April 25, 2004
TEMPE, Ariz. - The 2004 regular season came to a close for the No. 15 Arizona State water polo team as the Sun Devils were handed a 7-6 loss by host and No. 19 UC Irvine Sunday afternoon in Irvine, Calif. Five different Sun Devils tallied goals in the contest as the team slipped to 11-17 overall with a 2-9 mark in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation to finish 11th in the league while the Anteaters improved to 9-19 and 3-8 in the conference to earn the 10th seed in the tournament.
In a game of swinging momentum and runs, UCI struck first as the hosts built a 3-0 lead following the first quarter of play. But the visitors struck back as the Sun Devils shutout the Anteaters and tallied four of their own goals to stake a 4-3 halftime lead. Again, the momentum shifted in the third stanza as the hosts added three more goals to their totals compared to one for ASU. With the Anteaters holding a 6-5 lead heading into the final quarter of play, both teams traded goals with UCI coming out on top, 7-6.
Tessa Wyborny (So., Walnut Creek, Calif.) led the offense with a pair of goals while Ashley Bower (Fr., Bondi Beach, Australia), Katie Davis (Sr., Riverside, Calif.), Heather Rempfer (So., Lodi, Calif.) and Raelyn Ritchie (Fr., Newport Beach, Calif.) each added one goal apiece. Katie Hedley (Fr., Lake Forest, Calif.), Bower and starting goalie Jennifer Sanderson (Jr., Walnut Creek, Calif.) each added solo assists to the scoring. Defensively, Sanderson recorded seven saves between the pipes while Ritchie recorded four steals. Davis and Kimberlee Stevens (So., Lodi, Calif.) each tallied a trio of steals in the contest.
The Sun Devils will compete in their first MPSF Tournament next weekend with games slated for April 30-May 2. As the 11th seed in the tournament, ASU will face the 6th seed in the first round in a 12:30 p.m. contest April 30. To date, four teams have tied for sixth in the conference, including California, Hawaii, UC Santa Barbara and San Jose State. The conference will break the tie and announce the Sun Devils' opponent Monday.
This season, the Sun Devils have faced all four teams, holding a 1-4 record. The lone victory was a 7-4 upset of then-No. 10 UCSB on the road. In its first game of the conference slate, ASU lost a 4-3 decision to UH at home before falling to the Rainbow Wahine last weekend, 6-4. ASU fell in an 8-5 overtime contest to Cal at home while dropping a close 8-7 decision in San Jose, Calif., to the Spartans.