#GCCWATERPOLO – We are in the middle of April and that means we are in the home stretch of the 2024 season with seedings on the line for the upcoming Golden Coast Conference Championship (
Apr. 26-28 at Santa Clara).
Two weeks remain with eight games on the schedule this Friday and Saturday, five of which are conference matchups. LMU sits on top of the standings at 23-2 overall and 5-0 in GCC play, both the best start in program history. Winners of 16 straight, the Lions visit California Baptist (10-15, 2-2) on Saturday. With a win, LMU can clinch a share of their first regular season GCC title. They won tournament titles in 2014 and 2015, the first two years of the GCC.
The Lancers, who are earning votes in this week’s national poll, will have work to do before the showdown with LMU as they host Santa Clara (6-17, 1-3) on Friday. Also, on Friday is No. 8 Fresno State (15-7, 3-1), who is a game and a half behind the Lions, traveling to Azusa Pacific (13-10, 2-2). The Cougars are earning votes in the latest national poll.
Rounding out action on Friday is Concordia (10-17, 0-4) traveling to No. 21 San Diego State (12-13, 1-3) in a make-up game from the postponed contest earlier in the season.
Five games are on the schedule for Saturday, with the other GCC game featuring No. 21 San Diego State hosting Santa Clara. Pacific, who has won four straight and is 14-8 overall and 3-2 in GCC play, sits in third position in the conference standings behind Fresno State. They are off this weekend. There were only five games last Saturday, four were conference battles featuring all eight GCC teams. LMU remained unbeaten with a 12-10 win over San Diego State, while Fresno State kept pace with a 14-7 win at Concordia. Pacific knocked off California Baptist, 14-11, while Azusa Pacific earned a 14-6 road win over Santa Clara.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ruth Arino Ruiz, LMU (ATT, SR, Sabadell, Barcelona, Cataluny): Ruth Arino Ruiz is the GCC Player of the Week for Apr. 11 as she led LMU to a 5-0 record in the GCC, the program's best start in conference play, after scoring three goals and recording four assists in Saturday's win over San Diego State. With the game tied at halftime, Arino Ruiz scored the first two goals of the second half to give LMU the lead for good. Arino Ruiz also led with her play on the defensive end of the pool with five exclusions drawn and three steals.
2024 Player of the Week Winners:
Jan. 25 – Abbey Simshauser, Fresno State
Feb. 1 – Ruth Arino Ruiz, LMU
Feb. 8 – Paula Nieto Jasny, Fresno State
Feb. 15 – Hila Futorian, Pacific
Feb. 22 – Sydney Maccabe, Santa Clara
Feb. 29 – Mica Schiavone, Azusa Pacific
Mar. 7 – Claudia Valdes, San Diego State
Mar. 14 – Ruth Arino Ruiz, LMU
Mar. 21 – Dora Alaksza, Pacific
Mar. 28 – Emaly Hutton, California Baptist
Apr. 4 – Elle Fredrickson, Santa Clara
Apr. 11 – Ruth Arino Ruiz, LMU
TOP PERFORMANCES
Hailey Andress, FS (ATT, SO, Glendora, CA): Andress led Fresno State in scoring, totaling five points off four goals and an assist. She also recorded three steals and two drawn exclusions, tying her season-high in drawn exclusions. In her scoring efforts, three of her four goals were on powerplay opportunities. Four goals ties her season-high in conference games so far this season.
Emaly Hutton, CBU (ATT, SO, Riverside, CA): Hutton netted her 11th hat trick of the season in the setback to Pacific on Saturday. Hutton added an assist and a steal in the match to lead the team in points. Hutton also reached an impressive milestone by registering her 100th goal of her career in just 57 games. The sophomore has now reached her 50th goal of the season, which is equal to her total from last season with three matches and the GCC tournament still to go.
Laia Marsinach Ortega, APU (ATT, FR, Barcelona, Spain): Marsinach Ortega scored four goals with an assists and two steals in the Cougars' win over the Broncos.
Kate Rodman, SCU (DR, JR, Newport Beach, CA): Rodman showed up on both sides of the ball this past weekend. On offense, she came up with two goals and an assist, while earning two steals on the defensive side of the ball.
Hailey Williams, PAC (CTR, GR, Stockton, CA): Williams registered a career-high seven points on a career-high six goals and one assist to help Pacific to a 14-11 win over California Baptist. She scored four of Pacific's five goals during the third quarter to help them win their fourth straight.
WEEK 13 PREVIEW
Friday, Apr. 12, 2024
Santa Clara at California Baptist - 12:00 P.M. *
Concordia at San Diego State - 12:00 P.M. *
Fresno State at Azusa Pacific - 3:00 P.M. *
Saturday, Apr. 13, 2024
Santa Clara at #21 San Diego State - 1:00 P.M. *
Concordia at #23 Pomona-Pitzer - 2:00 P.M.
Biola at Azusa Pacific - 3:00 P.M.
#6 Loyola Marymount at California Baptist - 3:00 P.M. *
La Verne vs. Concordia - 5:00 P.M. (Claremont, CA)
* - GCC Game. Find the full schedule here >>.
