SEASIDE, Calif. – The Cal State Monterey Bay women's water polo team earned a pair of wins at the Otter Tank. The Otters opened with a program first regular season win over conference opponent Santa Clara University, followed by a 17-5 win over Fresno Pacific.

Persistent defense gave the Otters the opportunity to push the ball on offense and outscore both opponents, keeping at least a three-point lead throughout the entire day.

The Otters got a top performance out of senior Nikki Smart (Clivis/Buchanan HS), who scored a single game season-high seven points against Fresno Pacific. Both Smart and classmate Katie Sowul (Anaheim/Esperanza HS) finished with a total of eight goals respectively.
 
Game 1
Both teams played a highly physical game, finishing with a total of 16 ejections collectively. The Otters came out with a strong first half, nearly taking a 4-0 score into half until Claire Eadington scored for the Broncos with under a minute remaining to take it into halftime.

CSUMB outscored the Broncos with an even stronger second half, 6-3. Sowul contributed five goals to the team's total.

Sophomore goalie Paige Robinson (San Jose/ Lynbrook HS) recorded six saves in the first half followed by freshman Amanda Jennings (Oakley/Freedom HS) second half performance tallying nine blocks for the Otters.

CSUMB    2 – 2 – 3 – 3 = 10
SCU           0 – 1 – 2 – 1 = 4

CSUMB GOALS: Sowul 5, Vournas 2, Cooper 1, Walters 1, Smart 1
SCU GOALS: Safir 2, Kirasich, Eadington

CSUMB GOALIE SAVES: Robinson 6, Jennings 9
 
GAME 2
The Otters played persistent from start to finish. They scored four goals in the first three quarters to take a 12-4 lead into the final eight minutes.

The Otters added five more goals in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to extend the lead. Defense proved itself to be strong not allowing the Sunbirds to see the back of the net in the final quarter.

CSUMB finished with seven individuals scoring one or more goals against the Sunbirds.  Fresno Pacific was led by Dani Mortimer with two goals.

CSUMB      4 – 4 – 4 – 5 = 17
FPU             1 – 2 – 2 – 0 = 5

CSUMB GOALS: Smart 7, Sowul 3, Tyrrell 3, Vournas 1, Orr 1, Walters 1, Fields 1
FPU GOALS: Mortimer  2, Cobb 1, Haley 1, Retig 1
 
The Otter water polo team will have two weeks of practice before their next pair of games in Rohnert Park, Calif. The Otters will play Cal Lutheran and conference opponent Sonoma State on Saturday, Feb. 18.