CSUN Water Polo Faces UCSB in Big West Tournament Opening Round

Big West Conference Championship Tournament Bracket

NORTHRIDGE, CA---

With the regular season in the rearview mirror, CSUN Water Polo (11-19, 0-5 BWC) now sets its sights on the Big West Conference Championships beginning on Friday afternoon in Santa Barbara. The sixth-seeded Matadors will face the host of the tournament and the third-seeded UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (15-12, 3-2 BWC) in the opening round of the single-elimination tournament to crown a conference champion. The teams square off at Campus Pool on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. with the winner advancing to face second-seeded UC Irvine on Saturday at 2 p.m.

The No. 24 Matadors snapped a five-game losing streak with an impressive victory at nationally-ranked Loyola Marymount last Saturday by the final of 9-7. Sophomore Madeleine Sanchez led the way offensively with three goals while Amy Yule scored twice. Goalkeeper Niki Van Vugt also anchored the CSUN defense with seven saves in front of the cage. The Matadors used a four-goal second quarter to turn the tide of the contest as CSUN posted its first road victory this season against a nationally-ranked opponent.

Sanchez heads into postseason play with a conference-best 71 goals through 30 matches to go along with a 2.37 goals per game average. Her 71 goals puts her in fifth-place in team history for scores in a season and nine away from the top spot occupied by Whitney Delgado (80, 2010). Over her final 13 matches, Sanchez ripped the net 35 times including posting 10 multiple-goal performances. She also continues to lead the team in assists with 42 and she is second-best in steals with 55. In Big West competition, Sanchez scored 10 in the five matches including tossing in five over her last two contests.

Another key offensive weapon in the lineup, Yule has tallied 43 goals in her second season with team while shooting a team-best 49.4 percent in the pool. The sophomore center has also recorded 63 earned ejections and registered 26 steals.

McKenzie Pollei and Katelyn Fairchild each have scored 23 goals this season for CSUN while also filling up several other offensive categories with strong production. Pollei has posted 35 steals to go along with 24 assists, 12 field blocks and 12 earned ejections. Fairchild leads the team with 64 steals in 27 contests and she has recorded 34 assists. Shannon Hovanesian comes into the weekend with a team-leading 13 field blocks while she has also tallied 47 steals, 35 earned ejections, 31 assists and 18 goals.

In net, Van Vugt amassed 173 saves in over 661 minutes in front of the cage this season. She also saved 8.37 per contest and posted an 8.81 goals-against-average. In three conference contests, Van Vugt stopped 21 shot attempts.

The Gauchos and Matadors have faced each other four times in the history of the tournament with each side earning two wins apiece. The teams have met twice in the winning bracket of the tournament with CSUN taking the last meeting in 2010 while the two teams have competed twice in consolation games with UCSB earning a victory in 2012 and CSUN coming out the winner in 2013. Overall, UCSB leads the all-time series, 16-13, including earning a 6-4 victory at home against the Matadors on April 16.

The No. 9 Gauchos went 15-12 during the regular season including 3-2 in Big West play. The team finished in a three-way tie for second-place in the conference with UC Irvine and Hawai'i but by virtue of tiebreakers, the Gauchos secured the third seed in the conference championships. UCSB dropped a 7-6 decision to Long Beach State last week in the regular season finale, which ended a three-game winning streak.

Offensively, UCSB averaged 9.52 goals per game in 2016 while the team surrendered 8.07 scores per match. Senior center Lauren Martin leads the team with 45 goals and the tandem of junior Taylor Shore (41) and senior Bryn Hudson (38) are not far behind in the goal department. Martin has also posted a team-best 52 earned ejections and Hudson leads in assists with 35. Shore has been a key defensive threat in the water with 43 steals.

The Big West's save leader, senior MacKenzie Brokaw comes into Friday's match with 234 saves as she has played in a conference-most 867 minutes at goalkeeper. Also, Brokaw is sporting a 7.81 goals-against-average.

CSUN Water Polo Faces UCSB in Big West Tournament Opening Round

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Katelyn Fairchild

Shannon Hovanesian

McKenzie Pollei

Madeleine Sanchez

Niki Van Vugt

Amy Yule