SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - For the second-straight season, the 12th-ranked UC San Diego women's water polo team will open the Big West Championship against No. 11Â UC Davis.
The fourth-seeded Tritons and fifth-seeded Aggies meet in a league quarterfinal on Friday, April 28, at 11 a.m. in Campus Pool at tournament host UC Santa Barbara.
In the quarterfinal round of the 2022 Big West Championship in Honolulu,
Annika Arroyo scored a power play goal with one second remaining in the second overtime to lift UC San Diego to a 12-11 win, its first-ever Big West postseason victory. Â
The two squads have already played one another three times this season, with UC San Diego holding a 2-1 edge.
• Feb. 3, Triton Invitational: UC San Diego wins 8-7 in La Jolla
• Feb. 25, Barbara Kalbus Invitational: UC Davis wins 9-6 in Newport Beach
• April 7, Big West game: UC San Diego wins 10-9 in Davis
Â
The winner of Friday's game advances to the semis and will take on the winner of the UC Irvine (No. 1 seed)/Cal State Fullerton (No. 8 seed) quarterfinal Saturday at 11 a.m.
The conference title game is slated for Sunday at noon.
UC Irvine, which won this year's Big West regular season title, is the reigning tournament champion after defeating Hawai'i, 11-8, in 2022. It was the third-consecutive time that the Anteaters and Rainbow Wahine played one another in the championship game.
Since 2009, UC Irvine has won the Big West Championship title eight times (2009-2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2022). Hawai'i has four trophies (2013, 2015, 2019, 2021), while UC Santa Barbara has won once (2016). The tournament was not held in 2020 due to the pandemic.
All tournament games can be followed with live ESPN+ broadcasts as well as live scoring through The FOSH. Links, as well as ticket information, can be found at the
Tournament Central page.
THE ESSENTIALS
--- Game 30: Big West Championship Quarterfinal ---
• No. 12 UC San Diego (13-16) vs.
No. 11 UC Davis (15-13)
• Friday / April 28 / 11 a.m. Pacific
•
Campus Pool / Santa Barbara, Calif. (
map)
•
Tournament Central
•
Tickets
•
ESPN+
•
Live Stats
•
Twitter /
Instagram
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Quarterfinals - Friday, April 28
9 a.m. | No. 1 seed UC Irvine vs. No. 8 seed Cal State Fullerton
11 a.m. | No. 4 seed UC San Diego vs. No. 5 seed UC Davis
1 p.m. | No. 2 seed Hawai'i vs. No. 7 seed CSUN
3 p.m. | No. 3 seed Long Beach State vs. No. 6 seed UC Santa Barbara
Semifinals - Saturday, April 29
11 a.m. | Semifinal No. 1
1 p.m. | Semifinal No. 2
Final - Sunday, April 30
Noon | Championship match
UC SAN DIEGO AT THE BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP
• Overall: 1-2
• vs. UC Davis: 1-0
• vs. Hawai'i: 0-1
• vs. UC Irvine: 0-1
• Goals for: 35
• Goals against: 37
• In quarterfinals: 1-1
• In semifinals: 0-1
• In overtime: 1-0
2022Â - Honolulu, Hawai'i
Quarterfinal:
UC San Diego 12, UC Davis 11 (2OT)
Semifinal:
Hawai'i 14, UC San Diego 12
2021 - La Jolla, Calif.
Quarterfinal:
UC Irvine 12, UC San Diego 11
CURRENT TRITONS AT THE BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP
•
Annika Arroyo: 7Â goals, 1 assist, 3Â steals
•
Lucia Doak: 3 goals, 3Â assists
•
Courtney Okumura: 5Â goals, 1 assist
•
Lexi Stahl: 1 save, 1steal, 16 minutes
•
Kendall Thomas: 4 goals
THE SERIES: TRITONS V AGGIES
• Overall: UC Davis leads 34-22
• Last Meeting: 4/7/23 (
No. 18 UC San Diego Tops No. 10 UC Davis on the Road)
• Last UC Davis win: 2/25/23 (
UC Davis wins 9-6 in Newport Beach, Calif.)
