Friday, April 23
Stockton, Calif.
3 PM
California Baptist University
vs
Fresno State
Photo by: Zac Zeman zaczeman.com
WWP Preview: Lancers Ready for Sixth GCC Championships, First-Round Matchup with Fresno State
4/21/2021 12:01:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
STOCKTON – Coming off a wild finish to the regular season, California Baptist University women's water polo will look to win and advance in the Golden Coast Conference Championships and beyond this weekend.
The Lancers claimed the fourth and final seed for the 2021 GCC Tournament and will face top-seeded and 11th-ranked Fresno State in the first round. The conference championships is a single-elimination tournament that will take place at the University of Pacific on Friday and Saturday. The tournament champion will earn the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Championships, which will take place May 14-16 at UCLA's Spieker Aquatics Center.
No matter what happens, it has already been a historic season for CBU. The Lancers have matched their best-ever NCAA ranking at No. 17 in the country, and their fourth seed for the GCC Championships is tied for the second-best ever in program history.
The Lancers' best conference tournament seed was third back in 2016, while their only other top-four seed came in their first year as a conference member in 2014. This season, CBU has guaranteed itself its third top-four finish at the GCC Tournament, as it finished a team-best third in 2016 and took fourth one other time in 2015.
CBU ended the regular season with a 5-10 record and 3-4 mark in conference. The Lancers have played a very challenging schedule, with nine top-14 opponents, including six top-10 road games. Fresno State comes in with a 10-5 record and 6-1 league run.
SERIES NOTES
The Lancers and Bulldogs have faced each other four times since Fresno State launched its program in 2018. Earlier this year, Fresno State defeated CBU 22-13. Jamie Hutton led CBU with six goals in the game, while Kira O'Donell had three goals. FSU got hat tricks from Emily Nicholson (four), Daphne Guevremont (four), Callie Woodruff (three), Isabella Sonkoly (three) and Claire Schade (three) in the game.
This will be the second time CBU and FSU have faced each other in the GCC Tournament, with the Lancers pulling out a 13-10 overtime win in the fifth-place game in 2018.
CBU overcame a 10-8 deficit with 2:54 to play in that game, as it finished the game on a 5-0 run, including a 3-0 advantage in overtime. It is the Lancers' one win in the head-to-head matchup, as Fresno State won this year's game in Riverside 22-13, the 2019 clash in Fresno 14-10 and the first-ever meeting 6-5 at CBU.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Opponent: Fresno State
Dates/Times: First round – Friday, April 23 (3 p.m.); Championship game – Saturday, April 24 (12 p.m.)
Location: Stockton, Calif. (Kjeldsen Pool at the Pacific Aquatics Center)
Live Stats: The FOSH
Video: WCC Sports
A LOOK AT THE LANCERS
Kira O'Donell, Jamie Hutton and Melinna Galbraith all earned All-GCC honors this week. O'Donell was named to the conference's first team, Hutton secured a second-team nod and Galbraith made the All-Freshman Second Team.
O'Donell leads CBU with 48 points, 30 goals and 17 drawn ejections. She also ranks second on the team with 18 assists and 17 steals and ranks fourth in the GCC in points, sixth in goals, assists and seventh in steals to be one of just two GCC players to rank top-seven in those four major categories.
Hutton leads the Lancers with 19 assists and ranks second with 24 goals and 43 points. She also has 10 steals, five drawn ejection and four field blocks on the year. She ranks fifth in the GCC in points, assists and ninth in goals. Her 29 points and four field blocks in seven conference games rank fourth and sixth, respectively.
O'Donell and Hutton give CBU a strong perimeter attack, along with Amy Branch who ranks third on the team with 14 goals and 24 points. Two-meters Maddie Schwegler and Vicky Martinez give the Lancers a strong presence inside, too, with 14 goals each. Martinez also has the second most drawn ejections on the team with 11.
Two-meter defenders Katie Fugit, Kyndall Burrell and Madison East are crucial to the team's success, as well. In addition to their defense, Fugit has 20 points (11 assists, nine goals) and East has 15 (eight goals, seven assists).
Kyra Foley has started the last five games in goal for CBU. She has 63 saves, 15 steals and four assists over 10 games and eight starts this season.
A LOOK AT THE BULLDOGS
Fresno State has been a top-12 force in the NCAA the last two years and is looking to win its first conference title after it secured a third-place finish at the 2019 GCC Championships. The Bulldogs are led by Head Coach Natalie Benson, a former Olympian who is regarded as one of the best women's water polo players of all time.
Daphne Guevremont and Emily Nicholson led the Bulldogs, as both were named to the 2021 All-GCC First Team on Tuesday. Callie Woodruff earned second-team honors and Kaitlin Howarth and Cynthia Rosa earned All-Freshman Team recognition.
FSU is balanced on offense, with three players scoring at least 24 goals this year: Guevremont (33), Nicholson (25) and Howarth (24). Guevremont has 52 points with 19 assists, as well, while Claire Schade leads the team in assists (25) and steals (21). Rosa also leads the entire conference with 19 sprint wins and a 90.5 sprint-win percentage. Hope Stokes is the team's primary goalie with 52 saves, 48.1 save percentage and 9.38 goals-against average.
