#GCCWaterPolo - The 2023 collegiate women’s water polo season marks the 10th anniversary of the Golden Coast Conference. The season gets underway this Friday, Jan. 13 and Loyola Marymount has been picked by the league’s eight coaches as the preseason favorite to win it.
The Lions, who fell in the GCC tournament title game a year ago to Fresno State, picked up 48 points and six first place votes in the annual Preseason Coaches’ Poll to earn the top spot heading into the 2023 campaign. The two-time defending champion Bulldogs are picked to finish second, earning 41 points and two first place votes.
Following right behind Fresno State in third is Pacific with 40 points. Rounding out the poll is San Diego State (30 points) in fourth, Azusa Pacific (21) in fifth, California Baptist (20) in sixth, Santa Clara (15) in seventh and Concordia (9) in eighth.
2023 PRESEASON POLL
1. LMU - 48 points (6 first place votes)
2. Fresno State - 41 points (2)
3. Pacific - 40 points
4. San Diego State - 30 points
5. Azusa Pacific - 21 points
6. California Baptist - 20 points
7. Santa Clara - 15 points
8. Concordia - 9 points
SEASON OPENERS
The 10th anniversary season begins this weekend with (RV) Azusa Pacific, (RV) California Baptist and No. 20 LMU in action at tournaments in the opening weekend of the 2023 collegiate water polo seasopn. APU and CPU are at the Arizona State Cross Conference Challenge while LMU is in Hawaii.
Azusa Pacific opens with games against No. 10 Arizona State (Jan. 13), No. 7 Michigan (Jan. 14) and (RV) California Baptist (Jan.14). In addition to facing rival APU, the Lancers will also play the host Sun Devils (Jan. 13), Biola (Jan. 13) and Michigan (Jan,. 14). LMU will participate in the Rainbow Invitational and will face No. 25 Marist and host No. 6 Hawaii on Saturday night. They will face No. 13 San Jose State on Sunday.
Concordia, No. 8 Fresno State and No. 22 San Diego State will open their season the following weekend. Concordia and San Diego State will be at the UCSB Winter Invitational (Jan. 20-22) while Fresno State hosts the Bulldog Fest (Jan. 21-22).
No. 17 Pacific and Santa Clara will be the last two programs to start their season. The Tigers are at the Lancer Joust Jan. 27-28 while Santa Clara travels to CSU Monterey Bay on Jan. 28. Get the full schedule here >>.
2023 CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2023 GCC Women's Championships will be hosted by San Diego State University in San Diego, Calif., on Apr. 28-30. The winner earns the automatic bid to the 2023 National Collegiate Women's Championships. Learn more on the GCC Championships here >>.
NATIONAL POLL
The Collegiate Water Polo Association Preseason Coaches' Poll has six GCC teams mentioned. Fresno State leads the GCC with a No. 8 ranking, earning 69 total points. Pacific follows at a tie for No. 17 with Princeton with 34 points. At No. 20 is LMU with 32 points. San Diego State is ranked 22nd with 16 points. California Baptist and Azusa Pacific are receiving votes. Check out the entire poll here >>
WHO TO WATCH
Azusa Pacific
APU enters the season receiving votes in the CWPA Preseason Coaches’ Poll and are coming off a 9-16 season, going 2-5 in the GCC. APU finished fifth at the GCC Championships, defeating Santa Clara in the fifth place game, 13-12. In 2023, the Cougars will be led by first-year Head Coach Priscilla Gomez. Players to watch include Kyra Kahahawai and Madeline Schultz. The sophomore Kahahawai played in every game as a freshman and finished with 42 goals. She was named Honorable Mention All-GCC and GCC All-Freshman in 2022. In addition, she was a ACWPC All-Academic and a GCC All-Academic selection. Schultz is a sophomore transfer from Marist College. She was the 2022 MAAC Rookie of the Year, a seven-time MAAC Rookie of the Week selection (program record) and a 2022 CWPA All-America Honorable Mention.
California Baptist
CBU enters the 2023 season receiving votes in the CWPA Preseason Coaches’ Poll and are coming off a 13-17 season (0-7 in the GCC). They finished seventh in the GCC Championships, defeating Concordia 13-10 in the seventh place game. Long-time APU Head Coach Julie Snodgrass was named the new CBU Head Coach for the 2023 season, returning to her alma mater. Players to watch in 2023 are Jamie Hutton and Abby Mammen. Hutton is in her final year as a graduate student at CBU, and is expected to have significant contributions. As last season's leading assist holder (54, tops in GCC), and a top scorer for CBU (46 goals), you can expect the ball will be in her hand for decision making opportunities this season as well. Mammen, as a senior at CBU, will be asked to play a new role on the team. She played in 28 of 30 games last season, grabbing 12 steals with 11 assists.
