Indiana Caps Weekend with Wins<br> - Indiana University Athletics

Indiana Caps Weekend with Wins

3/6/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo

ERIE, Pa. - The No. 9 Indiana women's water polo team capped off an over 1,000-mile, three-day bus trip with a perfect 6-0 record in the CWPA Western Division. The Hoosiers notched victories over Penn State-Behrend (14-2), Mercyhurst (16-4) and Gannon (11-4) on Sunday. With the wins, the Hoosiers improve to 13-5 on the year and set up a match with No. 12 Michigan for the regular season Western Division title on March 18 in Ann Arbor.

The Cream and Crimson started out with a 14-2 defeat of Penn State-Behrend. The Hoosiers reeled off the first 10 goals of the match before the Behrend Lions scored late in the first half.

Sophomore Claire Nicholson led the Hoosiers in every offensive category against Penn State-Behrend. The San Diego, Calif., native registered career highs with three goals, three assists and seven steals. It was the first hat trick of her career and the seven steals ranked as the third-highest total in school history.

Sophomore Kara Woolley scored her fifth career hat trick against the Behrend Lions with three markers. Junior Janis Pardy had a pair of goals to go along with two steals, while freshman Linda Calvert had a career-best three helpers in the win.

Against Mercyhurst, the Hoosiers led 7-0 after the first period and cruised to a 16-4 victory. The Cream and Crimson showed off their balance against the Lakers with seven different Hoosiers scoring two goals. IU also finished with a season-best 24 steals as well.

Sophomore Courtney Livak had a pair of goals to go with two assists and a career-best six steals. Fellow classmate Kristin Zernicke had two goals, three assists and four steals in the victory. Senior Krista Peterson, junior Bridget McKeon, senior Kandace Waldthaler, junior Emily Schmitt and freshman Carolyn Conway also had a pair of goals against the Lakers.

Freshman goalkeeper Jenny Gonzales earned the first start of her career picking up three saves in a half of play. The Fresno, Calif., native also had an assist and a steal against Mercyhurst.

In the final match of the weekend, the Hoosiers started slow, but picked it up in the second half on their way to an 11-4 win over Gannon. The Knights are currently ranked ninth in the latest CWPA poll. Indiana led 3-0 at the half, but increased the lead to as much as nine at 11-2 in the final seven minutes of action.

Peterson led the way with her second hat trick of the weekend and 29th of her career. The Portland, Ore., native finished with five goals on just seven shots. The Cream and Crimson also got goals from Woolley, Zernicke, Schmitt, Pardy, Calvert and Conway. Pardy also led IU with three assists and three takeaways in the win.

Freshman Jackie Pyrz started in net for the Hoosiers. In a half of play, Pyrz made five saves on nine shots. She also had an assist and a steal against the Knights.

Peterson led the Hoosiers in scoring during the six-game weekend with 16 goals. Conway ranked second on the team with 14 markers over the stretch. Nicholson led IU with 10 assists and Livak was the team leader in steals with 15. Calvert earned 12 ejections in the post for the Hoosiers on the weekend. Pyrz had a team-high 21 saves in net for the Hoosiers during the six games.

The Hoosiers will return action in Tempe, Ariz. on Saturday, March 12. The Cream and Crimson will take on No. 4 Long Beach State at 1:30 p.m. PT and No. 13 UC-Irvine at 5 p.m. PT. Indiana will then face No. 17 Arizona State on Monday, March 14 at 1 p.m. PT. All three matches will be played at Arizona State.