April 26, 1998

STANFORD, CA - Top-ranked and two-time defending national champion UCLA defeated Hawaii 9-1 to advance to the championship game of the 1998 Women's Water Polo Western Regionals, hosted by Stanford at de Guerre Pool. The Bruins will face Stanford, which defeated third-ranked California 9-5 in the other semifinal. Game-by-game notes available on the following pages.

UC San Diego, five-time national champion, had its string of 13 consecutive Collegiate National Championship Tournament appearances snapped today by UC Davis. Hawaii qualified for nationals in just its first season as a varsity sport.

The Western Region, the strongest in the nation, sends seven teams to the Collegiate National Championships where they will join two from the Midwest and three from the East to determine the national champion. Stanford, UCLA, California, Hawaii, San Diego State and USC have already secured a trip to nationals, while UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara will vie for the seventh and final spot.

Day Two Results:

UC Santa Barbara d. San Jose State 9-3
San Diego State d. Pacific 10-5
USC d. Long Beach State 13-3
UC Davis d. UC San Diego 2-1
Hawaii d. Washington 13-3
San Diego State d. UC Santa Barbara 7-4
Stanford d. California 9-5
USC d. UC Davis 6-2
UCLA d. Hawaii 9-1
Pacific d. San Jose State 10-9 (SD)
UC San Diego d. Washington 7-6

SD - Sudden Death (preceded by two 3 minute overtime periods)

Day Three Schedule
11th Place San Jose State vs. Washington 9:00 a.m.
9th Place UC San Diego vs. Pacific 10:15 a.m.
5th Place San Diego State vs. USC 11:30 a.m.
3rd Place California vs. Hawaii 12:45 p.m.
Championship Stanford vs. UCLA 2:00 p.m.
7th Place UC Davis vs. UC Santa Barbara 3:15 p.m.

 Game 11 -
                              1   2   3   4   T
San Jose State (13-21)        2   0   1   0   3
UC Santa Barbara (14-15)      1   2   3   3   9

Scoring

San Jose State: Garcia 2, Taylor 1 UC Santa Barbara: Little 3, Eskilson 2, Watkins 2, Hill, Slater

Goalie Saves: Hernandez (SJSU) 3, Seto (UCSB) 4

Notes: San Jose State opened strong but ran out of steam in the second half as the Gauchos ran away with a 9-3 victory. The loss ended the Spartans hopes of making the Collegiate National Championships in their inaugural season as a varsity sport. SJSU struck quickly after the opening whistle as freshman Christy Taylor found the back of the net just 32 seconds into the game. The two teams would trade goals over the next nine minutes before UCSB took the lead for good with 2:22 remaining in the first half on a 6-on-5 goal by senior Kristen Slater. Sophomore Danelle Little led USCB with three goals while junior Liz Garcia paced the Spartan attack with two.

Game 12 - 
                         1   2   3   4    T
Pacific (2-16)           2   1   2   0    5
San Diego State (19-12)  0   2   5   3   10

Scoring

Pacific: Bertrand 3, Smith 2 San Diego State: Baltgalvis 3, Scott 2, Dabbaghian 2, Federspiel, Garzon, Philpott

Goalie Saves: Wynstra (UOP) 2, Tiegen (SDSU) 8

Notes: Fourth-ranked San Diego State used a strong third quarter surge, scoring five goals, to avoid the upset and eliminate Pacific from the race to nationals. The Tigers were the agressors for much of the first half outhustling the Aztecs en route to 3-2 lead by intermission. Pacific went up 4-2 less than a minute into the third quarter sophomore Molly Smith's second goals of the game before SDSU took control. Senior Nicole Garzon, from nearby San Jose, started an 8-1 run by the Aztecs that led to the eventual 10-5 win. Sophomore Larisa Baltgalvis led SDSU with three goals while Cari Bertrand paced Pacific, also with three goals. All five Pacific goals came in 6-on-5 situations. Aztec goalkeeeper Curran Tiegen recorded eight saves in the victory.

Game 13 - 
                        1   2   3   4   T
Long Beach St. (3-25)   1   0   0   2   3
USC (19-13)             5   1   3   4   13

Scoring

Long Beach State: Black 2, Helm USC: Durley 3, Kraus 2, Juran 2, Martin 2, Weinstein, Simpson, Clarke, Mapes

Goalie Saves: Nuttall (LBSU) 7, Orwig (USC) 4

Notes: USC used scoring from eight different players in a 13-3 rout of Long Beach State. Freshman Jennifer Durley led the way with three goals as the Women of Troy eliminated LBSU from nationals contention. Jill Nuttall recorded seven saves and Stacy Black scored twice for the 49ers.