• Streak: UC San Diego 1 win
ABOUT THE UC SAN DIEGO TRITONS
Roster |
Schedule & Results |
Statistics
• Overall: 13-16
• Big West: 4-3
• Home: 4-5
• Away: 2-3
• Neutral: 7-8
• Streak: 4 wins
• Against nationally-ranked teams: 5-16
• CWPA national ranking: 14
• Big West Preseason Poll: 5th of 8
Â
ABOUT THE UC DAVIS AGGIES
Roster |
Schedule & Results |
Statistics
• Overall: 15-13
• Big West: 3-4
• Home: 5-6
• Away: 2-1
• Neutral: 8-6
• Streak: 2 losses
• Against nationally-ranked teams: 10-13
• CWPA national ranking: tie-12
• Big West Preseason Poll: 4th of 8
2023 BIG WEST STANDINGS (through 4/27/23)
| Team |
Big West |
Overall |
| UC Irvine (#4) |
7-0 |
17-6 |
| Hawai'i (#5) |
6-1 |
19-5 |
| Long Beach State (#7) |
5-2 |
17-7 |
| UC San Diego (#12) |
4-3 |
13-16 |
| UC Davis (#11) |
3-4 |
15-13 |
| UC Santa Barbara (#14) |
2-5 |
18-10 |
| CSUN (#23) |
1-6 |
17-12 |
| Cal State Fullerton |
0-7 |
12-19 |
UC SAN DIEGO ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Players Returning (20)
•
Annika Arroyo
•
Lauren Bellavia
•
Caroline Courtois
•
Lucia Doak
•
Madisongrace Guerra
•
Sila Fedler
•
Tania Frank
•
Sasha Frey
•
Hannah Kawar
•
Kenzie Larson
•
Grayson Mix
•
Abby Moll
•
Courtney Okumura
•
Kayla Peacock
•
Carson Rampelberg
•
Olivia Seargeant
•
Madison Solares
•
Lexi Stahl
•
Kendall Thomas
•
Katie Ward
Â
Players Lost (7)
•
Maggie Bria
•
Bennett Bugelli
•
Karis Couch
•
Ciara Franke
•
Holly Maine
•
Taylor Onstott
•
Chloe Pena
Â
Newcomers (8)
•
Allie Bartholomew
•
Caroline Christl
•
Natalie DiMeo
•
Maja Layden
•
Sofia Munatones
•
Sydney Munatones
•
Cascade Stensland
•
Bria Zwaschka
TRITONS AMONG THE BIG WEST LEADERS (through 4/27/23)
Goals
4.
Caroline Christl, 57
6.
Kendall Thomas, 53
Â
Goals/Game
tie-5.
Caroline Christl, 2.0
10.
Kendall Thomas, 1.9
Â
Assists
3.
Courtney Okumura, 40
Â
Assists/Game
2.
Courtney Okumura, 1.4
Â
Points
6.
Courtney Okumura, 71
10.
Kendall Thomas, 63
Â
Points/Game
tie-7.
Courtney Okumura, 2.4
Â
Steals
2.
Lexi Stahl, 44
7. Sophia Munatones, 32
Â
Steals/Game
1.
Lexi Stahl, 1.6
Â
Saves
3.
Lexi Stahl, 202
Â
Saves/Game
4.
Lexi Stahl, 7.5
Â
Save Percentage
8.
Lexi Stahl, .450
Â
Goals Against Average
9.
Lexi Stahl, 10.87
Sprint Wins
3.
Courtney Okumura, 27
Sprint Win Percentage
1.