GCC STATS
Here are the latest stat leaders within the GCC as of Apr. 10. For full stats,
click here >>
GOALS
| ## |
NAME |
TEAM |
G |
| 1. |
Dora Alaksza |
UOP |
77 |
| 2. |
Ruth Arino Ruiz |
LMU |
68 |
| 3. |
Hailey Andress |
FS |
59 |
|
Claudia Valdes |
SDSU |
59 |
| 5. |
Abbey Simshauser |
FS |
53 |
ASSISTS
| ## |
NAME |
TEAM |
A |
| 1. |
Ruth Arino Ruiz |
LMU |
46 |
| 2. |
Lior Ben David |
LMU |
43 |
| 3. |
María Boix Pascual |
APU |
37 |
| 4. |
Skylar Ford |
APU |
36 |
|
Rose Kanemy |
SDSU |
36 |
POINTS
| ## |
NAME |
TEAM |
PTS |
| 1. |
Ruth Arino Ruiz |
LMU |
114 |
| 2. |
Dora Alaksza |
UOP |
92 |
| 3. |
Claudia Valdes |
SDSU |
85 |
| 4. |
Abbey Simshauser |
FS |
76 |
| 5. |
Tamsyn Evezard |
CUI |
75 |
FIELD BLOCKS
| ## |
NAME |
TEAM |
FB |
| 1. |
Claudia Valdes |
SDSU |
14 |
| 2. |
Kyra Kahahawai |
CBU |
12 |
|
Skye Nankervis |
LMU |
12 |
| 4. |
Kaelene De Bie |
APU |
11 |
|
Sydney Maccabe |
SCU |
11 |
|
Lior Ben David |
LMU |
11 |
|
Noa Sasover |
LMU |
11 |
STEALS
| ## |
NAME |
TEAM |
STL |
| 1. |
Skye Nankervis |
LMU |
44 |
| 2. |
Abbey Simshauser |
FS |
39 |
| 3. |
Hailey Andress |
FS |
37 |
| 4. |
Dora Alaksza |
UOP |
34 |
| 5. |
Claudia Valdes |
SDSU |
31 |
SAVES
| ## |
NAME |
TEAM |
SV |
| 1. |
Tyanna Schneider |
CBU |
197 |
| 2. |
Liyara Senadheera |
SCU |
182 |
| 3. |
Jaden Soto |
CUI |
173 |
| 4. |
Paula Nieto Jasny |
FS |
149 |
| 5. |
Maja Lizy Dulic |
UOP |
144 |
SAVE PERCENTAGE
| ## |
NAME |
TEAM |
SV |
SVPCT |
| 1. |
Inbar Geva |
LMU |
89 |
.582 |
| 2. |
Alex Airitam |
APU |
131 |
.572 |
| 3. |
Paula Nieto Jasny |
FS |
149 |
.527 |
| 4. |
Daniela Herrero Miralles |
APU |
96 |
.513 |
| 5. |
Madison Davis |
LMU |
72 |
.507 |
GOALS-AGAINST AVERAGE
| ## |
NAME |
TEAM |
GP |
GAA |
| 1. |
Inbar Geva |
LMU |
20 |
6.40 |
| 2. |
Madison Davis |
LMU |
19 |
7.57 |
| 3. |
Alex Airitam |
APU |
23 |
8.04 |
| 4. |
Paula Nieto Jasny |
FS |
19 |
8.15 |
| 5. |
Maja Lizy Dulic |
UOP |
19 |
8.46 |
NATIONAL POLLS
College Water Polo Association Varsity Top 25
The CWPA Varsity Top 25 for week No. 12 (April 10) has a pair of GCC programs in the top-10, with LMU at No. 6 and Fresno State at No. 8. Pacific is ranked 19th, followed by San Diego State at No. 21. Azusa Pacific and California Baptist are earning votes. Find latest poll
here >>
ROAD TO THE GCC CHAMPIONSHIP
The road to the
2024 GCC Championship heads to Santa Clara. This year’s tournament will be held at Santa Clara University on Friday, Apr. 26 through Sunday, Apr. 28. First round matchups will be held on Friday, Apr. 26 with the semifinals on Saturday, Apr. 27. The title game will be on Sunday, Apr. 28. A seventh-place and fifth-place game will be played on Saturday with a third-place game on Sunday. Every game of the 2024 GCC Championship will be streamed live thanks to a new streaming rights partner Overnght Media.
Learn more by visiting championship central >>
LIVE STREAMING
All ten (10) games of the GCC Championship will be streamed live on the internet by new GCC partner
Overnght Media Group. This is the first season that Overnght will be streaming the GCC Championship. Links to all games of the championship will be posted on the
Tournament Central page. This new service will require a subscription fee for viewers to watch the games for a monthly fee of $9.99. Viewers can cancel their subscription at any time. For other specific questions about Overnght and their services, please visit their website at
www.overnght.com. They can also be reached via email at
support@overnght.com or their support line is (702) 625-5998.
#GCCWATERPOLO