May 2, 2004
LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. - The No. 17 Arizona State water polo team wrapped up play at the 2004 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships Sunday in Los Alamitos, Calif., as the Sun Devils dropped a close, 7-6, decision to No. 8 San Jose State in the ninth-place game. Six different Sun Devils scored goals in the game as ASU, who took 11th in the regular season MPSF standings, finished the season with a 12-19 overall record in its first season as a member of the MPSF while SJSU completed play with a 16-16 mark on the year.
The game opened with the Sun Devils taking an early lead as Raelyn Ritchie (Fr., Newport Beach, Calif.) found the back of the net at the 4:50 mark with ASU on the advantage. Less than one minute later, the Spartans responded with a goal to tie the game at one. But the Sun Devils came back with a score at 1:42 as Tessa Wyborny (So., Walnut Creek, Calif.) tallied to give the 11th-seeded Sun Devils a 2-1 lead at the end of one quarter of play.
In the second quarter, SJSU scored one minute in to tie the game at two before Kimberlee Stevens (So., Lodi, Calif.) was able slip a shot into the goal for ASU's third lead of the contest. But the Spartans answered back with a score at the 3:39 mark to knot the game at three heading into the intermission.
Following the break, the Spartans took their first lead of the game with a score at 6:36. Trailing by one, Katie Davis (Sr., Riverside, Calif.), playing in her final game as a collegiate player, tipped a pass into the goal to tie the game at four. Nearly 30 seconds later, SJSU answered back on the advantage to send the game to its final stanza with ASU trailing, 5-4.
In the final quarter of play, the Spartans extended the lead to two goals with a score at 4:46 before Katie Hedley (Fr., Lake Forest, Calif.) skipped a shot into the net to cut the margin to 6-5. One minute later, Heather Rempfer (So., Lodi, Calif.) lobbed a shot at the net, over the head of the goalie, for a score to tie the game again, this time at six. With 2:42 remaining the game, the Spartans scored on the advantage and held ASU scoreless the rest of the way for a 7-6 win and ninth place in the tournament.
Jennifer Sanderson (Jr., Walnut Creek, Calif.) stopped three shots between the pipes in the loss. On offense, Hedley added two assists while Elaine Bentley (So., San Diego, Calif.), Stevens and Wyborny each added one helper.