March 18, 2003

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Briefly
The tour of the top-20 will continue for the Loyola Marymount University women's water polo team when they host 17th-ranked Princeton on Wednesday, March 19 and 13th-ranked Indiana on Thursday, March 20 at the Burns Recreation and Aquatics Center. Both games are at 3:00 p.m. The Lions will finish their busy week with a trip to Bakersfield on Saturday, March 22 when they play a doubleheader against Cal State Bakersfield at 10:00 a.m. and then UC Santa Cruz at 1 p.m.

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 and retained that ranking for the first five weeks of the season. The Lions, who have won the Western Water Polo Association championship the last two seasons, will be looking for their third straight trip to 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. Following their overtime loss to San Diego State, the Lions dropped one spot to seventh in the latest poll release on March 12.

This Week's Opponents
The Lions will open their week with 17th-ranked Princeton, who enters the week with a record of 7-3. The Tigers have been in Southern California since March 15 when they started their six-game swing. They are 2-2 on the trip, upsetting UC San Diego 6-5 in overtime and recently losing to San Diego State, 10-4. The Lions lead the all-time series against Princeton, 2-1. The following day, the Lions will host Indiana Like Princeton, Indiana is on a tour of So Cal, winning three games on Sunday in San Bernardino. The Hoosiers are 15-6 on the season and will play San Diego State on Monday before coming to LMU. The Lions lead the all-time series, 3-0. Following the brief two-game homestand, the Lions will travel to Bakersfield for the Roadrunner Invite on Saturday, March 22. The Lions will play the host Roadrunners at 10:00 a.m. and then UC Santa Cruz at 1 p.m. Cal State Bakersfield had a record of 5-12 as of March 1 as the Lions lead the series 4-0. UC Santa Cruz enters the week at 4-20 as the Lions also lead that series 3-1.

Last Week
Seventh-ranked Loyola Marymount University pushed top-ranked UCLA to the end, but would fall to the Bruins 7-4 in an NCAA Women's Water Polo match on Thursday, March 13. The Lions defense was tough in the first half, allowing the Bruins to score just three goals in the first half after giving up eight in their first meeting last week. The Bruins, however, were just as tough, holding the Lions to one goal in each quarter to send the game at halftime with a 3-2 score. In the third quarter, the Bruin offense came alive, out scoring LMU 3-1 to take a 6-3 lead going into the final quarter. The teams would each score in the fourth for the final margin. Jessica Lopez scored two goals to put the Bruins up 2-0 before the Lions answered back with a goal by freshman Katie Hicks to make it 2-1. Natalie Golda would get the goal back for the Burins with under a minute remaining in the quarter. The Lions would hold the Bruins scoreless in the second quarter. They would cut the lead to 3-2 on a goal by junior Devon Wright. The Lions would get no closer as Hicks would finish the game with two goals. LMU goalie Rachel Riddell recorded six saves.

Making a Statement
Several newcomers are making an instant impact in their first season at LMU. Junior college transfers Devon Wright and Neisha Hoagland are among the team leaders in goals. Wright is second on the team with 14 goals on 41 shots (34 percent). Hoagland is shooting 41 percent, scoring nine goals on the year. Freshman goalie Rachel Riddell has had a solid start, making 100 saves in 12 games of work for a 5.520 goals against average.

Youth Movement
Freshman Katie Hicks has already posted strong start to her first season of collegiate water polo. The native of San Luis Obispo leads the team with 22 goals, scoring five in the win over Hawaii in the UCSB Invitational. Sophomore Jessica Conner has also had a solid start to her second season, scoring 10 goals with 21 steals. Junior Teresa Guidi continues to become a team leader, with nine goals, and team-highs with 25 steals and 33 kick-outs drawn.

- GO LIONS -