LA MIRADA – The Cal State Monterey Bay women's water polo team closed out its season by going 1-2 at the WWPA Championship this weekend at the La Mirada Regional Aquatics Center.
The Otters opened the tournament against the No. 1 seed in the East McKendree and fell, 10-7. Later that evening, CSUMB was edged by the No. 3 seed in the East, Salem, 11-10.
The Otters rallied on Saturday and concluded their season on a winning note, taking down Gannon University, 12-7.
GAME 1 | McKendree 10 – CSUMB 7
For the second straight season the two teams clashed in the tournament, but this time, the Bearcats ended up on top after the final horn, downing the Otters, 10-7.
CSUMB gave the top seed from the east all they could handle, especially early in a defensive, hard-fought half as McKendree went into the intermission with a 3-2 lead.
The two teams traded goals in the opening quarter and the Bearcats scored twice in the second to have the small advantage at the half.
McKendree then scored five straight goals in the third to take the advantage before CSUMB had its highest scoring quarter, finding the back of the net three times in the final frame.
Kaya Eaton paced the Otters with three goals and All-WWPA first-teamer
Autumn Day tallied four points on a goal and three assists.
Annika Harper added three points on two goals and an assist.
GAME 2 | Salem 11 – CSUMB 10
Despite going down 5-1 in the first quarter the Otters scored five of their own in the second and added three more in the third to pull within one in the final quarter.
Salem took a two-goal lead at the 6:34 mark and CSUMB promptly answered just over 15 seconds later but the Otters were unable to find the back of the cage to even the score for an opportunity to advance to Sunday.
CSUMB outshot Salem, 36-30, as
Brenna Kenney and
Kaya Eaton scored three goals apiece. Eaton and
Autumn Day led the Otters with four points as Day tallied two goals and handed out two assists.
Annika Harper followed with three points on one goal and two assists and
Ximena Pichon was credited with two assists.
GAME 3 | CSUMB 12 – Gannon 7
The Otters sported the advantage in every quarter to wrap up their season with a 12-7 victory over Gannon University on Saturday.
CSUMB scored multiple goals in every period, including posting three in the second and four in the third.
Autumn Day tallied four points on three goals and an assist, while
Stella Martin,
Allyson Ainsworth,
Brenna Kenney and
Ximena Pichon recorded three points each. Ainsworth and Kenney had multi-goal games and
Becca Bijold, Martin and Pichon handed out a pair of assists each.
Grace Mensing capped off her stellar sophomore campaign with 22 saves in the cage.
ALL-TOURNAMENT
Kaya Eaton was named to the All-Tournament Second Team at the conclusion of the Championship. Eaton finished with eight points on seven goals and an assist in the three games.
