Tuesday, March 7
Northridge, Calif.
3:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
vs
Villanova
Photo by: Steve Fitzgerald
CSUN Hosts Three This Week at Matador Pool
3/6/2023 6:02:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---No. 24 CSUN Water Polo (14-5) opens the home portion of its schedule this week with three matches at Matador Pool. The Matadors host Villanova on Tuesday at 3 p.m. before kicking off Big West play on Friday against No. 11 UC Davis at noon. CSUN closes the week by facing No. 5 Hawai'i on Sunday at noon.
LAST TIME OUT
CSUN headed east for four matches this past weekend at the Harvard Invitational. The Matadors finished 3-1 at the event, defeating La Salle and Siena by 15-9 scores on Saturday and Carthage College 14-3 on Sunday. CSUN's lone loss would come to No. 19 Harvard by a 10-7 margin.
The Matadors never trailed at any point of their three victories on the weekend. CSUN wold nearly erase a six-goal deficit in the fourth quarter against Harvard, eventually cutting a 9-3 deficit to 9-7, but could not complete the comeback.
Dorottya Telek led the way with 16 goals in the four matches while Shelby Hovanesian had six and Anna Pal and Leah Huisar had five apiece. Meghan Lopez played 104 total minutes in front of the cage, posting 29 saves.
TELEK NEARING CSUN RECORD
With 16 more tallies last weekend, Dorottya Telek is on the doorstep of breaking the school's single-season goal record. She enters the week at 77 goals, matching her entire scoring output last season. Telek is four goals away from breaking Whitney Delgado's 80-goal record set in 2010. In just 45 matches at CSUN, Telek is already ninth on the school's career goal list with 154 goals.
MATADOR HEADLINES
In The Big West, Dorottya Telek tops the league in goals and points (85) while she is second in steals (26). Anna Pal is also the conference leader in assists with 31 to go with 23 steals, 18 goals and 12 field blocks. In front of the cage, Meghan Lopez paces The Big West in saves with 151.
Shelby Hovanesian has already posted a career high in goals with 22 this season, which is second-best on the team. She also has 20 steals and 12 assists on the campaign. Helena Sandhagen has netted 13 goals for CSUN while Tatiana Smeltzer has 10 tallies.
SERIES HISTORY
CSUN has won both all-time meetings with Villanova, winning most recently last season, 10-9, at the Convergence Tournament. UC Davis holds a 23-7 edge over CSUN after an early season 15-6 win on Feb. 4. Hawai'i leads CSUN 18-4 all time in water polo and comes in with a seven-match winning streak.
The Matadors are looking for their first win over UC Davis since May 1, 2016 while they have not defeated Hawai'i since March 7, 2015.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE COMPETITION
Villanova is 8-7 on the season with recent wins over Santa Clara, Cal Lutheran, Occidental and Fresno Pacific at the Convergence Tournament. The Wildcats come in winners of six consecutive matches. Stella Byles is the team top returning goal scorer with 70 tallies last season. Abigail Shelby finished with 178 saves in front of the cage in 2022.
No. 11 UC Davis is 10-8 on the season and winners of six of seven. The Aggies have four top-20 wins on the season, highlighted by a 12-10 win over then ninth-ranked Michigan on Feb. 25. Noelle Wijnbelt has a team-high 32 goals on the season while Kelly Hungerford has tallied 18 goals and 20 assists. Sophia Noble has ranked up 147 saves at goalkeeper.
Reigning Big West regular season champ Hawai'i is 11-2 season. The fifth-ranked Rainbow Wahine went 3-1 at UCI's Barbara Kalbus Invitational, defeating fellow Big West teams UC San Diego, Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara. The Bows have five top-10 wins on the year. Bia Mantellato Dias has scored a team-best 39 goals followed by Alba Bonamusa Boix at 31 goals. Goalkeeper Bridget Layburn has collected 96 saves.
#GoMatadors
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LAST TIME OUT
CSUN headed east for four matches this past weekend at the Harvard Invitational. The Matadors finished 3-1 at the event, defeating La Salle and Siena by 15-9 scores on Saturday and Carthage College 14-3 on Sunday. CSUN's lone loss would come to No. 19 Harvard by a 10-7 margin.
The Matadors never trailed at any point of their three victories on the weekend. CSUN wold nearly erase a six-goal deficit in the fourth quarter against Harvard, eventually cutting a 9-3 deficit to 9-7, but could not complete the comeback.
Dorottya Telek led the way with 16 goals in the four matches while Shelby Hovanesian had six and Anna Pal and Leah Huisar had five apiece. Meghan Lopez played 104 total minutes in front of the cage, posting 29 saves.
TELEK NEARING CSUN RECORD
With 16 more tallies last weekend, Dorottya Telek is on the doorstep of breaking the school's single-season goal record. She enters the week at 77 goals, matching her entire scoring output last season. Telek is four goals away from breaking Whitney Delgado's 80-goal record set in 2010. In just 45 matches at CSUN, Telek is already ninth on the school's career goal list with 154 goals.
MATADOR HEADLINES
In The Big West, Dorottya Telek tops the league in goals and points (85) while she is second in steals (26). Anna Pal is also the conference leader in assists with 31 to go with 23 steals, 18 goals and 12 field blocks. In front of the cage, Meghan Lopez paces The Big West in saves with 151.
Shelby Hovanesian has already posted a career high in goals with 22 this season, which is second-best on the team. She also has 20 steals and 12 assists on the campaign. Helena Sandhagen has netted 13 goals for CSUN while Tatiana Smeltzer has 10 tallies.
SERIES HISTORY
CSUN has won both all-time meetings with Villanova, winning most recently last season, 10-9, at the Convergence Tournament. UC Davis holds a 23-7 edge over CSUN after an early season 15-6 win on Feb. 4. Hawai'i leads CSUN 18-4 all time in water polo and comes in with a seven-match winning streak.
The Matadors are looking for their first win over UC Davis since May 1, 2016 while they have not defeated Hawai'i since March 7, 2015.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE COMPETITION
Villanova is 8-7 on the season with recent wins over Santa Clara, Cal Lutheran, Occidental and Fresno Pacific at the Convergence Tournament. The Wildcats come in winners of six consecutive matches. Stella Byles is the team top returning goal scorer with 70 tallies last season. Abigail Shelby finished with 178 saves in front of the cage in 2022.
No. 11 UC Davis is 10-8 on the season and winners of six of seven. The Aggies have four top-20 wins on the season, highlighted by a 12-10 win over then ninth-ranked Michigan on Feb. 25. Noelle Wijnbelt has a team-high 32 goals on the season while Kelly Hungerford has tallied 18 goals and 20 assists. Sophia Noble has ranked up 147 saves at goalkeeper.
Reigning Big West regular season champ Hawai'i is 11-2 season. The fifth-ranked Rainbow Wahine went 3-1 at UCI's Barbara Kalbus Invitational, defeating fellow Big West teams UC San Diego, Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara. The Bows have five top-10 wins on the year. Bia Mantellato Dias has scored a team-best 39 goals followed by Alba Bonamusa Boix at 31 goals. Goalkeeper Bridget Layburn has collected 96 saves.
#GoMatadors
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Players Mentioned
Attacker
/ Women's Water Polo
Utility
/ Women's Water Polo
Goalkeeper
/ Women's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Women's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Women's Water Polo
Center
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