April 21, 2004
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Briefly
Winners of 17 out of the last 19 games, The Loyola Marymount University women's water polo moved up one spot in the latest national ranking to No. 6 as they earn the number one seed of the Western Water Polo Association Championships this weekend. The Lions will host the annual tournament at the Burns Recreation and Aquatics Center as they look to earn their fourth straight conference title.
The WWPAs
The LMU women's water polo team will host the 2004 WWPA Championships at the Burns Recreation and Aquatics Center. It will be the third championship hosted at the facility as the Lions have hosted the 2001 Men's WWPA Championship and the 2002 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship. This year's women's tournament will begin on Friday, April 23 and run through Sunday, April 25. Games will begin at 10:00 a.m. both Friday and Saturday and then at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday. Tickets for the event are $7 for each day for adults and $5 for students/children under 12/seniors. Follow the enitre WWPA Championships online at www.LMULions.com and the special tournament section.
Friday, April 23
G#1 - #7 CS Hayward vs. #10 Sonoma St. 10:00 a.m.
G#2 - #8 Chapman vs. #9 UC Santa Cruz 11:15 a.m.
G#3 - #4 CS Bakersfield vs. #5 Santa Clara 12:30 p.m.
G#4 - #3 UC Davis vs. #6 CS San Bernardino 1:45 p.m.
G#5 - #2 UC San Diego vs. Winner #1 3:00 p.m.
G#6 - #1 Loyola Marymount vs. Winner #2 4:15 p.m.
Saturday, April 24, 2004
G#7 - Loser Game #3 vs. Loser Game #1 10:00 a.m.
G#8 - Loser Game #4 vs. Loser Game #2 11:15 a.m.
G#9 - Winner Game #5 vs. Winner Game #4 12:30 p.m.
G#10 - Winner Game #6 vs. Winner Game #3 1:45 p.m.
G#11 - Winner Game #7 vs. Loser Game #6 3:00 p.m.
Game #12 - Winner Game #8 vs. Loser Game #5 4:15 p.m.
Sunday, April 25, 2004
#13 - 9th - Loser Game #8 vs. Loser Game #7 9:00 a.m.
#14 - 7th - Loser Game #12 vs. Loser Game #11 10:15 am.
#15 - 5th - Winner #11 vs. Winner #12 11:30 a.m.
#16 - 3rd - Loser Game #9 vs. Loser Game #10 12:45 p.m.
#17 - 1st - Winner #10 vs. Winner #9 2:00 p.m.
In Bunches
The Lions have had five different games this season with a player scoring five goals, the most in program history. Sophomore
Stacia Peterson has been doing it at a record pace. The second-year player leads the team with 53 goals on the season, including three games with five goals. Peterson's goal tally this season is already seventh all-time in LMU history while posting the most five-goal games in LMU history with four in her career. She became just the seventh player in LMU history to have 50 or more goals in a single season. Seniors
Devon Wright and
Teresa Guidi have also had five goal games this season. Wright is second on the team in goals with 46, giving her 92 career goals to rank fifth at LMU. Guidi is third this season with 36 goals, bringing her career tally to 135. Guidi's total ranks second all-time at LMU.
Successful Seniors
This year's senior class of Laura Sunderman, Neisha Hoagland, Devon Wright, Rebecca Peterson, Jamie Kroeze and Teresa Guidi have known nothing but success while at LMU. This senior class has won a conference championship every year at LMU, with Peterson, Kroeze and Guidi playing in their fourth year. The trio of four-year stars for the Lions have helped the Lions' program win more than 20 games every season they have been on the team. They have a combined record of 89-29 (.754), three WWPA Championships and three appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Of any sport at LMU, they are one of the most successful senior classes in LMU history, rivaled by the 2000 class in baseball, the 1996 volleyball class and the 1990 men's basketball class. The trio of four-year seniors will wrap up their career at the Burns Center this weekend as they have a record of 38-6 (.864) all-time in the facility.
With the Assist
Senior Jamie Kroeze continues to show her leadership in the pool as she climbs the all-time assist charts in LMU history. Kroeze has 32 assists this season to rank fourth all-time at LMU. With her 23 last season, which ranked sixth, she has 73 in her career to rank third. She needs four more to pass Lucy Windes for second.
Offense from Defense
Long known as a defensive coach, including last season's program record of just 4.22 goals allowed per game, John Loughran and his Lions have turned up the offense in 2003. The Lions are on pace to shatter the all-time record for goals per game at 8.92. They have scored 229 goals in the 26 games this season. Last season the Lions scored 274 goals in 32 games for an 8.56 average. Off all the quarters the second has been the best for the Lions, outscoring opponents 64-26 in the second frame.
Three-Peat
The Loyola Marymount University women's water polo team won their third straight Western Water Polo Association championship with an 8-6 victory over UC San Diego in 2003. As they did the entire tournament, the Lions jumped out to a big first quarter lead. They would jump on the Tritons early to take a 5-2 lead after one. Junior Teresa Guidi added two more goals. Also scoring for the Lions were sophomore Jessica Conner and junior Rebecca Peterson. The Lions would advance to their third straight NCAA Tournament and took third place with a 5-2 win over Indiana in the final game of the year.
Reaching 100
In his tenure as the head coach of all three Lions' aquatics programs, John 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 three seasons for guiding the Lions to back-to-back-to-back conference titles. The women's team ended the national championship in third place in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Loughran has earned three straight winning seasons and three straight 20-win campaigns. His career record sits at 135-69 (.662). Prior to arriving at Loyola Marymount, Loughran led Queens College to a 75-63 overall record in five seasons.
- GO LIONS -