Concordia
CUI finished the 2022 season at 9-14 overall and 2-5 in GCC play, finishing in a tie for fifth in the league standings. The Golden Eagles also enter 2023 with a new head coach as Casey Greenawalt takes over the program. He spent the last five season with the men’s water polo program at CBU. He takes over for Dreason Barry, who remains the men’s head coach at CUI after coaching both programs since the move to the GCC. Players to watch in 2023 include Madison Ravelo and Tatiana Cava. Ravelo, a graduate student in 2023, is a two-time ACWPC All-American and is the program’s all-time leader in goals with 138. She was a Second-Team All-GCC selection in 2022. Starting goalie Cava is also a graduate student at CUI, having transferred from Fullerton College in 2021. She has been the starting goalie the last two seasons, grabbing 213 saves a year ago.
Fresno State
Fresno State enters the 2023 season ranked eighth in the CWPA Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The two-time defending GCC champions finished a record-setting 2022 at 19-8 overall, going a perfect 7-0 in the GCC. They defeated LMU, 11-8, in the GCC title game and fell to No. 2 USC in the NCAA tournament. Players to watch in 2023 are Brooke Ochoa and Daphne Guevremont. The sophomore Ochoa played in all 27 games in her first season with the Bulldogs, ranking fourth on the team in goals with 33 and assists with 32. She was named GCC All-Freshman team and earned Academic All-GCC. Guevremont is a fifth-year senior and was second on the team with 40 goals and 70 points in playing all 27 games in 2022. She dished the third-most assists with 30, earning Honorable Mention All-GCC. She also earned Academic All-GCC.
LMU
LMU enters the 2023 season ranked 20th in the CWPA Preseason Coaches’ Poll after finishing the 2022 season 16-12 overall and third in the GCC at 5-2. They defeated Pacific 10-5 in the GCC semifinals and fell to top-seed Fresno State, 11-8, in the GCC title game. The Lions are also led by a new head coach, Ikaika Aki, who returns to LMU after a decorate playing career. Players to watch for the upcoming season are Ruth Arino Ruiz and Marialena Seletopoulou. As a freshman Ruiz led the Lions in points last year with 69, including 40 goals and 29 assists. In 2022 she was selected Honorable Mention All-GCC, GCC All-Freshman, GCC All-Tournament, and GCC All-Academic. Seletopoulou was named an ACWPC All-America selection for the third time in her career in 2022. She led the Lions in scoring with 53 goals, adding 12 assists for 65 points as well as 20 steals. Seletopoulou finished as one of only six players in the Golden Coast Conference to surpass 50-plus goals scored last season. In 2022 she also earned First Team All-GCC and GCC All-Academic awards.
Pacific
Pacific enters the 2023 season ranked in a tie for 17th with Princeton in the CWPA Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Tigers finished the 2022 season 14-11 overall and second in the GCC at 6-1. The Tigers fell in the semifinals of the GCC Championships to LMU, 10-5. Players to watch in 2022 are Clara Vulpisi and Briana Utas. The senior goalie Vulpisi was a First-Team All-GCC selection in 2022 and played for the Canadian National Team in the 2020 Olympics. The GCC All-Academic selection played in 24 games, recording 222 saves and 28 steals. She is tied for 13th in Pacific’s program history for single season saves. The senior center defender Utas played in all 25 games earning 22 goals, 7 assists, and 39 steals. Named Honorable Mention All-GCC, she ranked first in the conference in field blocks with 23, second in steals and steals per game with 1.6.
San Diego State
San Diego State enters the 2022 season ranked 22nd in the CWPA Preseason Coaches’ Poll. They finished 2022 13-17 overall and 4-3 in the GCC, good for fourth place. The fell in the GCC Championships to Fresno State, 10-7, in the semifinals. Dana Ochsner, San Diego State assistant water polo coach for the past three seasons, will also be in her first season at the helm of the Aztecs as she was named program's interim head coach for the 2023 campaign. Players to watch for 2023 are Rose Kanemy and Kiara Goldstein. The sophomore Kanemy is a left-handed attacker from Canada that played in all 30 games as a freshman. She ranked fifth in the GCC in assists and ninth in points to earn Second-Team All-GCC honors. She was an ACWPC All-American Honorable Mention and GCC All-Freshman. Goldstein, another second-year player for the Aztecs, had the seconnd Highest shooting percentage on the team last year. She played in 17 games with seven goals.
Santa Clara
Santa Clara finished the 2022 season at 8-21 overall and tied for fifth in the GCC at 2-5. They fell in the fifth place game to Azusa Pacific. Players to watch in 2023 are Lauren Baglietto and Chloe Morrison. Baglietto is a fifth year graduate student who led the team in 2022 with 40 goals and 54 earned ejections. She was named Second-Team All-GCC. The junior Morrison is the returning two-meter defender who had 17 goals and 15 assist in 2022, .
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