#23 CSUN Set to Play Three Ranked Opponents this Weekend

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---No. 23 CSUN Water Polo heads down to UC Irvine and San Diego State this weekend for three top-25 matchups.

The weekend kicks off Friday at 12:00 p.m. where the Matadors visit eighth-ranked UC Irvine for another Big West matchup. The weekend continues on Saturday where CSUN will travel to San Diego State to face 12th-ranked Princeton at 8:00 a.m. before capping off the action-packed weekend by playing 20th-ranked SDSU at 2:40 p.m. Live stats will be available throughout the weekend for all three games and the matchup against UCI will be broadcast on ESPN+.

ABOUT LAST WEEKEND
CSUN is coming off a big weekend at home, dropping two close Big West contests to 16th-ranked UC Davis, 17-11, and third-ranked Hawaii, 14-9. Kianna Melvin registered a strong offensive and defensive stance last weekend. Melvin totaled eight points over the two matches with six of those points coming from a close game against UC Davis where she led the Matadors in goals with five. Dorottya Telek and Anna Pal both had three points of their own in the close contest with Hawaii while Valeria Martinez put up a great defensive front with two field blocks and two steals.

Pal had a record-breaking weekend by setting a new school record for career assists, pushing her career total to 199. The assist mark had been holding strong since 2014, set by Lindsy Duncan.

TOP MATADOR PERFORMERS
Senior Dorottya Telek tops the Matadors with 83 goals and 121 points on the season as she is shooting a sharp 59.3 percent from the field. Fellow senior Anna Pal now has dished out 57 assists on the year to go with 45 goals and 44 steals. The senior tandem of Helena Sandhagen and Kianna Melvin have also been outstanding offensively, totaling 36 and 32 goals, respectively. In the cage, sophomore Erika Staine has 82 saves with 11.32 goals-against-average.

SCOUTING UC IRVINE
UC Irvine is currently 10-9 on the season and 2-0 in Big West conference play. The Anteaters are coming off a big weekend with a conference win over ninth-ranked UC San Diego by a score of 16-11. Lauren Hett led the offense for the 'Eaters with five goals while Libby Alexander was close behind her with three goals and two assists in that win. Hett also leads the Anteaters in goals with 33 and points with 50. Brooke Hourigan has 21 assists on the season and 20 goals.

Series History: UC Irvine leads the Matadors with a 35-4 overall record. The last time the two teams met, UC Irvine topped the Matadors by a score of 15-8.

SCOUTING PRINCETON
The No. 12 Tigers are currently 10-2 on the season overall with their two losses coming via a one goal loss to Harvard and a three goal loss to UC San Diego. Kayla Yelensky leads Princeton with 41 goals while Rachel Carver leads the team in assists with 29. Lindsey Lucas leads the way for the Tigers in the cage with 111 saves and five assists on the season.

Series History: The two teams have only met four times in school history with the Tigers topping the Matadors in three of those four matches with the most recent win being decided by one goal, 9-8, in 2022.

SCOUTING SAN DIEGO STATE
The Aztecs are 10-7 on the season overall with their most recent victory being a 25-7 win over Concordia. Claudia Valdes leads the offensive side of things for SDSU with 41 goals and 29 assists to give her 70 points on the season.

Series History
The Aztecs leads the Matadors with a 19-5 overall record. The latest match between the two ended by a score of 11-8 with San Diego State coming out on top last season.

#GoMatadors

#23 CSUN Set to Play Three Ranked Opponents this Weekend

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Players Mentioned

Valeria Martinez

Kianna Melvin

Anna Pal

Helena Sandhagen

Erika Staine

Dorottya Telek