Tritons Begin Big West Championship Play Friday

LA JOLLA, Calif. -UC San Diego is set to open the 2024 Big West Women's Water Polo Championship this week as the fourth seed and gets action going Friday with a quarterfinal match-up against fifth-seeded CSUN.

First sprint between the Tritons and Matadors is slated for noon.

UC Davis is hosting the three-day conference championship Friday through Sunday at Schaal Aquatics Center. The winner of the event earns the Big West's automatic berth in the NCAA Championship.

Hawai'iis the top seed and is followed by UC Irvine, Long Beach State, UC San Diego, CSUN, UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, and Cal State Fullerton.

UC San Diego (17-11) is coming off a win at San Diego State Sunday as the Tritons retained the annual Harper Cup for the eighth-straight season. Kendall Thomas netted five goals (her second-straight game with five) and was named the Harper Cup MVP for the second-consecutive year.

CSUN (18-14) also won its last game of the regular season, a 7-6 topping of UC Davis on the road.

The Tritons defeated the Matadors 16-7 on March 2 in La Jolla (box score).

This will be the fourth Big West Championship for the Tritons sincejoining the conference for the 2020 season (no event that year due to pandemic). The team has won its opening game to advance to the semifinal round in each of the past two seasons. The Tritons' 12-11 overtime victory against UC Davis in 2022 was their first-ever Big West Championship win.

UC Irvine is the reigning Big West champion after defeating Hawai'iin overtime last year. The Anteatershold a 29-5 all-time record in the Big West Championship, the best of any conference team.

For complete information, including a full schedule and ticket info, visitTournament Central.

THE ESSENTIALS
--- Game 29: Big West Championship---
• #15/16/ UC San Diego (17-11, 4-3) vs.#17/23 CSUN(18-14, 2-5) - Quarterfinal
• Friday / April 26/ 12 p.m. Pacific
• Schaal Aquatics Center/ Davis, Calif.(map)
• Tickets
• ESPN+ ($)
• Live Stats
•Twitter/Instagram

ABOUT THE UC SAN DIEGO TRITONS
Roster||Statistics
• Location: La Jolla, Calif.
• Conference: Big West
• Overall: 17-11
• Big West: 4-3
• Home: 2-6
• Away: 5-1
• Neutral: 10-4
• Streak: 1 win
• Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) national ranking: 16
• Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA)national ranking: 15
• Big West Preseason Poll: 4th of 8
• Big West Finish: 4th of 8

TRITON GAME-WINNING GOALS
(through 4/25)
• Caroline Christl: 5 (Ottawa, La Verne, Princeton, Cal State Fullerton, UC Santa Barbara)
• Cascade Stensland: 3 (California Baptist 2, Whittier, Biola)
• Grayson Mix: 2 (Fresno Pacific, Marist)
• Kendall Thomas:2 (CSUN, San Diego State)
• Annika Arroyo: 1 (UC Irvine)
• Lucia Doak: 1 (California Baptist 1)
• Kenzie Larson: 1 (Concordia)
• Courtney Okumura: 1 (Biola 2)
• Abigail Schechter: 1 (La Salle)

GOAL BREAKDOWN(through 4/25)

Player	Goals	Games Scored In	Multi-Goal Games
Christl	61	22	18
Thomas	46	20	14
Doak	33	18	10

TRITON RECORDS
(through 4/25)

Overall	17-11
Big West	4-3
Non-conference	13-8
At home	2-6
On the road	5-1
At a neutral site	10-4
In overtime	0-1
Scoring 4-6goals	1-2
Scoring 7-9 goals	1-5
Scoring 10-12 goals	3-3
Scoring 13-15 goals	7-0
Scoring 16-18 goals	1-1
Scoring 19-20 goals	3-0
Scoring 21-plus goals	1-0
More steals than opponent	15-3
Opponent has more steals	0-8
Steals are even	2-0
More shots than opponent	13-7
Opponent has more shots	3-3
Shots are even	1-1
More exclusions than opponent	5-3
Opponent has more exclusions	10-5
Exclusions are even	2-3
More field blocks than opponent	8-2
Opponent has more field blocks	3-8
Field blocks are even	6-1
On Fridays	2-5
On Saturdays	7-4
On Sundays	8-2

2024 AWARDS
• Caroline Christl: UCU Athlete of the Week (4/1)
• Lexi Stahl:Two-time Big West Player of the Week (4/10, 3/13)
• Kendall Thomas: All-Big West Preseason Coaches' Team, Two-time UCU Athlete of the Week (4/22, 1/29)

UC SAN DIEGO ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Returning(20)
Annika Arroyo, UTL
Allie Bartholomew, ATT
Lauren Bellavia, ATT
Caroline Christl, UTL
Lucia Doak, CD
Sila Fedler, UTL
Sasha Frey, ATT
Hannah Kawar, C
Kenzie Larson, ATT
Grayson Mix, UTL
Abby Moll, ATT
Sofia Munatones, ATT
Sydney Munatones, ATT
Courtney Okumura, ATT
Olivia Seargeant, UTL
Lexi Stahl, GK
Cascade Stensland, CD
Kendall Thomas, C
Katie Ward, GK
Bria Zwaschka, GK

Lost (8)
Caroline Courtois, ATT
Natalie DiMeo, ATT
Tania Frank, ATT
Madisongrace Guerra, GK
Maja Layden, C
Maddie Solares, ATT
Kayla Peaco*ck, ATT
Carson Rampelberg, ATT

Newcomers (7)
Kyla Bruhn, ATT
Emily Cloherty, ATT
Paedrin Gillett, GK
Zoe Grover, ATT
Maddie McMahon, UTL
Olivia Obando, ATT
Abigail Schechter, UTL

TRITON DEBUTS
A total of five UC San Diego freshmen havemade their collegiate debuts this season.

