March 30, 2005
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Briefly
After taking spring break off from games, the Loyola Marymount University women's water polo team will return to the Burns Recreation and Aquatics Center where they will host the 2005 LMU Invitational on Friday and Saturday, April 1-2. The Invitational will feature 16 games among nine teams over the course of two days. Most of the teams featured in this year's tournament are from the Western Water Polo Association. The Lions will play four games, all coming against foes from the WWPA. The tournament will start on Friday at 8:30 a.m. when LMU takes on Sonoma State.
Schedule Change
The game originally schedule for March 30 against USC has been moved to Friday, April 15. The game will be played at the Burns Recreation and Aquatics Center and will start at 2:30 p.m.
The LMU Invite
The 2005 LMU Invitational is the largest field to date with nine teams in the tournament. Seven of the nine are from the Western Water Polo Association and four are ranked, including sixth-ranked LMU, No. 17 Cal State Northridge, No. 19 UC San Diego and No. 20 Cal Baptist. The Lions will open with Sonoma State of Friday at 8:30 a.m. It is the first time LMU will play Sonoma State. The Lions will then conclude play on the first day with Cal State Bakersfield. This will be the ninth time LMU has played the Roadrunners, winning all eight previous meetings. The last meeting came in the second round of the WWPA Championships last year as LMU won 16-8. In the second day of competition, LMU will take on UC Santa Cruz and Cal State San Bernardino. The Lions are a combined 6-1 against the two teams, going 4-1 against UC Santa Cruz. LMU last played CS San Bernardino in the LMU Invitational last year, winning 13-5. LMU defeated UC Santa Cruz 14-6 in their last meeting in 2002.
The Wolverine Invite
The Loyola Marymount University women's water polo team jumped out to a solid start in the 2005 Wolverine Invitational hosted by Michigan on Saturday, taking a pair of games in the opening day in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Lions defeated Michigan State 14-6 and then came from behind to defeat the host Wolverines 8-7 in the night cap. The two wins push the Lions' record to 13-4 on the season. LMU cruised in game one over Michigan State and then used a four-goal fourth to overcome a goal deficit in the final frame against 11th-ranked Michigan. In the highlighted game of the day, the Lions jumped out to a 4-2 lead after the first half. However, the Wolverines, playing LMU first time in nine meetings at their home pool, scored three unanswered in the third to take a 5-4 lead. The Lions responded with a four-goal final frame that was answered by just two goals from Michigan. Freshman Rosanna Tomiuk scored three goals and fellow Canadian Christine Robinson added a pair in the win. Sophomore Katie Hicks also added two while junior Stacia Peterson scored one. In the first game of the day, LMU jumped out to an 8-2 lead and cruised the rest of the way. They scored four goals in every frame but the third to pull away. Peterson and Hicks each had four goals and freshman Alexandra Wike had her first multiple-goal game with two. Also with two was Robinson. For the Loyola Marymount University women's water polo team, the trip to Ann Arbor, Mich., was an opportunity for the Lions to make a statement. And they did just that, completing a sweep in the 2005 Wolverine Invitational on Sunday, defeating ninth-ranked Indiana 6-4 and Brown 13-4. The two wins on Sunday completes a 4-0 trip to Michigan's Canham Natatorium, site of this year's NCAA Women's Water Polo Championships. The Lions earn important wins over ranked opponents Michigan (8-7 on Saturday) and Indiana. The Lions got on the board first with a 1-0 lead after one. They then put the game away in the second with a four-goal frame for a 5-1 lead at the break. They held on as the Hoosiers scored three in the third. Stacia Peterson continues to lead the Lions in goals, scoring three in the win. Katie Hicks added two and Katie Murray also scored for the Lions. In the final game of the trip, the Lions used another big first half to put the game away early. The jumped out to a 7-1 lead and never trailed. Eight different Lions scored for LMU, including two goals each from Dora Szabolcsi, Daisy Fish, Pterson, Hicks, and Rosanna Tomiuk.
