April 16, 2005

LONG BEACH, Calif.- The Pacific Tigers women's water polo set a new single season record for most wins in a year when they defeated No. 19 UC San Diego, 11-9, in their second game of the day at the Long Beach State Tournament in Long Beach, Calif. on Saturday, Apr. 16. Pacific finished the day 1-1 after falling in its first game of the day to No. 18 Hartwick, 11-6. Pacific's 11th win of the season broke the previous mark set back in 1997 when that team went 10-16.

Pacific moved to 11-15 overall with the 1-1 showing in day one, while Hartwick improved to 20-7 and UC San Diego dropped to 13-15 on the year.

In game one, the Tigers fell behind early, 4-0, as Hartwick's Bronwen Knox scored the first goal of the contest. Later she would chalk up back-to-back goals to push the Hawks lead out to a 10-4 advantage and Pacific was never able to recover.

Senior Jessica Schroeder (Newcastle, Calif.) pushed her season total goals out to 67 with a four goal afternoon and also drew seven ejections. Freshman goalie Jocelyn Gray (Strathmore, Alberta) stopped five shots.

Game two saw Pacific turn the tide on UC San Diego as the Tigers scored a season-high six goals in the first quarter and stopped their five-game losing streak with the 11-9 win.

Helping the Tigers cause out was their 6-on-5s in which they got six goals in a 6-for-9 performance. Their defense also stepped up, holding UC San Diego to a 3-for-10 showing on its 6-on-5s.

Pacific placed five players in the scorer's book led by seniors Laura Besmer's (Clovis, Calif.) and Sarah Meerdink's (Stockton, Calif.) three goals apiece. Gray swatted six shots to finish the afternoon with 11 blocks.

The Tigers wrap up the tournament tomorrow, Sunday, Apr. 17 against Cal Baptist and Santa Clara. Pacific will play Cal Baptist at 9:10 a.m. and finish up with Santa Clara at 3:00 p.m.

Game One
Pacific 6, No. 18 Hartwick 11

Hartwick 4-2-2-3 =11

Pacific 0-2-1-3 =6

Goals

Pacific - Schroeder 4, Snyder, Meerdink

Hartwick - Knox 4, Chambers 3, Sumich 2, Dahl-Smith, Wertz

Goalie Saves

Pacific - Gray 5

Hartwick - Colebourne 8

Game Two
Pacific 11, No. 19 UC San Diego 9

UCSD 1-2-5-1 =9

Pacific 6-2-1-2 =11

Goals

Pacific - Meerdink 3, Besmer 3, Schroeder 2, McCall 2, McConnell

Goalie Saves

Pacific - Gray 6