Editor’s Note: The 2019 NCAA women’s water polo season officially opened on Saturday, January 12th with the ASU Invitational at Arizona State. Action continued last weekend for numerous NCAA varsity programs. Swimming World will provide previews of the seven varsity conferences—Big West, Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), Golden Coast Conference (GCC), Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) and Western Water Polo Association (WWPA)—that will send teams to the 2019 NCAA Women’s Water Polo Tournament.
Rankings refer to the CWPA Women’s Varsity Preseason Poll that was released on January 16th.
Since 2013, the Tritons of UC San Diego have owned the Western Water Polo Association title and its automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. Based upon the 2019 conference’s coaches’ preseason poll, there’s little reason to doubt that Brad Kreutzkamp’s squad will make a return to the national tournament. This will be the Tritons’ swan song in the conference—UCSD, elevating its athletics department to Division I status, will join the Big West Conference next year—meaning a new WWPA hierarchy will be in place a year from now.
Ideally, contenders for the top spot in 2020 will reveal themselves this season. Cal State East Bay and Sonoma State, among others, need to establish that they can challenge UCSD. In two matches in 2018—including the WWPA title match—the Pioneers lost by ten goals each time. The Seawolves fared even worse; one of their two losses was by an 11-1 score, in a conference semifinal no less. The Firebirds lost 18-3 to the Tritons last April; overall, conference foes are a lopsided 1-61 against the WWPA’s most dominant program. That one loss? To Somona State in the 2009 WWPA tournament.
One thing is for sure; none of the Tritons conference rivals will be sad to see them go.
In a decade at #15 UCSD, Kreutzkamp has never lost a regular season match to a WWPA opponent, and his team has captured the last six straight titles. Baring a monumental collapse, the Tritons will end their time in the conference with a seventh-straight title and accompanying trip to the NCAA tournament. Leading the way will be a trifecta of All-WWPA First-Team selections; senior Chanel Schilling (29 goals; 45 exclusions drawn), senior Krista Schneider (17 goals; team-high 44 assists) and junior goalkeeper Reilly Gallagher (7.15 GAA).
Aiding the Triton attack are sophomores Grace Pevehouse (40 goals), Taylor Onstott (41 goals; WWPA Newcomer of the Year) and Ciara Franke (29 goals; team-high 65 steals). With six freshman coming on board this season—highlighted by Lyndsey Hightower, a recent graduate from local Cathedral Catholic High School—UCSD is building for a future in a new, more competitive conference.
Key Matchup: San Diego State, Saturday, April 20, San Diego (Aztec Aquaplex)
There has been a steady uptick of progress for Cal State East Bay—from 13-16 in 2015—good for a finals appearance against UC San Diego—to 18-9 in 2018, also a finals loss to the Tritons. In fact, the Pioneers have been in the WWPA final four of the past five years, a trend they hope will continue this season.
With help from junior Auriel Bill (team-high in assists—and points with 99; WWPA Women’s Player of the Year) and sophomores Adrien Van Dyke (55 goals; tops on the team) and Maci Taylor (43 points; team-high 28 exclusions drawn), Head Coach Lisa Cooper, entering her 17th season at CSEB, has a young nucleus to build around. Add in senior Makenna Nation (16-7 record in 2018; 173 saves) and a couple of freshmen goalies—Brighton Kinneu and Daniela Passoni—and the Pioneers are in good hands heading into the new season.
Key Matchup: Somona State, Saturday, March 30, Haywood, CA
Chelsea Hennan enters her third season as head coach at Sonoma State, and the goal for 2019 is to leap-frog Cal State East Bay for a spot opposite UCSD in the conference final. The former Seawolf great was able to accomplish this in her first year as head coach—she previously was an assistant to former head coach Coralie Simmons from 2008 – 2016—but fell short last season, finishing third.
To get there in 2019, the Seawolves will need to vastly improve their offensive output; they tallied a paltry 173 goals—led by Taylor Brook’s team-high 36, then 33 from Cassidy Mundt and 32 from Taylor Brown. Luckily, all three return this season, as does sophomore Brooke Sullivan, who started five matches behind now-departed Lisa Rodarmel, posting an encouraging 7.88 GAA. After losing Lily Carlon (25 goals, 44 points) to graduation, Hennan will have to see additional offense from her crop of six newcomers, including attackers Camille Grace and Samantha Dieterle, if Sonoma State is going to make a push for the WWPA final.
Key Matchup: San Diego State, Sunday, April 7, Rohnert Park, CA
Fresno Pacific experienced progress in 2018, as Head Coach Bryan Suhovy topped 100 career wins over his 11-year tenure with the Firebirds, while his squad overcame a late season swoon to finish with back-to-back wins, capturing fifth at the 2018 WWPA Championships. To continue an upward trajectory, FPU will need continued output from returners junior Sam Witt (team highs with 48 goals and 44 assists) and senior Emma McBride (15 goals and 15 assists). The Firebirds will need that and more for 2019, as Julia Ponce (42 goals), Emily Knowles (37) and Hannah Holly (36). This trio accounted for more than half of FPU’s total of 224 goals scored last season, and all graduated last spring.