Game 14 - 
                    1   2   3   4   T
UC San Diego (8-16) 1   0   0   0   1
UC Davis (17-13)    0   0   1   1   2   

Scoring

UC San Diego: Lopez UC Davis: Comfort, Koett

Goalie Saves: Hadiashar (UCSD) 3, Morris (UCD) 5

Notes: In one of the most exciting games of the day, UC Davis senior Jamie Koett, a San Diego native, broke a 1-1 tie with just 1:21 remaining in the match to give the Aggies the victory and ending five-time national champion UC San Diego's run of Collegiate National Championship appearances at 13. UCSD's Sandra Lopez put the Tritons up 1-0 just 1:47 into the game, a lead they would hold until the 4:30 mark of the third quarter when UC Davis sophomore Alice Comfort knotted the game at 1-1. Aggie sophomore goalkeeper Molly Morris recorded five saves to help preserve the win.

Game 15 - 
                        1   2   3   4    T
Washington (22-10-2)    1   0   0   2    3
Hawaii (27-8)           4   4   2   3   12

Scoring

Washington: Dyer 2, Kardong 1 Hawaii: Crawford 2, Jones 2, Wong 2, Morrow 2, Umemura 2, Arpin, Lapp, Wasik

Goalie Saves: Watkins (UW) 7, Fraser (UH) 5, Shepard (UH) 1

Notes: Hawaii eventually built a 10-1 lead en route to a 13-3 rout of Washington, leading the Rainbow Wahine to the semifinals of the West Regionals in just its first season as a varsity sport. Nine different Hawaii players scored, including four players with multiple-goal eforts.

Game 16 - 
                            1   2   3   4   T
San Diego St. (20-12)       0   3   3   1   7
UC Santa Barbara (14-16)    0   3   0   1   4   

Scoring

San Diego State: Baltgalvis 2, Dabbaghian 2, Philpott, Scott, Brimm UC Santa Barbara: Hill 2, Watkins, Eskilson

Goalie Saves: Tiegan (SDSU) 3, Seto (UCSB) 1

Notes: Senior Shae Philpott broke a 3-3 tie at the 5:06 mark of the third quarter to start a 3-0 San Diego State run and lead the Aztecs to a 7-4 win and the fifth-place game. Sophomore Catherine Hill led UCSB with two goals, each bringing the Gauchos back from a one-goal deficit (1-0 and 2-1).

Game 17 -
                    1   2   3   4   T
California (23-5)   3   1   1   0   5
Stanford (26-4)     2   1   4   2   9   

Scoring

California: A. von Hartitzsch 2, M. von Hartitzsch 2, Young Stanford: Gardner 3, Best 2, Estes 2, Koblik, Keszler

Goalie Saves: Schueller (Cal) 8, Crary (Stanford) 11

Notes: Stanford battled back from a 4-2 deficit early in the second quarter to defeat rival California 9-5 and earn a berth in the West Regional Championship game. Sophomore driver Suze Gardner got the Cardinal rolling early, scoring two of her three goals in the first 1:07 of the match. The Golden Bears battled right back and took a two-goal lead at 4-2 by the end of the opening stanza on a Kaliya Young goal. Stanford's defense, bolstered by 11 saves by junior Heather Crary over the final three quarters, took over from that point and wore down the Bears. Sophomore Ellen Estes and junior Rachel Best added two goals in the win. Sisters Alisa and Melanie von Hartitzsch each score two goals to lead Cal.

Game 18 - 
                     1   2   3   4   T
UC Davis (17-14)     0   0   2   0   2
USC (20-13)          2   1   0   3   6

Scoring

UC Davis: Kincaid, Comfort USC: Martin 2, Durley 2, Clarke, Kraus

Goalie Saves: Morris (UCD) 6, Orwig (USC) 15

Notes: Junior goalkeeepr Bernice Orwig recorded a tournament-high 15 saves in leading USC to a 6-2 win over UC Davis and a berth in the fifth-place game against SDSU. The Women of Troy led 3-0 just under two minutes into the second quarter but were unable to put the Aggies away. UC Davis drew within one (3-2)an Alice Comfort score at the 4:59 mark of the third quarter, but Orwig kept the Aggies from getting any closer. The Trojans pulled away with three goals late in the final frame. Jennifer Durley and Nicole Martin scored two goals apiece for USC.

Game 19 -
                 1   2   3   4   T
Hawaii (27-9)   0   0   0   1   1
UCLA (30-1)      0   2   5   2   9

Scoring

Hawaii: Umemura UCLA: von Schwarz 4, Simmons 2, Gall 2, Guerin

Goalie Saves: Fraser (UH) 13, Payne (UCLA) 8

Notes: Defending national champion UCLA won its 30th game of the season and its 21st straight to defeat Hawaii 9-1 and advance to the championship game against host Stanford. Junior Catharine von Schwarz led the Bruins with four goals. Junior Karin Umemura scored the lone goal for the Rainbow Wahine.

Game 20 - Pacific d. San Jose State 10-9 in sudden death overtime. Scoresheet unavailable.

Game 21 - UC San Diego d. Washington 7-6. Scoresheet unavailable.