Photo by: Andrew Shortall
CBU Welcomes Opening Weekend
1/15/2019 11:20:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Last season, California Baptist University overcame a young roster and a challenging schedule to finish ranked 25th in the NCAA.
The Lancers face pretty much the same obstacle going into 2019. They will take on one of their most difficult schedules to date, with a roster made up of 17 underclassmen, including seven true freshmen, and nine upperclassmen and just three seniors.
For the fourth year in a row, CBU opens 2019 at UC Santa Barbara's Winter Invite. The first game of the season is against host UCSB on Friday at 11 a.m. before facing reigning national champion and preseason No. 1 USC at 2 p.m. that day and No. 19 CSUN and No. 4 UCLA on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively.
"We are feeling good going into the first weekend," Coach Jon Miller said. "It's always nice to get those first few games under our belt and see where we are at. We are in a good position, and we are seeing a lot of depth in practices."
The Lancers have gone 98-68 over the last five years under Miller, including a 17-17 record last season. CBU was closer to several more wins in 2018, with eight of its losses coming by two goals or less (five one-goal losses) and seven of those being against top-21 ranked teams.
CBU finished the 2018 schedule strong, winning its final two games to secure fifth place in the GCC. Defense was the Lancers' biggest strength over the last month and a half of last year. CBU did not allow more than 10 goals a game over its last eight contests, keeping its opponents to 6.1 goals a game over that span.
"We should continue that trend and that should keep us in a lot of games with a chance to beat some really good teams," Miller said of his defense.
There is no reason to think the Lancers won't take another step forward in 2019, as they return a ton of talent in the pool. Three players: Lizette Perez, Grace Ramirez and Kira O'Donell are coming off All-American and All-Golden Coast Conference campaigns.
Ramirez will anchor the defense in goal again after she started 25 of 34 games in 2018. The junior compiled 246 saves and a 9.29 goals-against average last season. Goalie is one of the deeper positions on the team, with Megan Rocha and Victoria Reardon backing up the position after playing and starting some games last year.
On offense, Perez and O'Donell are proven leaders. A senior driver, Perez, is one of two Lancers to ever receive three All-GCC awards in her career and was a first-team selection a year ago. Her presence is felt all over the pool, evidenced by her stat line of 41 goals, 42 assists, 43 steals, 57 drawn ejections and 17 field blocks last year.
O'Donell, a sophomore attacker, was crowned the 2018 GCC Newcomer of the Year after she led CBU in goals as a true freshman with 58, along with 34 assists, 34 drawn ejections and 22 steals.
"It's nice to have that experience. We will have close games in the first weekend, and it's nice to have a returning All-American in the cage and two 50-goal scorers," Miller said. "Lizette and Kira were both able to carry the offensive load at different points for us last year; that's a big help going into the first weekend."
CBU should not have to rely on any one or two players on offense. The Lancers return nine other players who played in 19 games or more last season and four others who appeared in at least nine games. There are several freshmen who should make an immediate impact this year.
"We have a lot of players who do different things and fill different roles. We will spend part of the season figuring out our starting lineup and making sure we have the best rotations together." Miller said. "We have freshmen who are showing a lot in practice, and who have a lot of high level club experience, which is a good thing for us this year and down the road."
Seniors Pua Wong and Madison Gonzales will be the first two options at two-meter this season. Wong scored on 43.5 percent of her shots a year ago (20-46), while Gonzales has impressed in preseason competition this year.
"On the offensive end, we have a lot of people who move and create and can create opportunities not only for themselves but other people in the pool," Miller said. "Our centers had a great fall and we expect that to be a continued strength for us, with two seniors leading at that position."
Center defender is one of the bigger question marks coming in after the graduation of Jocelyn Schwegler and Jaclyn Myers. There are a few candidates who could see time at the position, including juniors Madison East, Taralyn De Leeuw and sophomore Katie Fugit.
Like last year, Coach Miller will call upon several of his true freshmen to make immediate impacts. Kyndall Burrell adds even more depth at two-meter defender, while Maddie Schwegler is a utility who can slide between center and defender. Jamie Hutton is a dangerous attacker who should add to the offensive balance.
