CSUN Hosts Top 10 Teams UC Davis, Hawai'i to Close Regular Season

Saturday, April 14

Northridge, CA

12:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

#8 UC Davis

Photo by: Paul Trafecanty

CSUN Hosts Top 10 Teams UC Davis, Hawai'i to Close Regular Season

4/13/2018 11:55:00 AM | Women's Water Polo

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---No. 20 CSUN Water Polo (15-14, 0-3 BWC) wraps up the regular season this weekend with a pair of Big West Conference home contests. The Matadors hosts No. 8 UC Davis on Saturday before facing No. 5 Hawai'i on Senior Day this Sunday. Both matches will start at noon. Prior to the start of Sunday's regular season finale, CSUN will honor its seven-member senior class in a special pregame ceremony.

Big West Tournament positioning is at stake this weekend as the Matadors look to move up the standings ahead of the conference tournament in two weeks. Currently sixth in the standings, the Matadors can still finish as high as the fourth seed. Hawai'i sits in first place with a 3-0 record followed by UC Davis (2-1), Long Beach State (2-2), UC Irvine (2-2) and UC Santa Barbara (1-2). The top two seeds will earn a bye in the opening round of the Big West Tournament while the third seed meets the sixth, and the fourth takes on the fifth seed. The tournament will held at UC Irvine from April 27-29.

The Matadors dropped a 9-5 decision at No. 17 UC Santa Barbara last Saturday. Five seniors hit the back of the net including senior Madeleine Sanchez who netted her team-best 46th goal of the season. Senior Niki Van Vugt racked up 11 saves in front of the cage.

Heading into her final two home matches of her career, Sanchez is on the cusp of breaking the Matadors' all-time career scoring record. Sitting on 221 career goals, Sanchez is one goal away from tying scoring leader Allison Brookes (2005-08). One of the top attackers in Matador history, Sanchez also needs four more goals to break the Big West scoring record. In the CSUN record books, Sanchez is second in field goal attempts (533), third in steals (233), fifth in assists (142) and tied for ninth in field blocks (29).

Also playing in her final home matches, senior Katelyn Fairchild comes into the weekend with 123 career goals and the fifth-most steals in team history at 187. Fairchild has also racked up 96 career assists as she has 43 goals, 44 steals and 25 assists this season. Utility Shannon Hovanesian leads the Matadors this season with 36 assists as she has collected 85 goals, 126 assists and 147 assists in 119 career matches.

At center, Amy Yule has competed in 113 matches with the Matadors, posting 98 goals, 83 steals and 28 assists. Yule's 159 career earned ejections are fourth-most in team history. Another center, Paula Abellan Garcia has seen action in 98 matches, registering 42 goals and 34 steals. This season, Abellan Garcia has hit the back of the net a career-best 20 times.

Van Vugt has also made her mark in team history, collecting the fourth-most saves at CSUN with 566. Amassing over 1,947 minutes in front of the cage, Van Vugt has a career 8.58 GAA. This season, Van Vugt has posted a career-best 7.28 GAA to go with 174 saves. Rounding out the senior class, defender Carly Wickman is another four-year letterwinner who has competed in 79 matches and recorded 39 steals, 21 assists and five goals.

The Aggies have won 17 of 24 matches all time with the Matadors including the last three contests. The teams squared off three times last season including at the Big West Tournament where UC Davis prevailed 12-7. The Rainbow Wahine are 13-4 against CSUN and have also won the last three in the series. Hawai'i claimed a 17-6 decision last season in Honolulu.

A Closer Look at UC Davis
The Aggies have gone 17-8 this season and sit in second place in the conference standings with a 2-1 mark. UC Davis has won six of the last seven matches with its only loss coming against the Rainbow Wahine over that span. Last Saturday, the Aggies edged UC Irvine 9-8 in a home victory. The team has two more matches left after Saturday, which includes a Sunday match at UC Santa Barbara and a home meeting vs California on April 12.

Senior Paige Virgil is fourth in the conference in goals with 43 while reigning Big West Player of the Week, senior Greta Kohlmoos is tied for eighth in scoring with 36 goals. Sophomore Caitlin Golding has compiled 65 saves on the season for the Aggies in front of the net.

A Closer Look at Hawai'i
The Rainbow Wahine own an impressive 18-4 record this season along with a conference-best 3-0 record. The team's only four losses this season have come against the Top 4 ranked squads in the nation. In last week's action, the Rainbow Wahine handed Long Beach State a 12-6 defeat in Honolulu. Prior to facing the Matadors, Hawai'i will visit UC Santa Barbara on Saturday.

Junior attacker Irene Gonzalez has hit the net a Big West leading 49 times this season as she is sixth in team history 162 career goals. Five Wahine players have scored at least 30 goals this season. In net, senior Ymane Hage has earned the most time at goalkeeper (421:39) en route to racking up 105 saves.