Indiana University Athletics
No. 13 Indiana Travels to UCSD Triton Invitational
2/9/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
Feb. 9, 2006
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The No. 13 Indiana women's water polo team will travel to La Jolla, Calif., for the UC-San Diego Triton Invitational, Feb. 11-12. The Hoosiers will take part in Group D of the event along with No. 8 San Diego State, No. 20 Santa Clara and Redlands. Indiana opens with Redlands at 2:20 p.m., on Saturday, Feb. 11.
Indiana will play in the opening round of group competition at the newly opened West Canyon View Pool at UCSD. The pool will host its first water polo competition the day before the Triton Invitational when UCSD hosts Hartwick.
Along with the IU-Redlands match, San Diego State will play Santa Clara on Saturday afternoon. The winners of those matches will meet at 8:10 p.m., while the other two squads will battle at 7 p.m. The teams will then be put into another group depending on their placement in Group D. Indiana will play two games on Sunday, Feb. 12, with its opponents to be decided by competition on the opening day of the invitational.
Scouting Redlands
The University of Redlands Bulldogs are 0-2 on the young season and will be the Hoosiers opening opponent at the UCSD Triton Invitational. The Bulldogs hosted the Redlands Mini-Tournament on Jan. 29 and dropped a pair of matches to No. 20 Cal Baptist, 12-6, and CSU-San Bernardino, 12-10.
Redlands is coached by Tom Whittemore who has been at the institution since 1988. He led Redlands to seven Collegiate III National Championships and was the American Water Polo Coaches Association of America Coach of the Year five times.
Indiana is a perfect 4-0 against Redlands, but has not faced the seven-time Division III national champions since the 2003 season. The last time the teams faced off, IU claimed a 5-4 victory in overtime on March 16, 2003.
Last Time at the UCSD Triton Invitational
The Hoosiers had a strong showing at the 2003 UCSD Arena Invitational as they placed fourth in a field that included 11 ranked teams.
The Hoosiers knocked off three ranked foes along the way to take fourth. IU opened with a 6-5 win over No. 15 UC-Irvine in pool play. Indiana then turned in a solid performance against No. 4 Long Beach State. Despite losing 9-4, the Hoosiers trailed only 6-4 entering the fourth period. The outcome may have been different had the Hoosiers been able to take advantage of the 6-on-5 opportunities. IU was 0-for-6 with the advantage, while LBSU was 5-of-7.
After dominating the host UCSD, 8-1, the Hoosiers locked horns with No. 11 UC-Santa Barbara. Indiana came back from a late deficit to knock off the Gauchos, 7-6.
Pardy Leading the Pack
Senior Janis Pardy has distinguished herself as one of the leaders on the team. After the first weekend of matches, the Calgary, Alberta, Canada native leads the Hoosiers in goals, assists and steals through four games this season. For the year, she has eight goals, five assists and eight steals to go along with five kickouts earned.
Pardy notched her third career hat trick in the in the season opener against then-No. 17 UC-San Diego. She also notched multiple goal games against then-No. 8 Michigan and Colorado State with two goals in each contest. Pardy equaled a career high with four assists against the Wolverines.
Pyrz Stepping In
After spending the 2005 campaign behind three-time All-CWPA selection Jessica Goldner, sophomore goalkeeper Jackie Pyrz started all four games in the opening weekend of the season at the Michigan Kickoff Tournament. Pyrz started five games during her rookie campaign in 2005.
This season, Pyrz is averaging 9.33 saves per game with a goals against average of 6.92. She notched a trio of steals against then-No. 17 UC-San Diego and then-No. 7 Long Beach State at the Michigan Kickoff Tournament. Pyrz bettered her career high with 12 saves in the Hoosiers' first victory of the year against Colorado State.
Impact Transfers
The Hoosiers have a pair of transfers that made an impact in the opening tournament of the season. Senior transfer Katie Parrish scored four goals at the Michigan Kickoff Tournament, including two goals against both Colorado State and then-No. 17 UC-San Diego. Parrish came from Fullerton College. Junior Melissa Soria transferred from Long Beach Community College. Soria started the first three games of the weekend before missing the final game of the Michigan Kickoff Tournament. Soria finished with two goals, four steals and team-leading seven kickouts earned.
