California Baptist University
San Diego State University
The Lancers Close Out 2024 Regular Season on Senior Day
4/20/2024 3:50:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
RIVERSIDE--- The 2024 regular season concluded on Saturday afternoon as the California Baptist University women's water polo team battled #23 San Diego State at the Lancer Aquatics Center for Senior Day. The Lancers would nearly complete a comeback, but the Aztecs would come away with the 13-10 victory.
The win for the Aztecs guarantees them a top 4 spot in the final standings, while the Lancers will snag the fifth spot for the Gold Coast Conference Tournament. CBU's three GCC wins this season are tied for the most since they joined the conference in 2017, and their five home victories are tied for the most since 2019.
The Lancers would honor their lone senior, Melissa Quon, ahead of the match before going toe-to-toe with the 23rd-ranked Aztecs. The Aztecs came out swinging in the pivotal conference match, putting up three unanswered goals before a Delila Moreno goal broke up the run. San Diego State would string together another 3-0 run to take their largest lead of the afternoon at 6-1.
After falling behind by five, CBU would find some rhythm to close out the half, netting four of the next five goals by four different goal scorers. Reese Beringer would start the run with a lob shot over the top of a double team and Cayleigh Carter would end the run off of a power play. The run closed the gap to three goals as the Lancers would trail 6-9 at the break. The Aztecs would open the second half with a quick goal, but CBU would respond again with a run, scoring three of the next four.
The Aztecs would neutralize the second-half run by the Lancers by netting three goals in the fourth period to earn the 13-10 result. Celeste Almendariz and Delilah Moreno were the multi-goal scorers for CBU with two apiece, and Almendariz had five drawn exclusions to tie her for the NCAA-era single-season record for most drawn penalties with 71. Moreno and Carter had the most points for CBU in the loss, combining for seven points.
Tyanna Schneider built upon her GCC-leading saves mark by adding in eight more in the ball game. Schneider now has 238 saves on the season leading the conference in both saves and saves per game.
NEXT: CBU will now turn its attention to the GCC Tournament in Santa Clara, where they will be the 5th seed and take on either San Diego State or Pacific. The tournament begins on Friday, April 26, and continues through Sunday, April 28.
