TEMPE – The Arizona State University water polo program has advanced to the NCAA Championships for the second time in program history, as announced by the NCAA Women’s Water Polo Committee on Monday evening.
The Sun Devils will take on fourth-seeded Michigan in the tournament opener in Los Angeles on May 13 at 5:15 p.m. PT. ASU (19-7, 3-3 MPSF) snagged the third and final at-large bid to the incredibly selective tournament, coming in as the No. 5 seed overall in the 10-team competition.
Always believe!!!! We made it to NCAAs for the second time in program history!! pic.twitter.com/0H9KphLU5j
— ASU Water Polo (@ASUWaterPolo) May 3, 2016
The top six teams have been placed in the bracket; the remaining four teams will compete for the last two berths in the bracket via two play in-games. The tournament will be held May 13-15 at the Spieker Aquatics Center in Los Angeles with UCLA serving as the host institution. The 2016 championship will be an eight-team, single-elimination tournament (12 games), with a losers’ bracket to determine places three through eight. UCLA will be the host institution.
The Sun Devils will open things up against a Michigan team that ASU handled earlier this season in an 8-5 upset victory over the then-No. 5 Wolverines in Tempe on March. 19.
ASU will be looking for its fourth 20-win season in program history at the tournament, entering the weekend with 19 victories to its tally to date. The 19 wins are fourth-most in program history while the team’s seven losses are tied for the second fewest losses in a season.
Sun Devil head coach Todd Clapper, now in his 11th season at the helm, needs just one victory to reach 300 wins in his career as he will enter the competition with 299 wins in 16 years of head coaching. The Sun Devils have established themselves as one of the elite teams in the country under Clapper with a 103-41 record since 2012.
The Sun Devils have been led this season by a balanced offensive and defensive presence that is paced by the team’s four seniors, Katie Sverchek, Abbey Kerth, Ao Gao and Daisy Carter. Carter and Sverchek are second and third on the team with 34 and 33 goals, respectively, this season. Gao and Kerth are not far behind with 24 and 26 goals while Kerth has been an absolutely force at center this season in drawing 68 exclusions.
On the back end, the team has been anchored by the exceptional goalkeeping of sophomore Mia Rycraw. Rycraw finished the season as the MPSF leader in saves with 265 and her 11.5 savers per game were second in the league. She was second in the conference with 92 quarters played and allowed just 5.8 goals per game – the fifth best total in ASU single season history. Rycraw was third on the team with 32 steals as well.
Sverchek and Kerth held down the back-line of the ASU defense, consistently matched up against the opponent’s top offensive players throughout the season. Gao is second on the team with 33 steals the season, bringing her career total to 129 – the sixth-best total in ASU history.
On top of all that, ASU had the services of super freshman Maud Koopman. The Dutch attacker led the Sun Devils with 35 goals this season, also posting team-leading totals of 32 assists, 67 points and 35 steals. Her 67 points are third in ASU history among freshmen and her 32 assists are a school freshman record.
ASU made its first-ever appearance at the NCAA Tournament two years ago in 2014, taking down UC Irvine in the fifth-place game for the highest postseason finish in program history.