Matadors Set to Begin 2016 Season at UCSB Winter Invite

NORTHRIDGE, CA---

CSUN Women's Water Polo kicks off the 2016 season at UC Santa Barbara with a two-day stay at the UCSB Winter Invitational. The Matadors face four teams in the invite including two teams on each day. CSUN squares off with Cal Baptist at 12:20 p.m. on Friday afternoon and takes on Azusa Pacific at 3:20 p.m. later that day. On Saturday, the Matadors face Michigan at 12 p.m. and conclude their stay at the invite with a 4:40 p.m. match versus UC San Diego.

CSUN returns 15 letterwinners from last season in 2016. With the departure of seven seniors from a season ago, the Matadors are expected to rely on a young core on both sides of the pool. The trio of sophomores including attacker Madeleine Sanchez, center Amy Yule and utility Shannon Hovanesian returns after all three boasted strong freshmen seasons.

The fourth-leading scorer in 2015, Sanchez tallied 28 goals including four against Big West Conference opponents. She also posted a team-leading 29 assists and she finished second in steals with 33.

Serving as a backup to the second-highest scorer in program history last season, Marisa Young, Yule competed in all 26 contests and scored 13 goals while shooting an impressive 65.0 percent.

Joining the impressive sophomore group is Hovanesian who is beginning her second season on the team as one of four team captains on the team. She appeared in every single match as a freshman, totaling 14 steals, 10 goals and eight assists.

A fourth sophomore, Niki Van Vugt is expected to receive time at goalkeeper this season along with senior Natalie Averell. Van Vugt and Averell combined to appear in 12 games last season, totaling 36 saves as a backup unit to graduating senior Kiernan Davis in 2015. Van Vugt averaged 8.04 saves per game while Averell saved 6.44 in seven appearances.

The Matadors ended last season ranked No. 10 by the Collegiate Water Polo Association. Heading into the new season, CSUN received a No. 18 ranking in the CWPA Women's Varsity Preseason Poll and this weekend it will face a Michigan team ranked No. 12 in the poll. Opponents UC San Diego and Cal Baptist also received votes in the preseason poll.

In last year's UCSB Winter Invite, CSUN went 1-3, earning an 11-8 win over CSU Bakersfield on day two of the event. In all four games, the Matadors competed in matches decided by three goals or less.

CSUN owns a 15-5 all-time record against the Cal Baptist Lancers and the Matadors posted an 8-2 win at last year's Cal Baptist Tournament in January. In neutral site matches, CSUN has posted 10 wins against Cal Baptist in 11 all-time meetings. The Lancers went 20-15 last season including going 1-3 at the 2015 UCSB Winter Invite.

Against Azusa Pacific, CSUN is 4-0 including earning a pair of wins in neutral site contests. The Matadors downed the Cougars, 14-8, at the Cal Baptist Tournament in 2015. Last season, Azusa Pacific finished the campaign with a 10-17 overall record.

Michigan has posted six victories in seven all-time meetings with the Matadors but the teams have not faced each other since the 2011 season. The Wolverines went 2-3 in last year's UCSB Winter Invite including earning a victory against host UC Santa Barbara. Head coach of the Wolverines, Dr. Marcelo Leonardi, coached the Matadors for five seasons from 2010 to 2014 and amassed an impressive 91-56 record.

The Matadors are 12-5 in the all-time series with UC San Diego including picking up an 8-4 win on the road last season. The Tritons have dropped eight of their last nine meetings to CSUN. UC San Diego went 2-2 in last year's UCSB Winter Invite including earning victories over nationally-ranked Michigan and Long Beach State. In 2015, the Tritons earned their third consecutive Western Water Polo Association title en route to finishing eighth at the 2015 National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship.

Matadors Set to Begin 2016 Season at UCSB Winter Invite

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Players Mentioned

Natalie Averell

Kiernan Davis

Shannon Hovanesian

Madeleine Sanchez

Niki Van Vugt

Marisa Young

Amy Yule