The Lancers claimed the fourth and final seed for the 2021 GCC Tournament and will face top-seeded and 11th-ranked Fresno State in the first round. The conference championships is a single-elimination tournament that will take place at the University of Pacific on Friday and Saturday. The tournament champion will earn the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Championships, which will take place May 14-16 at UCLA's Spieker Aquatics Center.
No matter what happens, it has already been a historic season for CBU. The Lancers have matched their best-ever NCAA ranking at No. 17 in the country, and their fourth seed for the GCC Championships is tied for the second-best ever in program history.
The Lancers' best conference tournament seed was third back in 2016, while their only other top-four seed came in their first year as a conference member in 2014. This season, CBU has guaranteed itself its third top-four finish at the GCC Tournament, as it finished a team-best third in 2016 and took fourth one other time in 2015.
CBU ended the regular season with a 5-10 record and 3-4 mark in conference. The Lancers have played a very challenging schedule, with nine top-14 opponents, including six top-10 road games. Fresno State comes in with a 10-5 record and 6-1 league run.
SERIES NOTES
The Lancers and Bulldogs have faced each other four times since Fresno State launched its program in 2018. Earlier this year, Fresno State defeated CBU 22-13. Jamie Hutton led CBU with six goals in the game, while Kira O'Donell had three goals. FSU got hat tricks from Emily Nicholson (four), Daphne Guevremont (four), Callie Woodruff (three), Isabella Sonkoly (three) and Claire Schade (three) in the game.
This will be the second time CBU and FSU have faced each other in the GCC Tournament, with the Lancers pulling out a 13-10 overtime win in the fifth-place game in 2018.
CBU overcame a 10-8 deficit with 2:54 to play in that game, as it finished the game on a 5-0 run, including a 3-0 advantage in overtime. It is the Lancers' one win in the head-to-head matchup, as Fresno State won this year's game in Riverside 22-13, the 2019 clash in Fresno 14-10 and the first-ever meeting 6-5 at CBU.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Opponent: Fresno State
Dates/Times: First round – Friday, April 23 (3 p.m.); Championship game – Saturday, April 24 (12 p.m.)
Location: Stockton, Calif. (Kjeldsen Pool at the Pacific Aquatics Center)
Live Stats: The FOSH
Video: WCC Sports
A LOOK AT THE LANCERS
Kira O'Donell, Jamie Hutton and Melinna Galbraith all earned All-GCC honors this week. O'Donell was named to the conference's first team, Hutton secured a second-team nod and Galbraith made the All-Freshman Second Team.
O'Donell leads CBU with 48 points, 30 goals and 17 drawn ejections. She also ranks second on the team with 18 assists and 17 steals and ranks fourth in the GCC in points, sixth in goals, assists and seventh in steals to be one of just two GCC players to rank top-seven in those four major categories.
Hutton leads the Lancers with 19 assists and ranks second with 24 goals and 43 points. She also has 10 steals, five drawn ejection and four field blocks on the year. She ranks fifth in the GCC in points, assists and ninth in goals. Her 29 points and four field blocks in seven conference games rank fourth and sixth, respectively.
O'Donell and Hutton give CBU a strong perimeter attack, along with Amy Branch who ranks third on the team with 14 goals and 24 points. Two-meters Maddie Schwegler and Vicky Martinez give the Lancers a strong presence inside, too, with 14 goals each. Martinez also has the second most drawn ejections on the team with 11.
Two-meter defenders Katie Fugit, Kyndall Burrell and Madison East are crucial to the team's success, as well. In addition to their defense, Fugit has 20 points (11 assists, nine goals) and East has 15 (eight goals, seven assists).
Kyra Foley has started the last five games in goal for CBU. She has 63 saves, 15 steals and four assists over 10 games and eight starts this season.
A LOOK AT THE BULLDOGS
Fresno State has been a top-12 force in the NCAA the last two years and is looking to win its first conference title after it secured a third-place finish at the 2019 GCC Championships. The Bulldogs are led by Head Coach Natalie Benson, a former Olympian who is regarded as one of the best women's water polo players of all time.
Daphne Guevremont and Emily Nicholson led the Bulldogs, as both were named to the 2021 All-GCC First Team on Tuesday. Callie Woodruff earned second-team honors and Kaitlin Howarth and Cynthia Rosa earned All-Freshman Team recognition.
FSU is balanced on offense, with three players scoring at least 24 goals this year: Guevremont (33), Nicholson (25) and Howarth (24). Guevremont has 52 points with 19 assists, as well, while Claire Schade leads the team in assists (25) and steals (21). Rosa also leads the entire conference with 19 sprint wins and a 90.5 sprint-win percentage. Hope Stokes is the team's primary goalie with 52 saves, 48.1 save percentage and 9.38 goals-against average.
Players Mentioned
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
2MD
/ Women's Water Polo
2MD
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
2MD
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
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