Thursday, April 21
Manoa, Hawaii
2:45 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
vs
#5 UC Irvine
Photo by: Will Navarro
CSUN Squares off with UC Irvine at Big West Championship
4/20/2022 11:55:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---No. 24 CSUN Water Polo makes the trip to Hawai'i for the 2022 Big West Water Polo Championship this week. The Matadors take on No. 5 UC Irvine in an opening round match on Thursday at 2:45 p.m. PT/11:45 a.m. HT on ESPN+.
The Matadors are making their return to the Big West Championships for the first time since 2019. CSUN is seeded seventh at the tournament while the Anteaters are the second seed. The winner of CSUN and UCI will take on the winner of third-seeded Long Beach State and sixth-seeded UC Santa Barbara in a semifinal match on Friday.
CSUN is looking to snap a six-game skid at the conference tournament (without counting consolation games). The Matadors have played the Anteaters six times in their postseason history, going 2-4 in those games. The squads last met at the tournament in 2018 with the Anteaters prevailing by a 14-1 margin. CSUN's last tournament match win in the winner's bracket took place in 2014 against Hawai'i. UCI leads CSUN in the all-time series 32-4, which includes a Feb. 19 win at Matador Pool (19-5).
The Matadors finished the regular season with a 12-13 overall record and 0-6 mark in Big West play. CSUN returned to the pool after opting out of the 2021 season due to COVID-19 concerns. The team collected two top-25 wins and played in a number of close games including eight matches decided by a goal.
In has been a breakout year for Dorottya Telek who led the Big West in goals and points during the regular season. Telek is in her first year of competition with the Matadors after sitting out the season in 2021. Telek has scored the third-most goals in a single-season in CSUN history with 74 while posting 100 points. Only Whitney Delgado has ever scored more goals in a season in Matador history with 80 scored in 2010 and 76 in 2011. Telek also finished the regular season second in the Big West in steals (35) and third in assists (29).Â
Another first-year player, Anna Pal is ranked second in the Big West in assists (36) and seventh in goals (44) to go with 20 steals. Helena Sandhagen finished third on the team in goals with 26 while picking up 12 assists and 11 steals. Valeria Martinez had 20 assists and 15 steals during the regular year. Meghan Lopez gave the Matadors strong play in goal as well, racking up 188 saves in 21 matches.
A Closer Look at UC Irvine
The Anteaters went 19-6 during the regular season including going 5-1 in league play with their only conference loss coming to top-seeded Hawai'i. Last Friday, UCI defeated UC San Diego in their home finale to clinch the No. 2 seed at the tournament. UCI has advanced to four-straight Big West championship games, last winning the conference tournament in 2018.
Tara Prentice was second in the Big West in goals during the regular season, scoring 68 times to go with 30 steals and 19 assists. Jessica Lynch posted the second-most goals on the team with 35 while Elena Flynn had 34 goals. Goalkeeper Faith Tedesco had 160 saves with an 8.61 goals-against-average in 25 matches.
#UniteTheValley
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The Matadors are making their return to the Big West Championships for the first time since 2019. CSUN is seeded seventh at the tournament while the Anteaters are the second seed. The winner of CSUN and UCI will take on the winner of third-seeded Long Beach State and sixth-seeded UC Santa Barbara in a semifinal match on Friday.
CSUN is looking to snap a six-game skid at the conference tournament (without counting consolation games). The Matadors have played the Anteaters six times in their postseason history, going 2-4 in those games. The squads last met at the tournament in 2018 with the Anteaters prevailing by a 14-1 margin. CSUN's last tournament match win in the winner's bracket took place in 2014 against Hawai'i. UCI leads CSUN in the all-time series 32-4, which includes a Feb. 19 win at Matador Pool (19-5).
The Matadors finished the regular season with a 12-13 overall record and 0-6 mark in Big West play. CSUN returned to the pool after opting out of the 2021 season due to COVID-19 concerns. The team collected two top-25 wins and played in a number of close games including eight matches decided by a goal.
In has been a breakout year for Dorottya Telek who led the Big West in goals and points during the regular season. Telek is in her first year of competition with the Matadors after sitting out the season in 2021. Telek has scored the third-most goals in a single-season in CSUN history with 74 while posting 100 points. Only Whitney Delgado has ever scored more goals in a season in Matador history with 80 scored in 2010 and 76 in 2011. Telek also finished the regular season second in the Big West in steals (35) and third in assists (29).Â
Another first-year player, Anna Pal is ranked second in the Big West in assists (36) and seventh in goals (44) to go with 20 steals. Helena Sandhagen finished third on the team in goals with 26 while picking up 12 assists and 11 steals. Valeria Martinez had 20 assists and 15 steals during the regular year. Meghan Lopez gave the Matadors strong play in goal as well, racking up 188 saves in 21 matches.
A Closer Look at UC Irvine
The Anteaters went 19-6 during the regular season including going 5-1 in league play with their only conference loss coming to top-seeded Hawai'i. Last Friday, UCI defeated UC San Diego in their home finale to clinch the No. 2 seed at the tournament. UCI has advanced to four-straight Big West championship games, last winning the conference tournament in 2018.
Tara Prentice was second in the Big West in goals during the regular season, scoring 68 times to go with 30 steals and 19 assists. Jessica Lynch posted the second-most goals on the team with 35 while Elena Flynn had 34 goals. Goalkeeper Faith Tedesco had 160 saves with an 8.61 goals-against-average in 25 matches.
#UniteTheValley
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Players Mentioned
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