Four of those debuts came against Ottawa on Jan. 20 at UC Santa Barbara's Winter Invitational. The foursome accounted for five goals, two assists, and six steals in the Tritons' 23-2 victory.
• Emily Cloherty: 2 shots, 2 goals, 1 drawn exclusion, 1 steal
• Maddie McMahon: 1 shot, 1 goal, 1 steal
• Olivia Obando: 1 shot, 1 goal, 3 steals
• Abigail Schechter: 1 shot, 1 goal, 2 assists, 1 steal

The final debut was goalie Paedrin Gillett on Feb. 3 vs. California Baptist. She had 5 saves, 1 assist, 3 steals, and earned a 13-9 win in a complete game effort.

AYE AYE CAPTAIN
The Tritons' co-captains this season are senior Annika Arroyo and junior Lexi Stahl.

THOMAS NAMED TO ALL-BIG WEST PRESEASON COACHES' TEAM
Junior Kendall Thomas was named to the 2024 All-Big West Preseason Coaches' Team. In 2023, Thomas rang up 67 points on 56 goals and 11 assists. The center led the Tritons in drawn exclusions with 42 and was second on the team in points and goals. Among all Big West players, she ranked seventh in goals and 10th in points. Thomas scored multiple goals in 16 games including a career-best seven in a win against conference opponent Cal State Fullerton. In the annual Harper Cup game against San Diego State, Thomas scored with three seconds left to give the Tritons a 10-9 win and keep the cup in La Jolla for the seventh-consecutive season. Thomas earned several accolades in 2023 including All-America Honorable Mention from the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC), All-Big West Second Team, and Harper Cup MVP.She also won academic awards from the Big West and ACWPC.

'TIS THE PRESEASON
2024 Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. UC Irvine: 47 points, 5 first-place votes
2. Hawai'i: 42, 1
3. Long Beach State: 40, 2
4. UC San Diego: 31
5. UC Davis: 23
6. UC Santa Barbara: 20
7. CSUN: 13
8. Cal State Fullerton: 8

2024 All-Big West Preseason Coaches' Team
• Rachel Kowalchick: Sr., Center, Long Beach State
• Bia Mantellato Dias: So., Center, Hawai'i
• Elisa Portillo: So., Attacker, Long Beach State
• Faith Tedesco: Sr., Goalkeeper, UC Irvine
• Dorottya Telek: Sr., Center, CSUN
• Kendall Thomas: Jr., Center, UC San Diego
• Nioka Thomas: Jr., Center, UC Irvine

TAKE ME BACK
In 2023, the Tritons went 14-17 overall and posted a 4-3 Big West record. They finished strong, winning five of their last six games. As thefourth seed in the Big WestChampionship, UC San Diego defeated fifth-seeded UC Davis in a quarterfinal and fell against top-seeded and eventual conference winner UC Irvine in the semifinal round. Kendall Thomas,Caroline ChristlandCourtney Okumuraalso earned ACWPC All-America Honorable Mention.Sofia MunatonesandSydney Munatonesjoined that trio in gaining Big West postseason recognition.

2024 CWPA NATIONAL POLL
(4/24)
1. UCLA
2. Hawai'i
3. California
4. Stanford
5. USC
6. Loyola Marymount
7. UC Irvine
8. Long Beach State
9. Fresno State
10. Arizona State
11. Princeton
12. Indiana
13. Michigan
14. UC Davis
15. UC San Diego
16. UC Santa Barbara
17. CSUN
18. Wagner
19. San Jose State
20. Harvard
21. Pacific
22. Long Island University
23. San Diego State
24. Brown
25. Pomona-Pitzer

UC SAN DIEGO IN THE 2024 CWPA NATIONAL POLL
Week 14 (4/24): 15
Week 13 (4/17): 11
Week 12 (4/10): 11
Week 11 (4/3): 12
Week 10 (3/27): 12
Week 9 (3/20): 12
Week 8 (3/13): 11
Week 7 (3/6): T-13
Week 6 (2/28): 15
Week 5 (2/21): T-13
Week 4 (2/14): 14
Week 3 (2/7): 14
Week 2 (1/31): 9
Week 1 (1/24): 10
Preseason (1/11): 10

2024 ACWPCNATIONAL POLL
(4/24)
1. UCLA
2. Hawai'i
3. California
4. Stanford
5. USC
6. LMU
7. Fresno State
8. UC Irvine
9. Long Beach State
10. Arizona State
11. Indiana
12. Princeton
T-13. Michigan
T-13. UC Davis
15. UC Santa Barbara
16. UC San Diego
17. San Jose State
18. Wagner
19. Harvard
20. Long Island University
21. San Diego State
22. Pacific
23. CSUN
24. Pomona-Pitzer
T-25. Brown
T-25. Marist

UC SAN DIEGO IN THE 2024 ACWPCNATIONAL POLL
April 24: 16
April 17: 14
April 10: 14
April 3: 14
March 27: 14
March 20: T-14
March 13: 14
March 6: T-15
Feb. 28: 14
Feb. 21: 13
Feb. 14: 13
Feb. 7: 15
Jan. 31: 9
Jan. 24: 9

HEAD COACH BRAD KREUTZKAMP
Brad Kreutzkamp is in his 15th season as head coach of the UC San Diego women's water polo program in 2024. In 14seasons 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 anoverall record of278-197(.585) 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. Full Bio

FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out theJunior 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 Tritonshere.

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.

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successfulprograms inNCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as amember of The Big West inNCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in DivisionsIIand III and helped guide1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38have 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.

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Tritons Begin Big West Championship Play Friday - UC San Diego (2024)