CSUN Water Polo Announces 2019 Schedule

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.—CSUN head women's water polo coach Matt Warshaw has announced the 2019 schedule. The Matadors will play a several Top 20 teams again this season including four squads that advanced to last season's NCAA Tournament.

Coming off a season where CSUN finished with the most wins since 2015, Warshaw is excited about his squad for the upcoming year.

"Our strength on this year's team is our depth and our youth. With only three seniors on the current roster and 24 total athletes, we'll have a lot of options when it comes to rotations and schemes." Warshaw explained. "Our areas of focus will be playing great team defense and controlling the pace of the game, as well as developing the younger side of our roster."

Warshaw, entering his third season as head coach, saw his team finish with a No 19 ranking in the country. The Matadors have finished in the Top 20 nationally in each of the past two seasons.

"The Big West is the most competitive water polo conference in the country, with all of the teams being in the top 20 in the nation," said Warshaw.

The coaching staff thinks the key to staying competitive starts at practice. "Staying healthy will be key for us." Warshaw said. "We have implemented a new weight room routine, along with our weekly yoga and also focusing on nutrition more so than ever."

CSUN begins the 2019 campaign at the UCSB Winter Invite, where they take on Azusa Pacific and UCLA on January 18. The Matadors conclude the invite facing California Baptist and Michigan a day later. Following the UCSB tournament will be UC San Diego's Triton Invite where the Matadors will face many top-ranked teams. CSUN will also participate at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational at UC Irvine from February 22-24.

The Matadors' home opener will be against Saint Francis University on March 6 at 3 p.m. CSUN also hosts a pair of non-conference opponents on March 12 as Austin College and Connecticut College come to Matador Pool.

The Matadors begin Big West play hosting Long Beach State on March 16. Their first conference road test will take place at Hawai'i on March 23. CSUN also hosts UC Irvine (March 30) and UC Santa Barbara on Senior Day (April 6) during the Big West season. The regular season wraps up at UC Davis on April 13 before the Matadors head to Long Beach State to compete in the 2019 Big West Tournament, beginning on April 26.

CSUN also travels to Indiana this season to participate in the Indiana Classic on March 2nd. With trips to Indiana and Hawai'i this season, the team is sure to rack up some frequent-flier points.

"With trips to UC Davis, UC San Diego, San Diego State, Hawaii and Indiana on the schedule, maintaining our travel routines will be important," Warshaw said. "We like to head straight to the visiting pool when we arrive in a new city and get a swim workout in, then a morning shoot around on game day will get us in the right frame of mind to compete."

Some key student-athletes to look out for include senior Lindsey Garcia, who enters her fourth season with the Matadors. Garcia is coming off a season where she posted career highs in matches (28), steals (27), earned ejections (14) and field blocks (4).

Team captains include Jennalyn Barthels and Ashlee Sellung. Barthels tallied new career highs in appearances (30), goals (9), assists (15) and steals (12) last campaign. Sellung appeared in 31 matches in her sophomore season and posted new career highs in assists (18), field blocks (14) steals (13).

The Matadors are also welcoming a good crop of new players, and the coaching staff predicts it will be competitive to earn starting spots.

"Last year we graduated seven seniors who all had large roles so there is a lot of healthy competition to establish roles within this year's roster," Warshaw concluded.

California State University Northridge Athletics

CSUN Water Polo Announces 2019 Schedule

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