In the Rankings
LMU jumped one spot to No. 6 in the March 23 Top-20 poll and they remain at that spot in this week's national rankings released on March 30. The Lions started the season ranked fourth in the nation, its highest preseason ranking in school history. The preseason ranking follows the Lions No. 2 ranking to end the 2004 season. The number two ranking was the highest final ranking by any team in LMU history. The Lions started the 2004 season ranked fifth nationally and closed the season by winning 20 of their last 22 games to close the regular season at No. 5. The win over Stanford in the semifinals and strong showing in the championship game pushed the Lions to the highest final ranking for any team in LMU history at number two. The Lions finished with 93 points in the final poll by the American Water Polo Coaches Association. They have been in the national rankings every week since 2001.
Going For Six
It was quite the return for sophomore Katie Hicks. The second-year player from San Luis Obispo sat out the 2004 season and her first weekend of action back on the Lions' roster was a big one. Hicks scored six goals in an impressive 10-7 win over fifth-ranked Long Beach State on Saturday. The six tallies ties the single game record set by Cara Schindler on March 7, 1998 in a 14-0 win over Chapman. Schindler set the record in the very first season of collegiate water polo at LMU. Over the years there have been five goals scored in 13 games, including one by Hicks in her freshman season. In 2003, Hicks led the team with 54 goals, the sixth most in a single season in program history. Her 29 goals this season has moved her into 8th all-time in career goals with 83.
Top Notch Scorers
Despite the loss of four key seniors, the Lions return their top two scorers from the last two seasons. Junior Stacia Peterson led the Lions to the NCAA title game last season with 62 goals, the second most in a single season in program history. Sophomore Katie Hicks led the team with 54 in 2003, giving the Lions a pair of 50-goal scorers in their arsenal. After earning 10 goals last week, Peterson has 34 goals this season to lead the team and moving her to fifth all-time in LMU history with 113. Second on the team this season is Katie Hicks with 29, getting 11 last week in five games. Christine Robinson follows the top-two in third with 24. Fellow freshman Rosanna Tomiuk is fourth on the squad with 21. Jessica Conner, the only four-year senior on the squad has also seen her share of goals in the last four seasons, ranking seventh all-time with 88 goals. She has nine this season.
Show Stopper
Sophomore Rachel Riddell, who while playing goalie earned a win in the 2004 Olympics for Team Canada over the United States, has started to show why she is an Olympian. She had a season-high 14 in the win over San Jose State and has now made 159 saves this season to rank six in the nation in saves. Riddell now has 480 saves and a goals against average of 4.30 while at LMU.
A First For Everything
The championship game appearance in last year's NCAA Women's Water Polo Tournament was the first time any LMU team in more than 90 years of intercollegiate sports played in a title game sponsored by the NCAA. The Lions have claimed a pair of women's crew national championships, both coming in the Varsity Four races in 1981 and 1986. In addition, the win over No. 2 ranked Stanford in the NCAA Semifinals was just the third time in any sport an LMU team has defeated a team ranked second nationally. Water polo joins baseball as the only teams to knock of a No. 2, as the baseball team did it twice (May 21, 1998/6-2 at Stanford; Feb. 20, 2001/9-1 vs. USC).
Make That 4
For the fourth straight year LMU won the Western Water Polo Association Championship thanks to a 7-3 win over UC San Diego in the title game at the Burns Recreation and Aquatics Center on April 25. It was the third consecutive year the WWPA rivals met in the championship game. Senior Devon Wright started the scoring, followed by sophomore Stacia Peterson and freshman Sarah Hamilton to put the Lions up 3-0. The Lions then went up 5-0 before UC San Diego would score. LMU goalie Katie Murray was solid in net with eight saves. The Lions set-up the championship win with an impressive offensive showing in the first two games, defeating Chapman in the first round 18-2 and then knocking off Cal State Bakersfield 16-8 in the semifinals.
Head Coach John Loughran
Entering his eighth season at the helm of the women's water polo program, Head Coach John Loughran has achieved unparalleled success for the Lions. In 2004 the women's water program set a school record for wins with a 25-6 overall mark on the season. The team won its fourth straight Western Water Polo Association championship and advanced to their fourth consecutive NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship. He has led the team to four straight 20-win seasons and five straight winning seasons and earned four straight WWPA Coach of the Year honors. In addition, Loughran has had 10 All-Americans, 19 All-WWPA selections and 10 All-NCAA Tournament selections. His career record reflects his success with the women's program as he has a career mark of 154-74 (.675). Loughran also led the men's team to its first WWPA Championship in 2001 and then back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004. With the men's program he has compiled a record of 133-104 in eight seasons.
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