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49ers Open Season with Two on Saturday
Young Squad Has International Experience, Potential to Surprise
January 30, 2008
LONG BEACH-- Forty-Niner Women's Water Polo under second year Head Coach
Catharine von Schwarz will open up the 2008 campaign at the CS Baskersfield
Invite this Saturday with two matches.
The 49ers will open up with the host Road Runners at 11:30 a.m., before
playing NAIA Fresno Pacific at 3 p.m. FPU is in their first season of
water polo for Head Coach Bryan Suhovy, while CSUB was 25-12 last year
and are rated No. 20 nationally.
The 49ers, who finished the season eighth at the MPSF Championships, moving
up two spots following an upset of seventh-seeded California, are picked
to finish 10th after going 8-19 last season. The 49ers open the season
No. 13 nationally.
This year's top returning scorer is sophomore Cecilia Canetti, a MPSF
All-Freshman pick from last year, that scored 24 goals in 2007. She is
one of three players with international experience, as she has teamed
with her sister and former 49er All-American Marina Canetti on the Brazilian
National Team. Freshmen Lauren Sieprath (New Zealand) and Meaghan Leonard
(Canada) continue the 49ers tradition of bringing in foreign national
teammers, as Tara Campbell (Canada) and Roberta Stewart (New Zealand)
were both All-Americans for the 49ers.
The 49ers also have a few younger siblings with strong family trees. Senior
Dayna Wawrzynski is the younger sister of Drue and daughter of Paul, both
49er All-Amercians, while freshman Brooke Figge is the younger sister
of Ericka, an All-American at USC and a member of the U.S. National Team.
Sieprath's sister Anna is the captain for the New Zealand National Team.
Junior Keala O'Sullivan joins Canetti as the lone returning starters,
who lost six seniors to graduation. This year's team features 17 underclassmen,
of which 12 are freshmen. Prep co-MVP of the state and freshman Kristen
Straiger is expected to start in goal, while three-time All-CIF attacker
Kelsie Emerick is expected to see heavy minutes to start the year.
This is the program's final year in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation,
as the Big West Conference, home to a number of the 49ers teams, will
sponsor women's water polo starting in 2009, featuring LBSU, UC Santa
Barbara, UC Irvine, CS Northridge, UC Davis and Pacific.
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