Indiana Travels to UCSD<br> - Indiana University Athletics

Indiana Travels to UCSD

2/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo

Bloomington, Ind. -- The No. 10 Indiana water polo will travel to San Diego, Calif., to compete in the UC-San Diego Arena Invitational on Feb. 7-8. The Hoosiers will compete in Group A of the competition playing No. 15 UC-Irvine to start the Invite. The match will be at 12:00 p.m. PST. The other Group A match up is between No. 4 Long Beach State and Cal State-Bakersfield, which is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. The winners of those two games will play at 7:00 p.m. PST, and the losers will play at 6:00 p.m. PST. Depending on where the Hoosiers finish, they will compete in one of four pools playing two games on Sunday, Feb. 8.

The field for the Invite is quite impressive with 11 of the 12 teams coming in ranked. Only Cal State- Bakersfield is outside the top 20. Long Beach State leads the way ranked fourth, with Loyal Marymount and San Diego in a tie for fifth. Indiana (No. 10), UC-Santa Barbara (No. 11), UC-Davis (No. 12), Arizona State (No. 14), UC-Irvine (No. 15), UC- San Diego (No. 17), Hartwick (No. 19) and Cal Baptist (No. 20) are all ranked entering the Invite.

For Complete Indiana Water Polo Notes Click HERE.

For Complete UCSD Arena Invitational Schedule Click HERE.

How they have fared

Indiana holds a 16-13 record against teams in the UCSD Invite field. The Hoosiers will play No. 15 UC-Irvine for the third time to start the tournament and hold a perfect 2-0 mark against the Anteaters. Also in IU's pool, the Hoosiers are 3-0 against Cal State-Bakersfield and 1-1 against Long Beach State, meaning the Hoosiers are 6-1 against its pool all-time.

Arizona State 2-0
Last:
3/18/03 W 8-5 A
1/24/04 W 6-5 OT N

Cal Baptist 2-1
Last Three:
3/10/01 L 8-4 N
2/10/02 W 7-0 N
3/16/02 W 14-10 N

Cal State-Bakersfield 3-0
Last Three:
3/13/02 W 9-2 A
3/17/99 W 7-5 A
3/14/99 W 8-7 OT N

Hartwick 3-0
Last Three:
3/2/03 W 7-6 H
3/1/03 W 9-6 H
1/25/03 W 10-8 N

Long Beach State 1-1
Last Two:
2/13/99 L 8-4 N
3/18/98 W 6-3 A

Loyal Marymount 0-5
Last Five:
5/11/03 L 5-2 N
3/20/03 L 12-3 A
3/15/02 L 6-3 A
5/6/00 L 8-5 H
3/13/99 L 5-3 OT N

San Diego State 0-3
Last Three:
3/17/03 L 11-4 A
2/8/02 L 10-4 A
2/12/99 L 11-2 N

UC-Davis 0-1
Last:
3/12/99 L 10-3 A

UC-Irvine 2-0
Last Two:
3/14/02 W 6-4 A
2/10/02 W 5-4 N

UC-San Diego 1-3
Last Four:
3/14/03 L 9-4 A
2/9/02 L 9-5 A
2/13/99 L 5-3 A
1/25/04 W 9-6 N

UC-Santa Barbara 1-3
Last Four:
2/16/03 W 9-7 N
1/26/02 L 8-5 N
5/5/00 L 7-1 H
2/13/99 L 9-1 N

Defensive Minded

The Hoosiers opened the season with an impressive show on the defensive end of the pool at the Michigan Invitational. In three games against top 20 teams, IU gave up only 15 total goals. Junior goalkeeper Jessica Goldner averaged seven saves a match with a save percentage of 43.8 percent.

Indiana defenders had a field day as well, averaging just over 15 steals a game. Freshman Kristin Zernicke led the way all the week for IU with 12 steals. Senior Kristy Streefkerk and Goldner each had seven swipes for the Hoosiers.

Making an Impact

First year Hoosiers made an impact in the opening tournament of the season in Ann Arbor, Mich. Freshman Kristin Zernicke, freshman Kara Woolley, sophomore Janis Pardy and junior Kandace Waldthaler each had a big hand in the Hoosiers' success.

