Jan. 30, 2003
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Briefly
At just six years old, the Loyola Marymount University women's water program has established a level of success programs much older would be envious of. With that success, the Lions enter the 2003 season looking to take it one step further. The Lions finished the 2002 season with a 21-8 record, claiming their second straight Western Water Polo Association championship and second consecutive trip to the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship. LMU will begin their quest for a three-peat with a talented but young squad that has eight returning letterwinners and nine new players on its roster when they travel to third-ranked USC on Saturday, Feb. 1.
End of 2002
The Loyola Marymount University women's water polo team finished the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship in third place for the second consecutive season thanks to a 6-4 win over the University of Michigan in the consolation match of the second annual championship held at USC McDonald's Swim Stadium. The Lions fell to UCLA in the semifinals 11-2 and finish their second straight 20-win campaign with an overall record of 21-8.
In the Rankings
The Lions continued to move up the ranks of the nation's elite as they were ranked sixth in the 2003 preseason poll by the American Water Polo Coaches' Association on Jan. 22. The Lions, who have won the Western Water Polo Association championship the last two seasons, will be looking for their third straight trip the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship. The number six ranking is the highest since they finished last season ranked seventh in the nation while defeating Michigan in the third place game of the 2002 NCAA Championship. LMU follows top-ranked Stanford, UCLA, USC, Long Beach State and California in the national poll.
Taking Third
LMU earned a third place finish at the 2002 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championships thanks to a 6-4 win over the University of Michigan. Senior Lucy Windes scored four of the Lions' six tallies and senior Western Water Polo Association Player of the Year Devon Courtney made several tough saves in the victory. Michigan finished 25-13 and won 15 straight matches heading into the tournament. "We came out with a good start to the game and played great defense early," said Head Coach John Loughran. "Our senior really stepped it up and it was a great way to end their careers." With the game tied at 1-1, Windes took over. She would score with 6:19 remaining in the second period to give LMU a 2-1 lead and then again just over 40 seconds later for the 3-1 lead. Michigan would get the goal right back by Crisman's second tally of the game with 2:49 remaining. The game would go into halftime with Lions up 3-2. Teresa Guidi would score possibly the Lions' biggest goal of the game with just 1:24 remaining in the third period to give LMU a 4-2 lead. Michigan would not go away and would get within a goal on Casey Kerney's goal with 1:07 remaining to cut the lead to 4-3. Windes would then add her third of the game on a penalty shot with just four seconds remaining in the third. Windes would get her fourth of the day with 1:50 left in the fourth period to give LMU the 6-3 lead. Michigan's Mandi Hadebom scored with 18 seconds left in the game for the final margin.
A Tough Rematch
The Lions were put into the consolation game against Michigan thanks to a 11-2 loss to UCLA in the NCAA Women's Water Polo semifinals. It was the second straight season the Lions have fallen to the Bruins in the first day of the NCAA Championship. Last season the Lions fell 11-1. The Bruins built a 7-0 lead before the Lions got on the board. Sophomore Jamie Kroeze would score at the 5:17 mark of the third period to give LMU its first goal. After UCLA extended the lead to 8-1, LMU got its final goal of the game by junior Julia Wald with 4:29 left in the third.
Building A Tradition
In just its fifth season of existence, the LMU women's water polo program has achieved unparalleled success. Head Coach John Loughran has compiled a winning percentage of .620 (89-55). In building a tradition, the Lions' first recruiting class has been a big part of that success. The first recruiting class in program history completed their careers at the NCAA Championship in 3003. Seniors Caroline Guidi, Orla Stewart, Meredith Bellotti, Devon Courtney and Lucy Windes helped the Lions to 80 of their 89 all-time victories.
All-American
Three members of the Loyola Marymount University women's water polo team were named to the 2002 American Water Polo Coaches Association All-American team, the most ever in the program's five-year history. Senior Lucy Windes, who became the first player in program history to claim back-to-back All-American honors, was selected second-team All-America for the second consecutive season. Earning third-team All-America honors was senior goalie Devon Courtney, her first selection to the All-America team. Also earning her first selection was sophomore Teresa Guidi, who earned honorable mention All-America honors.
