Feb. 28, 1998

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The 3rd-ranked Stanford women's water polo team improved to 7-1 on the season with a 20-1 victory over Claremont and a 9-1 win over No. 7 UC Davis in its opening matches of the 1998 Gaucho Invitational, hosted by UC Santa Barbara.

Stanford jumped on top early against Claremont, building a 7-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Cardinal added five more in the second stanza and never looked back. Sophomore Ellen Estes (Novato, CA/Novato HS) led the Cardinal scoring attack for the sixth time in the teams' seven matches, posting a season-high and career-high-tying six goals. In all, 10 different Stanford players found the back of the net.

Stanford and UC Davis met for the third time of the young season with the result similar to the first two. Stanford, which had taken the first two meetings 7-2 and 9-3, respectively, fared even better the third time around, winning 9-1. Estes again led the squad in scoring with three goals.

Stanford will face rival California, currently ranked second in the nation, in the semifinals tomorrow. The winner of the match will face the winner of UCLA-UC Santa Barbara for the title.

            1   2   3   4   T
Stanford    7   5   4   4   20
Claremont   0   0   0   1   1

Stanford: Estes 6, Welsh 3, Bell 2, Best 2, Gardner 2, Keenan, Keszler, Koblik, Powell, Tam.

Claremont: Unknown

            1   2   3   4   T
UC Davis    1   0   0   0   1
Stanford    2   2   3   2   9

Individual Scoring:

Stanford:  Estes 3, Bell, Best, Darrow, Gardner, Keenan.
UC Davis: Unknown