Courtney Okumura, .844
CURRENT TRITON SCORING STREAKS
•
Caroline Christl, 15 games
•
Kendall Thomas, 11 games
•
Courtney Okumura, 6 games
•
Sofia Munatones, 4 games
•
Sydney Munatones, 2 games
•
Cascade Stensland, 2 games
2023 BOX SCORES
•
San Diego State 9, UC San Diego 10
•
UC Santa Barbara 10, UC San Diego 13 §
•
UC San Diego 15, CSUN 8 §
•
UC San Diego 10, UC Davis 9 §
•
Hawai'i 12, UC San Diego 10 §
•
UC San Diego 12, Loyola Marymount 14
•
Cal State Fullerton 7, UC San Diego 19 §
•
Princeton 11, UC San Diego 10 8
•
St. Francis 9, UC San Diego 16 8
•
Villanova 6, UC San Diego 16 8
•
Siena 3, UC San Diego 16 8
•
UC Irvine 10, UC San Diego 9 §
•
UC San Diego 8, Long Beach State 14 §
•
UC San Diego 9, Indiana 12 *
•
Pomona-Pitzer 8, UC San Diego 11 *
•
UC Davis 9, UC San Diego 6 *
•
UC San Diego 7, Hawai'i 16 *
•
Indiana 6, UC San Diego 5 !
•
Fresno State 10, UC San Diego 8 !
•
UCLA 15, UC San Diego 3 !
•
UC Davis 7, UC San Diego 8 !
•
UC San Diego 11, LIU 14 &
•
UC San Diego 18, Wagner 5 &
•
UC San Diego 9, Wagner 15 &
•
UC San Diego 10, Princeton 11&
•
Pomona-Pitzer 2, UC San Diego 13 #
•
UCLA 16, UC San Diego 2 #
•
Cal State Monterey Bay 5, UC San Diego 19 #
•
UC San Diego 10, Indiana 12 #
Â
§ Big West
* Barbara Kalbus Invitational (Newport Beach, Calif.)
! Triton Invitational (La Jolla, Calif.)
& Princeton Winter Tournament (Princeton, N.J.)
# UCSB Winter Invite (Santa Barbara, Calif.)
2023 BIG WEST PRESEASON POLL
1. Hawai'i, 47 points, 5 first-place votes
2. UC Irvine, 43 points, 2 first-place votes
3. Long Beach State, 39 points, 1 first-place vote
4. UC Davis, 28 points
5. UC San Diego, 27 points
6. UC Santa Barbara, 20 points
7. CSUN, 13 points
8. Cal State Fullerton, 7
CWPA NATIONAL POLL (4/26/23)
1. USC
2. Stanford
3. UCLA
4. UC Irvine
5. Hawai'i
6. California
7. Long Beach State
8. Fresno State
9. Michigan
10. Princeton
11. UC Davis
tie-12. Pacific
tie-12. UC San Diego
14. UC Santa Barbara
15. Indiana
16. Arizona State
17. Loyola Marymount
tie-18. Harvard
tie-18. Wagner
20. Brown
21. San Jose State
22. Pomona Pitzer
23. CSUN
24. San Diego State
25. Marist
Â
Receiving Votes: Long Island
UC SAN DIEGO IN THE 2023 CWPA NATIONAL POLL
4/26: tie-12
4/19: 14
4/12: 14
4/5: 18
3/29: 18
3/22: 18
3/1: 16
2/22: 16
2/15: 16
2/8: 16
2/1: 18
1/25: 15
1/18: 11
Preseason: 11
HEAD COACH BRAD KREUTZKAMP
Brad Kreutzkamp is in his 14th season as head coach of the UC San Diego women's water polo program in 2023. In 13 seasons at the helm, Kreutzkamp has led UC San Diego to eight Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) championships and eight appearances at the NCAA Championship. He holds an overall record of 264-180 (.595) during his tenure and has been named the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) and WWPA Coach of the Year five times during this stretch. For Brad's complete bio,
click here.
BE SOCIAL!
UC San Diego Athletics on Facebook (UCSDtritons)
UC San Diego Athletics on Instagram (UCSDtritons)
UC San Diego Athletics on Twitter (@UCSDtritons)
UC San Diego Women's Water Polo on Instagram (@UCSDwwp)
UC San Diego Women's Water Polo on Twitter (@UCSDwwp)
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the
Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!
GEAR HERE
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, visit the official team store of the Tritons
here.
WHY THE TRITONS?
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.
Â
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions III and II and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America accolades, while 38 have received prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among NCAA Division I and II institutions.
