Los Angeles, CA (April 25) - For the fourth straight year the Loyola Marymount University women's water polo team 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 Sunday afternoon.
It was the third consecutive year the WWPA rivals met in the championship game as the sixth-ranked Lions will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championships for the fourth consecutive year. The Lions will play in the NCAA tournament on May 8-9 at Stanford University.
The win by the Lions completes a trend in the 2004 WWPA Tournament as every higher-ranked seed earned a win. LMU improves to 24-5 on the season and equals the program record for wins in a season they set last season. UC San Diego, ranked 17th nationally, falls to 15-20 on the year.
The Lions came out strong to take a 3-0 lead after the first period. Senior Devon Wright started the scoring with 5:30 on the clock in the first period. Sophomore Stacia Peterson and freshman Sarah Hamilton put the Lions up 3-0 with goals at the 2:47 and 1:54 mark of the first quarter.
LMU continued to roll, scoring the only goal in the second quarter on Wright's second goal of the game. The Lions led 4-0 at the break and then went up 5-0 on a goal by senior Jamie Kroeze.
UC San Diego would close the third quarter with two straight goals by Jessica Wong and Courtney Clevenger to cut the lead to 5-2. LMU would get on of the goals back on senior Teresa Guidi's tally at the 6:12 mark of the final frame.
The Tritons would cut the lead back to three on Meris Bantilan-Smith's goal with 5:07 remaining. The Lions would cap the win with a goal by junior Jessica Conner with 2:31 remaining. LMU goalie Katie Murray was solid in net with eight saves.
Championship Box Score
| TEAMS |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
F |
RECORDS |
| UC San Diego |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
- |
3 |
15-20 |
| LMU |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
- |
7 |
24-5 |
UCSD: Meris Bantilan-Smith, Jessica Wong, Courtney Clevenger
LMU GOALS: Devon Wright 2, Stacia Peterson, Jamie Kroeze, Sarah Hamilton, Teresa Guidi, Jessica Conner |
|
WWPA Championships Day Three Results
Game #13 - Ninth Place - #9 UC Santa Cruz 5, #10 Sonoma State 2
Game #14 - Seventh Place - #7 CS Hayward 9, #8 Chapman 8 (ot)
Game #15 - Fifth Place - #5 Santa Clara 6, #6 CS San Bernardino 5 (ot)
Game #16 - Third Place - #3 UC Davis 12, #4 CS Bakersfield 4
Game #17 - Championship - #1 Loyola Marymount 7, #2 UC San Diego 3
WWPA All-Conference Selections Coach of the Year: John Loughran, LMU Player of the Year: Devon Wright, LMU
First Team GK: Stephanie Lombardo, UC San Diego Devon Wright, LMU Meris Bantilan-Smith, UC San Diego Teresa Guidi, LMU Jamie Kroeze, LMU Tiffany Hodgens, UC Davis Brittany Russell, UC Davis
Second Team GK: Amanda Wells, CS San Bernardino Alli Johnstone, UC Davis Lori Mattingly, CS Bakersfield Catherine Flynn, Santa Clara Sarah Reneker, CS San Bernardino Stacia Peterson, LMU Jamie Baker, CS Bakersfield
Honorable Mention GK: Nikki Hall, UC Davis Jessica Wong, UC San Diego Amy Davis, CS Bakersfield Katie Radvanyi, Santa Clara Courtney Clevenger, UC San Diego Alissa Larimer, CS Hayward Kristina Eich, Chapman
For game box scores for the entire tournament and inside information on all the WWPA action go to the WWPA Tournament Headquarters.
- GO LIONS -
