BERKELEY, Calif. - The Stanford women's water polo team opened the season as the top-ranked team in the nation should, with a 15-5 rout of No. 15 UC Santa Barbara at the NorCal Invitational in Berkeley Saturday. The Cardinal featured seven different goal scorers as freshman Annika Dries and sophomore Melissa Seidemann each posted a hat trick in the win.

Dries, making her collegiate debut, led the Cardinal (1-0) with four goals in the contest, while Seidemann netted three from her two-meter spot. Seniors Kelsey Holshouser and Alex Koran each scored twice, as did junior Kim Krueger. Additional goals were scored by sophomore Cassie Churnside and freshman Victoria Kennedy.

Goalies Amber Oland and Kate Baldoni each played a half in the cage. Oland, entering her junior season, made eight saves and allowed only the two second-period goals to the Gauchos. Baldoni, a freshman from Newport Beach, Calif., took over in the cage after the break and made six saves over the final 16 minutes.

The Cardinal started quickly Saturday, taking a 4-0 lead after the opening period. The advantage swelled to 8-2 by halftime, with Stanford firmly in control.

Stanford will close out its participation at the NorCal Invitational with a doubleheader on Sunday, opening up with an 8 a.m. contest against CSU Monterey Bay, followed by an 11:45 a.m. game against Pacific.

UCSB - 0 2 1 2 = 5
Stanford - 4 4 3 4 = 15

Stanford Goal Scorers: Dries 4, Seidemann 3, Holshouser 2, Koran 2, Krueger 2, Churnside, Kennedy
UCSB Goal Scorers: Buchanan, Clark, Dreyer, Nelson, van Alphen
Goalies Saves: Oland 8, Baldoni 6 (S); Milne 9 (UCSB)