Beach Host Stanford This Saturday
No. 4-ranked 49ers Coming Off Strong Trip to Honolulu Record: 16-5, 5-2 MPSF • Ranking: 4th
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Beach Hosts Stanford in Key MPSF Match: The No. 4-ranked 49ers (16-5, 5-2 MPSF), winners of five in a row, will host No. 2-ranked and second place Stanford (13-1, 5-0 MPSF) on Saturday at 12 p.m. at the campus pool. In the team's first meeting of the season, at the UC Santa Barbara Tournament, The Beach played its strongest game of the season, leading the then-No. 1 ranked Cardinal 2-1 at the half, only to lose 4-2. The Beach have never defeated Stanford in 10 career meetings.
Head Coach: Ricardo Azevedo, now in his fourth year, is 69-55. In 2002, Azevedo was named the MPSF's women's water polo co-Coach of the Year. Azevedo also coaches the 49er men's team and is an assistant with the Men's National Team.
Rank and File: The 49ers are ranked No. 4 in the nation, as the team has remained at the No. 4 position from the opening sprint. This is the program's highest ever ranking.
Another Win Streak: Before this season, the Niners had won five in a row just twice in the program's five years (2000, 2002). This year, The Beach have done it twice, from mid to late February when it won six in a row, and now, during its current win streak.
Storming the Islands: The Beach went 4-0-2 in Honolulu last week, defeating Hawaii 8-5 in a MPSF match on Thursday, before taking care of UC Santa Cruz (15-2), UC San Diego (8-6) and Cal Baptist (14-3) at the Rainbow Challenge. LBSU also had a win over the New Zealand National Team (8-3), and two ties to Australia (6-6 and 8-8). Cassie Azevedo had nine goals against four-year schools, while Drue Wawrzynski added six.
Nothing Gets By Her: Sophomore goalie Bri Hawkins (San Diego) tallied 53 saves in Honolulu over four days, earning not only the Rainbow Challenge's Most Outstanding Player award, but also co-MPSF Player of the Week honors. Against four-year schools, Hawkins allowed just 16 goals over four games. On the season, Hawkins has 142 saves and 342 career saves (second-best all-time). The 142 saves in 2003 is already the fifth-best single season total.
Garcia Named All-Tournament: Junior All-American Angelica Garcia (Catano, Puerto Rico) was named all-Rainbow Challenge, after tallying six assists, five steals and four goals in Hawaii. Garcia is fourth on the club with 25 goals and third all-time with 136 career goals.
Freshman Phenom: Freshman Cassie Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Wilson HS) has begun to heat up, as she led The Beach with nine goals against four-year schools this past weekend. Azevedo is now second on the team with 27 goals, scoring in six straight contests.
Watch Out For Stewart: All-American Roberta Stewart (Auckland, NZ), the team's leading scorer with 30 goals this year, has become more of a passer, as of late. The sophomore dished out six assists for the weekend to go along with just three goals. Stewart, who had scored in 13 of the team's first 14 games, has scored just once over the past six games against four-year schools.
Drue Heats Up: Sophomore Drue Wawrzynski (Garden Grove) led the 49ers (along with Azevedo) with three goals against Hawaii and added three against four-year schools and nine overall in Honolulu. Wawrzynski is third on the team with 26 goals, scoring five of the last six. |
