Mar. 1, 1998

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The 3rd-ranked Stanford women's water polo team defeated host UC Santa Barbara 12-5 to capture the third place match at the 1998 UC Santa Barbara Gaucho Invitational. Earlier in the day, Stanford fell to Bay Area rival and eventual tournament champion California 6-5 in the semifinals. With the split of its two matches, Stanford ran its record to 8-2 on the season.

Knotted at three apiece after the first quarter, California ran off three unanswered goals in the following two quarters that eventually sealed the win. Stanford rallied in the fourth but came up short, falling 6-5 to the Golden Bears. Five different players accounted for the Cardinal's scoring.

For the second consecutive tournament, Stanford and UCSB met in the third place match. As it did in the previous meeting, Stanford came away with the victory, defeating the Gauchos 12-5. Sophomore two-meter Ellen Estes (Novato, CA/Novato HS), who leads the squad in scoring, equaled UCSB's offense with five goals of her own. It marked the eighth time in Stanford's 10 matches this season that Estes has paced the offensive attack. Sophomore driver Suze Gardner (Atherton, CA/Menlo School), a 1997 first team All-American, added a season-high three goals in the win.

Results:

            1   2   3   4   T
California  3   1   2   0   6
Stanford    3   0   0   2   5

Individual Scoring:

California:  Glinkowski 3, Kelley, A. von Hartitzsch, Young
Stanford:  Estes, Gardner, Keszler, Koblik, Shouey

                    1   2   3   4   T
Stanford            4   2   3   3   12
UC Santa Barbara    1   1   1   2   5

Individual Scoring:

Stanford:  Estes 5, Gardner 3, Bell, Keenan, Keszler, Shouey
UCSB:  Hill 2, Nisbet 2, Eskilson