#23 CSUN Water Polo to Make Long-Awaited Return this Saturday

Saturday, January 29

Riverside, Calif.

11:45 a.m.

California State University at Northridge

#24 California Baptist

Photo by: Shae Hammond

1/28/2022 8:55:00 AM | Women's Water Polo

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---After a 22-month absence, No. 23 CSUN Water Polo makes it long-awaited return to the pool this Saturday when the Matadors head to California Baptist for a pair of matches to kick off the 2022 season. CSUN is scheduled to compete at the Lancer Joust and will take on host California Baptist at 11:45 a.m. and Concordia at 4:45 p.m. Live video will be available for the Matadors' season opener with CBU while live stats will be provided for both matches.

The Matadors officially begin their 20th season of competition a week after canceling their first two scheduled matches on Jan. 22 against Biola and La Verne due to COVID-19 protocols. The season opener with CBU on Saturday will be the program's first game in 693 days and its first since March 7, 2020, following the cancelation of the remainder of that season and the Matadors opting out of the 2021 season.

CSUN returns a team with just seven letterwinners from 2020 with five players yet to play a full collegiate season. The Matadors also have 13 newcomers added with seven true freshmen. CSUN returns just 29 percent of its total scoring output from 2020 this season but do return its primary two goalkeepers on defense.

"We've had a good training camp, cherishing being together and playing the sport we all love after almost two years away," said head coach Matt Warshaw, who enters his fifth season. "I love the comradery thus far and it's obvious this group truly cares about each other, on and off the pool deck."

Junior attacker Helena Sandhagen was fourth on the team in scoring with 22 goals as a true freshman in 2020 as she is the top scoring returner from that season. Also freshmen in 2020, Carly Bockstahler and Lacey Hall had five and three goals, respectively, two years ago in limited minutes.

Injuries have slowed down seniors Kylee Jansen and Alessia Marquez but each bring CSUN much-needed veteran leadership. Jansen had 19 goals in just 10 matches in an injury-plagued 2020 campaign while Marquez totaled 29 assists, 18 steals and 10 goals as a sophomore.

The goalkeeping tandem of Meghan Lopez and Piper McCulloch earned significant playing time in their freshman year with CSUN in 2020 and have returned. Lopez played in 13 matches in front of the cage, racking up 121 saves and a 7.13 goals-against-average in 368 minutes while McCulloch competed in 10 contests and finished with 71 saves and a 7.43 GAA in 240 minutes.

Among the team's new faces, the Matadors have five players that are looking to make their debut in the pool after joining the program last year. Bringing international experience, center Dorottya Telek and defender Anna Pal both have won national championships at multiple levels for their native country of Hungary. On the attacking side, Tatum Scarry, Tatiana Smeltzer and Nicole Thomas had accomplished high school careers for Clovis North, Paso Robles and Mountain View, respectively. A utility player, Valeria Martinez won a pair of CIF titles at Schurr High School.

Joining the program this season are attackers Nicole Bacoyanis (Glenbrook High School - Ill.), Madison Little (Santiago High School), Alexis Smith (El Capitan High School) and Shelby Hovanesian (La Canada High School) along with defender Kelsey Meyers (College Park High School) and utility players Kate Cornejo (Vista Murrieta High School) and Jessica Matkovich (Homestead High School).

"I'm sure we could spin it and say maybe we'll take some teams by surprise, but the fact remains we only have a few athletes that have D-1 experience, so the expectation is that we learn a lot as a team on a daily basis and collect much needed experience throughout the season," said Warshaw.

The Matadors once again have a challenging schedule ahead of them this season. CSUN will compete in the always tough Triton Invitational hosted by UC San Diego from Feb. 12-13 before kicking off its Big West Conference schedule hosting seventh-ranked UC Irvine on Feb. 19. Along with the Matadors, six of the other teams in the Big West are nationally ranked to start the year with five in the top-15. Hawai'i, the Matadors' opponent on March 19, won the Big West last season and checks in at fifth-ranked.

'This season is going to be unique in many ways, the year off, the youth of the roster and the obstacles that COVID presents," said Warshaw. "This weekend, I'm looking forward to competing. March 2020 was the last time we were together competing, so it's hard to predict what the weekend will bring. I'm sure once the game starts the nerves and anxiety will go away and we'll get back to doing what we love quickly."

A Closer Look at California Baptist
Ranked 24th on this week's national poll, the Lancers began their season last week by going 0-4 at the competitive UCSB Winter Invite where CBU played four top-20 teams. CBU went 5-11 last season and 3-4 in the Golden Coast Conference. The team has returned three all-conference players in Kira O'Donell, Jamie Hutton and Melinna Galbraith. O'Donell, who is also a three-time All-American, leads the team with five goals in the early going this season. After playing in just four matches last season, Madison Gerg has amassed the most time at goalkeeper with 88 minutes played with 22 saves.

A Closer Look at Concordia
Concordia kicks off its 2022 season this weekend at the Lancer Joust against UC Santa Barbara. The team played eight matches last season, going 2-6 in a shortened 2021 campaign. The Eagles have returned a pair of Division II All-Americans in Madison Ravelo and Kim Reidel this season. Reidel had 22 goals last season while Ravelo chipped in with nine. In net, Tatiana Cava logged the most minutes last season with 191 while totaling 68 saves.

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