Back-to-Back
The Lions became just the fourth team in LMU history to claim back-to-back conference championships with three convincing wins in the Western Water Polo Association championships held April 26-28 at UC Santa Cruz. The Lions outscored their opponents 38-6 during the tournament to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Final Four. The Lions defended their Western Water Polo Association title on Sunday with a 8-4 win over No. 9 UC San Diego to receive their second-straight automatic bid. Freshman Jessica Conner led the Lions in scoring in the championship game with three goals. Sophomore utility player Jamie Kroeze put a pair of goals in the cage, which was supplemented by solo goals from Guidi, Windes and Christina Radvanyi. With a 4-3 halftime lead the Lions pulled away in the third quarter with three goals. UCSD put one goal away early in the fourth period to bring the score to 7-4. LMU would get the goal right back to seal the victory.
Honor Roll
Following the 2002 WWPA tournament, the Lions once again dominated the postseason awards. LMU's all-time leading goalie, Devon Courtney, was named the WWPA Player of the Year. She played in all but one quarter in front of the Lions' cage throughout the season. During the WWPA tournament she allowed only six goals total. Lucy Windes, who was last year's Player of the Year, joined fellow senior Courtney as a first-team All-WWPA selection. Sophomore Teresa Guidi and Senior Orla Stewart were named second-team All-Conference, while sophomore Jamie Kroeze was named honorable mention. It was Guidi's second straight selection. LMU Head Coach John Loughran was named the WWPA Coach of the Year for the second-straight season, leading the Lions to their second straight conference title. They added to the list of accomplishments when Windes was a NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship first-team All-Tournament selection. Guidi was also recognized as a second-team All-Tournament selection.
Youth Movement
There was a youth movement during the WWPA tournament, as LMU's all-time leading scorer Lucy Windes scored just one goal to help the Lions advance to the NCAA Championship. Providing the spark for LMU was a youthful cast that has the Lions' future in good hands. Underclassmen led the Lions in the WWPA tournament in scoring, including Jessica Conner's hat trick in the championship game. Conner finished the season with 26 goals (fourth on the team) in her first season of collegiate water polo. Joining her was sophomore Rachel Saal with three goals in the quarterfinals against Chapman and sophomore Teresa Guidi with a hat trick in the semifinals against Santa Clara. Guidi was second on the team with 35 goals this season, giving her 79 in her two-year career as a Lion. Her 35 goals are ranked 10th all-time for goals in a season and her 79 career tallies ranks her fourth in the LMU record books. Saal, who transferred from Indiana, has seven goals in her first season as a Lion. In addition, sophomore Jaime Kroeze adds to the Lions' youthful scoring punch with 23 goals, fifth on the team.
Extra-man Advantage
Having the extra-man advantage was a success for the Lions in 2002. Teresa Guidi leads the pack in kick-outs drawn (57) allowing the Lions to convert 32 percent (52-164) of their 6-on-5 advantage chances. When the Lions are down a player, they have held strong with their opponents converting only 19 percent (29-148) of their extra-man chances.
LMU's Head Coach
John Loughran begins his sixth season at the helm of the women's water polo program at Loyola Marymount University. In his tenure as the head coach of all three Lions' aquatics programs, Loughran has posted total success. He has now earned the Western Water Polo Association women's water polo coach of the year in the last two seasons for guiding the Lions to back-to-back conference titles. The women's team ended the national championship in third place in 2001 and will again earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship this year. Loughran has earned three straight winning seasons and with this year's 21-8 mark, he has posted back-to-back 20-win campaigns. His career record sits at 89-55 (.618). Prior to arriving at Loyola Marymount, Loughran led the Queens College men's water polo team to a 75-63 overall record in five seasons. Queens posted a 25-7 mark in 1995, a 20-5 record in 1996, and won the College Water Polo Association (CWPA) North Division title both years. Queens finished each of Loughran's last two seasons ranked 15th nationally, the highest ranking in program history. Following the 1994 and 1995 seasons, Loughran garnered Eastern Championship co-Coach of the Year honors and received CWPA North Division Coach of the Year accolades in 1994, 1995 and 1996. In 1993, Loughran initiated the women's water polo program at Queens College. A 1990 graduate of Loyola University of Chicago, he was a four-year letter winner on the water polo and swim teams. A native of Greenwich, Conn., Loughran was a second-team high school All-American in water polo and won the state swim titles in the 200 and 500 freestyle as a senior. Loughran and his wife Merritt reside in Venice, Calif.
