Indiana University Athletics
19th RANKED HOOSIERS HEAD TO CALIFORNIA FOR SPRING BREAK
3/10/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
19th RANKED HOOSIERS HEAD TO CALIFORNIA FOR SPRING BREAK
THIS WEEK: The 19th ranked Hoosiers head to sunny California for a week of games during Spring Break. Indiana opens the trip this Friday at #8 UC Davis and will participate in the Davis Shootout this Saturday and Sunday. The Hoosiers will then play at #3 California, at Cal-State Bakersfield, at #11 San Jose State and will finish up at #20 Pacific.
PROBABLE STARTERS FOR THE HOOSIERS (4-6 overall):
# Pos Player Yr. Hometown/School Notes and Stats
1 G Kirsten Mayberry Fr. Irvine, Calif. (Irvine) 8.2 saves per match
2 Dr Sheri Fagley So. Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. (Westminster Academy) Three goals in wins over Harvard.
4 Dr Deb Simone So. River Forest, Ill. (Oak Park River Forest) Team leader in goals, steals and assists.
5 2m Kara Fellerhoff So. Columbus, Ind. (Columbus North) First three goal game of yr vs Harvard.
7 Dr Kristin Carpenter So. Ann Arbor, Mich. (Huron) Second on team with nine goals.
9 2mD Molly Fonner So. Beaverton, Ore. (Westview/Wisconsin) 24 steals is second on team.
12 Dr. Mary Lesniak Fr.. Oak Park, Ill. (Oak Park River Forest) Will make 5th straight start
HEAD COACH--Barry King (Fresno State 1988) 2nd season, 30-15-1 in two seasons as the varsity head coach.
ASSISTANTS--Jack Wagner (Lane Tech '81); Kate Toole (Indiana '98)
LAST WEEK: The Hoosiers took two games from then #20 Harvard at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center upping their record to 4-6 on the year. Indiana has won four of its last five matches since starting the season 0-5. In the first game, Indiana took an early 2-0 lead thanks to two goals from Deb Simone, one on a penalty shot. Junior Kit Hodge pulled the Crimson within one going into the fourth but Indiana reeled off three goals, including another Simone penalty shot for a 7-3 win. In the second match, Simone put Indiana on the board first as time expired in the first period. After a Leslie Bennett goal, Simone struck again, with under three minutes left in the second, to put IU up 2-1. That lead was short-lived as sophomore All-American candidate Jesse Gunderson tied the game and her goal 29 seconds into the third period gave the Crimson their first lead. With it tied going into the fourth, Indiana then took care of business. Simone scored her third of the game to give Indiana the lead, then Kara Fellerhoff scored two insurance goals in the final 1:24 to give IU a 7-4 victory. Fellerhoff scored three times and swiped three balls.
THE OPPONENTS: The Hoosiers have not faced UC Davis, Cal-State Bakersfield, San Jose State and Pacific but have met California twice. The Golden Bears took a 7-0 decision in the opening game of last year's National Championships and also drilled the Hoosiers 20-1 at the UC San Diego Arena Invitational back in February.
RANK AND FILE: The Hoosiers enter this week ranked 19th in the nation in the latest United States Water Polo Top 20 poll. UC Davis will be the ninth Top 20 opponent Indiana has faced this season. The Hoosiers beat then-20th ranked Michigan State three weeks ago and took two from #20 Harvard last weekend. Indiana has lost to #3 California, #5 San Diego State, #9UC Santa Barbara, #10 Long Beach State, #14 UC San Diego and #15 Michigan. Indiana began the year ranked 11th.
STEALING SIMONE: Sophomore driver Deb Simone's nine steals in the first Harvard match tied Kara Fellerhoff's single-match record. Fellerhoff swiped nine against Notre Dame last year at the Miami Invitational. Simone, an Honorable Mention All-American selection last year, leads Indiana in goals (14), shooting percentage (36.8%), assists (9) and steals (33). The River Forest, Illinois native has three multiple goal games this season.
SUDDEN IMPACT: Sophomore Molly Fonner has made an immediate impact for the Hoosiers at both ends of the pool. The Wisconsin transfer has started all 10 matches so far and is second on the team with 24 steals. She also has two multiple goal games.
CRACKING DOWN: After giving up an average of almost 11 goals per game through their first five matches, the Hoosiers have given up only 4.2 goals per game in their last five matches. This also coincides with the revival of Indiana's offensive attack. Indiana scored only 11 goals in their first five matches while averaging more than eight a game in their last five.
INJURY UPDATE: Sophomore hole-set Kelly McKay should see action
this weekend as she has been recovering from a broken finger. Freshman goalie
Louanne Hovater will not play during the week's matches. Hovater under went
surgery to repair a torn meniscus in her knee prior to the season opener.