Luckily, Madeline Frey, who started 26 matches in her freshman year, is back to protect the Firebird cage. She’ll have help; fellow sophomores Camryn Berra and Gracie Bishop are available to Suhovy. Add in eight freshmen, including attackers Jenna Collins and Amy Zaninovich, who have already tallied goals in their first action for FPU.
Key Matchup: Fresno State, Friday, February 8, Fresno State Aquatics Center
With Head Coach Emily Schmit entering her third season in Monterey, Cal State Monterey Bay is hoping for a reversal of fortune that has seen the Otters register a total of 11 wins the past two seasons—and only one in WWPA play. Success will be built on a core of four seniors—goalie Shelby Stephens (149 saves; 10.61 GAA); Marisa Lovos (27 goals, 18 assists); Morgan Tucker (28 goals) and Olivia Woolery (15 goals; 51 steals). CSUMB will look to replace the contributions of graduates Lucy Gates (28 goals; team-high 57 steals) and Angela Steele (23 goals; 38 points).
To turn the corner, nine underclassmen—including five freshmen—will need to step up. Leading candidates are sophomore Gabriella Dana (26 starts in 2018) and newcomers Kaitlin Rooney, Olivia Centis and Hannah Kharazi. One key indicator of progress will be a win over rival Cal State East Bay; that hasn’t happened since 2015—a stretch of eight-straight Otter losses.
Key Matchup: Cal State East Bay, Saturday, March 9, Hayward, CA
What makes the WWPA so interesting is that it represents a true fusion of East and West, including four DII programs outside of California. Historically the strongest of those has been Mercyhurst; a 4-0 run in conference play made the Lakers a third seed in the 2018 WWPA Championships; alas, Curtis Robinette’s squad could not get pass sixth-seeded CSUMB, dropping a 9-7 decision and finishing 6th.
Chloe Kunst (32 goals), Maddie Nye (26) and Jennifer Moshinsky (23) all return for a Lakers’ attack that tallied 169 scores in 2018. Junior Madison Maes returns to the Mercyhurst cage after an injury-plagued 2018 campaign; she will be ably assisted by sophomore Sarah O’Keffe, who stepped in and started 19 games. Robinette has brought in five freshmen; he now has 10 underclassmen on a roster of 16, so his younger players will need to adjust to the cross-country reality of WWPA play.
Key Matchup: Gannon, Saturday, April 13, Erie, PA
Gannon is perhaps the best example of how adventurous—and potentially ground-breaking—the WWPA is. The Lady Knights’ new head coach is Shane Unger, who left a comfortable position with Socal, one of California’s top age-group clubs, to set-up shop in Erie, PA.
[Five Questions for Shane Unger, New Gannon Men’s and Women’s Water Polo Coach]
Unger will have his work cut out for him if he’s to break through to the conference’s upper half. Since joining the WWPA in 2015. the Lady Knights have yet to triumph over it California conference rivals (0-9). It will be tough to expect Gannon’s new coach to work miracles in his first season, but he will have eight seniors returning, including Alison Cooney (52 goals), Liz Barr (31) and Francesca Williamson (31). Also, leading scorer Campbell Ruh (53 goals, 27 assists, 28 steals— WWPA All-Freshman Team) is back, as is junior goalie Isabelle Vieira (174 saves).
With some skill and luck and a bit of Socal knowhow, the Lady Knights may achieve some program first in 2019.
Key Matchup: La Salle, Sunday, February 16, Erie PA (Mercyhurst Invitational)
Now entering its third season, McKendree has made great strides as a program. Last year, the Bearcat men won their first-ever Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference-West; the McKendree women endured a tough start to WWPA play, but finished on a strong note with a win over Gannon, good for seventh place.
[On The Record with Colleen Lischwe, Head Coach of McKendree Men’s and Women’s Water Polo]
In 2019, Head Coach Colleen Lischwe returns 10 players—including freshman sensation Emily Westlove (54 goals; WWPA All-Freshman Team and Second Team All-Conference). Lischwe signed 13 freshmen—most notably goalies Katie Monjay and Isabella Strimling—to replenish her roster. No surprise; goalie Gabby Madewell got the majority of starts last season; she’s graduated and her primary back-up, Crystal Armstrong, has transferred out.
After a strong 2017 campaign—when the Bearcats were playing as a club team—Brianna Mullalley registered a team-high 67 goals. Now a junior, the San Diego native will need to regain her scoring touch and provide leadership for a McKendree squad with exactly four upperclassmen, including junior netminder Kim Fay.
Key Matchup: Monmouth, Sunday, April 7, O’Fallon, IL
Salem University will join the WWPA this season, and the maiden NCAA varsity voyage for the Tigers looks to be rocky. Luckily, new Head Coach Justin Kassab has 10 players ready to go, including junior Maryanna Antoniou, sophomore Chloe Woodbine and eight freshmen, primarily from abroad.
Antoniou, a Greek native, is formerly with Hartwick, which eliminated its women’s program last spring. Margherita Garibbo hails from Italy, Beatrice Popescu is from Romania, Annefleur ten Bloemendal is from the Netherlands, and Woodbine, Philippa Piper and Erin Zappia are all from Australia. No one should be surprised Kassab’s international roster finds immediate WWPA success in 2019.