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Shelby Stephens versus Salem University
Gannon University Athletics

Otters Beat Salem 14–9 For Fifth Place WWPA Finish

| By: By Kevin Gilmore (@OtterKevin)

Shelby Stephens earns her 10th win; Marisa Lovos named all–tournament

GENEVA, Ohio — The Cal State Monterey Bay water polo team put a tidy little bow on its 2019 season by beating Salem University 14–9 to earn a fifth place finish at the Western Water Polo Association Championship Tournament Sunday at SPIRE Institute.

The Otters entered the tournament as the No. 8 seed and posted wins over No. 9 Mercyhurst, No. 5 Sonoma State and No. 6 Salem to finish fifth. They'll close the season with a 10–17 record and a 9–9 mark against non–NCAA Division I opponents.

"I am so incredibly proud of this team," says CSUMB Head Coach Emily Schmit. "They came out fired up with something to prove. That kind of energy is hard to stop. Each and every player was an impact player this weekend."

The Otters never trailed as even strength goals by Sarah Smith (Cypress HS), Morgan Tucker (San Diego/Clairemont HS) and Kaya Ortega (Fullerton HS) staked them to a 3–0 lead they would never relinquish. CSUMB expanded its lead to 9–4 at halftime then played even over the final 16 minutes to secure the win.

Freshman Olivia Centis (Beaverton, Ore./Westview HS) led the Otter offense with a career–high five goals. She finished the tournament with 11 goals in four games. Fellow freshman Kaitlin Rooney (Morgan Hill/Presentation HS) led CSUMB with four assists and four steals. She finished an impressive tournament run with six goals, eight assists and 13 steals.

Tucker, playing in her final collegiate game, added one final hat trick, her team–leading 12th of the season. Marisa Lovos (Tualatin [Ore.] HS), also in her Otter swan song, chipped in a two goals and two assists while being named to the WWPA All–Tournament Team.

Other seniors making a statistical impact Sunday included Olivia Woolery (San Diego/Clairemont HS), who had two assists and three steals, and goalkeeper Shelby Stephens (Stockton/S.J. Delta College), who made seven saves while becoming the fourth keeper in CSUMB history to record 10 wins in a single season.




 
GO OTTERS!




 
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