LA JOLLA, Calif. — The 13th-ranked UC San Diego women's water polo team won its ninth-consecutive Harper Cup on Senior Day Saturday, outlasting No. 21 San Diego State, 18-16, in a thriller.

Eight senior Tritons - Caroline Christl, Lucia Doak, Sila Fedler, Kenzie Larson, Abby Moll, Courtney Okumura, Lexi Stahl, and Kendall Thomas - were celebrated prior to the game.

UC San Diego improved to 16-13 overall with the non-conference win. The Aztecs fell to 14-13.

It was the 23rd running of the Harper Cup, named after longtime UC San Diego water polo coach Denny Harper.

Triton co-captain Kendall Thomas was selected as the newly-named Carin Crawford Harper Cup MVP for the third-straight year. Crawford played for UC San Diego and won almost 500 games as the head coach of the San Diego State women's water polo program.

It was the final regular season game for the Tritons. They will be the fourth seed in next week's Big West Championship, hosted by UC Irvine, and will play fifth-seeded UC Davis in a semifinal on Friday, April 5, at noon.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Incredibly, the teams went goal-for-goal from 1-1 all the way up to 16-16, when an Aztec five-meter penalty goal with two minutes left in the fourth quarter evened it for the final time. The Tritons netted two goals - one by Doak at 1:42, which proved to be the game-winner, and another by Christl with just 22 seconds left in the game - to cement the victory. 

The game was tied 9-9 at the half. 

Christl led all players with five goals. She also assisted on a pair, giving her seven points on the day. Thomas scored four times while Doak and Okumura each scored twice. Okumura dished out four assists and Doak had two.

Playing in just her third career game, freshman goalie Makana Fake made seven saves and had a steal en route to her second victory.

For San Diego State, Claudia Valdez had four goals. Sammi Byers and Mimi Stoupas each scored three times. Tiaare Ahovelo made 10 saves.

UC San Diego had a 46-30 lead in shots.

The Aztecs were solid on the power play, converting five of seven opportunities.
 
TRITON TIDBITS
• San Diego State leads the all-time Harper Cup series 13-10.
• The last time the Aztecs won a match-up was in 2015.

UP NEXT
It's Big West Championship time. Fourth-seeded UC San Diego takes on fifth-seeded UC Davis in a quarterfinal game on Friday, April 25 at UC Irvine (12 p.m.). The winner will face the winner of the No. 1 Hawai'i/No. 8 Cal State Fullerton quarterfinal in a semifinal on Saturday (12 p.m.). The title game is set for Sunday at noon with the victor earning the Big West's automatic bid into the NCAA National Collegiate Championship. The semifinal and final rounds will be broadcast live on ESPN+.


 
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 II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned 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 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.