The Lancers face pretty much the same obstacle going into 2019. They will take on one of their most difficult schedules to date, with a roster made up of 17 underclassmen, including seven true freshmen, and nine upperclassmen and just three seniors.
For the fourth year in a row, CBU opens 2019 at UC Santa Barbara's Winter Invite. The first game of the season is against host UCSB on Friday at 11 a.m. before facing reigning national champion and preseason No. 1 USC at 2 p.m. that day and No. 19 CSUN and No. 4 UCLA on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively.
"We are feeling good going into the first weekend," Coach Jon Miller said. "It's always nice to get those first few games under our belt and see where we are at. We are in a good position, and we are seeing a lot of depth in practices."
The Lancers have gone 98-68 over the last five years under Miller, including a 17-17 record last season. CBU was closer to several more wins in 2018, with eight of its losses coming by two goals or less (five one-goal losses) and seven of those being against top-21 ranked teams.
CBU finished the 2018 schedule strong, winning its final two games to secure fifth place in the GCC. Defense was the Lancers' biggest strength over the last month and a half of last year. CBU did not allow more than 10 goals a game over its last eight contests, keeping its opponents to 6.1 goals a game over that span.
"We should continue that trend and that should keep us in a lot of games with a chance to beat some really good teams," Miller said of his defense.
There is no reason to think the Lancers won't take another step forward in 2019, as they return a ton of talent in the pool. Three players: Lizette Perez, Grace Ramirez and Kira O'Donell are coming off All-American and All-Golden Coast Conference campaigns.
Ramirez will anchor the defense in goal again after she started 25 of 34 games in 2018. The junior compiled 246 saves and a 9.29 goals-against average last season. Goalie is one of the deeper positions on the team, with Megan Rocha and Victoria Reardon backing up the position after playing and starting some games last year.
On offense, Perez and O'Donell are proven leaders. A senior driver, Perez, is one of two Lancers to ever receive three All-GCC awards in her career and was a first-team selection a year ago. Her presence is felt all over the pool, evidenced by her stat line of 41 goals, 42 assists, 43 steals, 57 drawn ejections and 17 field blocks last year.
O'Donell, a sophomore attacker, was crowned the 2018 GCC Newcomer of the Year after she led CBU in goals as a true freshman with 58, along with 34 assists, 34 drawn ejections and 22 steals.
"It's nice to have that experience. We will have close games in the first weekend, and it's nice to have a returning All-American in the cage and two 50-goal scorers," Miller said. "Lizette and Kira were both able to carry the offensive load at different points for us last year; that's a big help going into the first weekend."
CBU should not have to rely on any one or two players on offense. The Lancers return nine other players who played in 19 games or more last season and four others who appeared in at least nine games. There are several freshmen who should make an immediate impact this year.
"We have a lot of players who do different things and fill different roles. We will spend part of the season figuring out our starting lineup and making sure we have the best rotations together." Miller said. "We have freshmen who are showing a lot in practice, and who have a lot of high level club experience, which is a good thing for us this year and down the road."
Seniors Pua Wong and Madison Gonzales will be the first two options at two-meter this season. Wong scored on 43.5 percent of her shots a year ago (20-46), while Gonzales has impressed in preseason competition this year.
"On the offensive end, we have a lot of people who move and create and can create opportunities not only for themselves but other people in the pool," Miller said. "Our centers had a great fall and we expect that to be a continued strength for us, with two seniors leading at that position."
Center defender is one of the bigger question marks coming in after the graduation of Jocelyn Schwegler and Jaclyn Myers. There are a few candidates who could see time at the position, including juniors Madison East, Taralyn De Leeuw and sophomore Katie Fugit.
Like last year, Coach Miller will call upon several of his true freshmen to make immediate impacts. Kyndall Burrell adds even more depth at two-meter defender, while Maddie Schwegler is a utility who can slide between center and defender. Jamie Hutton is a dangerous attacker who should add to the offensive balance.
Players Mentioned
2MD
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
2MD
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
2MD
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
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