's water polo site.
Weekend Review -
The 8th-ranked LMU women's water polo team clinched the Western Water Polo Association Championhip title with a 7-6 win over UC Davis at UC San Diego's Canyonview Pool on Sunday. LMU sophomore Julia Wald found the back of the net with just 26 seconds left in regulation to give the Lions the victory. With the win LMU earned the WWPA's automatic bid to the inaugural NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship. The game was tied 2-2 after one period with UC Davis sophomore Tiffany Hodges and LMU junior Lucy Windes the top offensive weapons for their respective teams scoring two goals each. A goal by LMU senior Cara Schindler, her first of two on the afternoon, sent the Lions into the break with a 4-3 lead. Following an exhange of third quarter goals, LMU took an early 6-4 advantage into the final period on a goal by LMU freshman Teresa Guidi. The Aggies battled back with a pair goals by Anne Harter knotting the score at 6-6 with 1:16 remaining. Late game heroics by Wald gave the Lions the win though as she beat the Aggies' goalkeeper with just 26 seconds left in the contest. Windes, the tournament's leading scorer with nine goals in three games, finished with two on the day while Hodgens led Davis with four goals in the game. The Lions had advanced the championship after convincing wins over CS Hayward (15-0) and CS Bakersfield (12-4) earlier in the weekend.
Scouting The Bruins -
The No. 2-ranked UCLA Bruins will be looking for their fourth national title with a 16-4 overall record. The Bruins received an at-large bid to the first ever NCAA Water Polo Championships after falling 8-5 to top-ranked Stanford in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title game. Coralie Simmons leads the Bruins with 29 goals scored on the season. Jaime Hipp anchors UCLA's defensive in the net. As the starting goalkeeper Hipp has made 69 saves. The Bruins and the Lions met once before in 1999 with UCLA recording a 13-3 win.
From The Stats Sheet -
Junior Lucy Windes continues to lead the Lions offensively with 58 goals on the season. Freshman Teresa Guidi jumped into second place with 32 scores on the year. Guidi also has knack for finding her teammates and creating turnovers as she leads the team with 21 assists and 49 steals. Goalkeeper Devon Courtney remains steadfast in the net. Courtney, a junior, has started all 28 games, made 166 saves and has allowed her opponents just 107 points on the year. Helping Courtney defensively has been senior Danielle Worrill. Worrill makes it twice as hard for opponents to score as she leads the squad with 15 field blocks.