Zernicke led the Hoosiers with 12 steals, including six against the 10th-ranked Wolverines of Michigan. She also netted a pair of goals in the second half against No. 14 UC-San Diego. The Canadian Junior National player started all three matches for IU while also registering an assist on the weekend.

Pardy tied for the team lead in goals on the weekend with five. The Calgary, Alberta, Canada, native netted two goals against both No. 14 UC-San Diego and No. 17 Arizona State. Her score in the first overtime against the Sun Devils proved to be the game-winner. She finished the weekend shooting 55.6-percent on five-of-nine. Pardy also rounded out a solid opening weekend with two assists and four steals.

Although Waldthaler only scored one goal on one shot for her first weekend in the Cream and Crimson, she did make an impact putting the Hoosiers on the power play. The Fairfield, Calif., native netted her goal against No. 10 Michigan on a four-meter shot. She drew a four-meter foul and then nailed the penalty shot for the Hoosiers. Waldthaler drew five kickouts at the Michigan Invite, including three in the Hoosiers' comeback win over No. 14 UC-San Diego.

Woolley played in all three matches at the Michigan Invite, while registering two steals. In Indiana's exhibition win over Michigan State, the second ranked club team in the country, Woolley showed off her scoring ability netting five goals to lead IU to an 11-6 win.

With the Advantage

In the first three matches of the year, the Hoosiers have done a good job of getting the 6-5 advantage with kickouts and scoring. Eight of the Hoosiers' 17 goals on the year have come with the 6-on-5 power play advantage.

Junior Krista Peterson leads the Hoosiers with 10 kickouts earned. Junior Kandace Waldthaler has five kickouts drawn, while senior Melissa Pietras and freshman Kristin Zernicke both have one earned each.

Topping Career Highs

Junior Krista Peterson and sophomore Emily Schmitt each registered career-highs in assists at the Michigan Invitational. Peterson finished the Invite tying a career-high with three assists against No. 14 UC-San Diego.

Schmitt assisted on three goals in the season opening match against No. 17 Arizona State. Her final assist came in the first overtime period, which proved to be the game winner.

Hoosiers in the Sprints

For the year, the Hoosiers are 5-9 in opening period sprints. Sophomore Bridget McKeon leads the team with three sprint victories. Here is a look at how the Hoosiers have fared:

Krista Peterson 0-2
Melissa Pietras 1-4
Bridget McKeon 3-3
Kristy Streefkerk 1-0
Total 5-9

Division Realignment

After playing their first three seasons in the CWPA Southern Division, the Hoosiers are now part of the Western Division. The CWPA realigned this season to include a Northern, Southern, Northeastern and Western Divisions to make up the conference. The four divisions will all host Divisional Championships with the winner advancing to the CWPA Conference Championships. Four at-large teams will also be selected to compete at the Championships. The winner of the CWPA Conference Championships will play in the NCAA Final Four in Palo Alto, Calif.

The Hoosiers will be joined in the Western Division with some common foes from the old Allegheny Region of the Southern Division. The team making up the Western Division are Gannon, Grove City, Mercyhurst, Michigan, Penn State-Behrend, Salem International, Slippery Rock and Washington & Jefferson.

Facing Ranked Opponents

Once again the Hoosiers schedule is loaded with ranked opponents. Aside from the post season, the Hoosier schedule could include as many as 12 ranked opponents depending on what occurs at the UCSD Arena Invitational. Indiana will play three ranked opponents at the UCSD Invite, but could play as many as four. Eleven of the 12 ranked opponents in the Invite are ranked in the top 20. The lone non-ranked team is Cal State-Bakersfield, a team which plays in Indiana's pool. The Hoosiers will start with No. 15 UC-Irvine and will then play either Bakersfield or No. 4 Long Beach State.

The Hoosiers hit the ground running at the Michigan Invitational as they faced three teams ranked among the top 20 in No. 10 Michigan, No. 14 UC-San Diego and No. 17 Arizona State. Although the game did not count toward IU's record, the Hoosiers will also beat Michigan State, which finished last year ranked second among club teams at the Michigan Invite.

Last season, the Hoosiers knocked off 11 ranked opponents in 21 matches. IU also knocked off its first top 10 opponents in 2003. The Hoosiers downed then-No. 7 San Jose State at the Michigan Invitational. IU picked up its second top 10 win by beating then-No. 10 UC-Santa Barbara for the Princeton Invitational title.