Sun Devil Water Polo Kicks Off 2024 Campaign Saturday

TEMPE – No. 14 Sun Devil Water Polo opens up the 2024 season on Saturday, taking part in the season-opening Cross Conference Challenge Tournament, on Jan. 20-21 at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center welcoming Salem, No. 20 Wagner, No. 18 LMU and Cal Lutheran to the desert who are all slated to face off against the Sun Devils this weekend. All four of the Sun Devil games can be seen on ASU Live stream-2. Live stats will be available on 6-8 sports for all the games.

The Maroon & Gold enter the Spring campaign ranked No. 14 according to the College Water Polo Association, as voted on by a panel of coaches. At the end of the 2023 season, the Sun Devils ended the year ranked No. 16.

The Sun Devils open their four-game slate against Cal Lutheran at 11:20 a.m., then will take on Wagner at 2 p.m that same day. Then, the Sun Devils will take on LMU at 10:20 a.m and cap off the weekend against Salem at 1 p.m. 

Cross Conference Tournament Schedule:
Saturday, January 20th (All Times Listed in AZ Time)
Salem vs. Wagner – 10:00 A.M Live Stats
Cal Lutheran vs. ASU – 11:20 A.M (ASU Live Stream 2) Live stats
Loyola Marymount vs. Salem – 12:40 PM Live Stats
Wagner vs. ASU – 2:00 PM (ASU Live Stream 2) Live Stats
LMU vs. Cal Lutheran – 3:20 PM Live Stats

Sunday, January 21st
Salem vs. Cal Lutheran – 9:00 A.M Live Stats
LMU vs. ASU – 10:20 A.M Live Stats
Wagner vs. Cal Lutheran – 11:40 A.M Live Stats
Salem vs. ASU – 1:00 P.M. Live Stats
Wagner vs. LMU – 2:20 P.M Live Stats

Sun Devil Outlook: (0-0)

• Arizona State enters the season ranked No. 14 in the country as voted on by the CWPA.
• The maroon & gold have compiled a record of 58-21 in season opening weekends since 2002. In fact, the Sun Devils are 26-7 in season opening weekends in the last ten years.
• Last Season, the Sun Devils finished with a 11-13 record, taking fifth place overall in the MPSF conference tournament and finished the 2023 season ranked 16th.
• The Sun Devils enter the 2024 slate winning three of the last four games.
• The team consists of 10 newcomers, coming from five different countries other than the United States. (Hungary, Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand and Spain)
  • The team also returns 11 from the 2023 squad.
• The Sun Devils went 9-2 in such games last season when leading in the first half, and also went 8-3 in such games when the maroon & gold scored first.
• Senior Luca Petovary has been the team's top-3 goal scorer since she's arrived in Tempe in 2021. She has 130 career goals, and 24 multi-goal games since the start of the 2022 season. She's found the back of the net at least once in 45 of the last 50 games.
• Over the Summer Sophie-Shorter Robinson and Millie Quin competed for New Zealand at the World Aquatic Championships this past summer, and competed in the Women's Water Polo World Cup.
• Assistant coach Ethan D'Souza manned the U20 Canadian team at the U20 World Aquatic Championships this past fall, including freshman Kat Featherstone and Ashley Fergusion competing for Canada in Portugal.

Opponent Outlook:
Cal Lutheran: (0-0)

• Cal Lutheran went 12-15 last season, and went 8-4 in SCIAC conference play. Ultimately, the Regals finished in fourth place in the SCIAC conference tournament, falling to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
• The team has 14 returners to the roster and features six freshmen.
• It's the first meeting between the schools since 2009, whereas the Sun Devils defeated the Regals 25-6 in their only meeting.

Salem: (0-0)

• The Tigers in 2023 went 10-17 last season and finished 3-3 in WWPA conference play. 
• Last season the Sun Devils defeated the Tigers 24-5 with Petovary finishing with 14 points, seven goals and seven assists apiece. It's the third all-time meeting against Salem, with ASU holding a 2-0 advantage.
• The Tigers return 10 from the 2023 roster.

LMU: (0-0)

• The Lions went 15-15 in 2023 and were 6-1 in the GCC conference. LMU placed third in the GCC conference tournament, defeating No. 24 San Diego State.
• LMU comes into the tournament ranked No. 18 in the country as voted on by the CWPA.
• The Lions have 16 returners from the 2023 squad, including nine freshman.
• The Sun Devils are 7-2 all-time against LMU, with their last meeting occurring in the 2022 season where ASU defeated the Lions 18-10. 
  • ASU has defeated LMU in seven straight games.

Wagner: (0-0)

• The Seahawks went 31-6 last season and went 13-0 in MAAC conference play, but ended up finishing second in the MAAC tournament, falling to Long Island.
• Wagner went 23-3 in neutral site games last season, and went 5-3 in away games.
• The Seahawks enter the season ranked No. 20 in the country after coming off a 30-win season.
• The team has 17 returners, including leading goal scorer Andrea Arias who had 98 goals for the team in 2023.
• It's the third all-time meeting between the two schools, with the Sun Devils holding a 2-0 advantage. The last time the two sides met was in 2017 with an ASU 13-3 victory.

Last Season:
Sun Devil Water Polo went 11-13 in its first season under Sun Devil alumna Petra Pardi, featuring six wins over ranked opponents and winning three of their last four games of the 2023 season. Juliette Dhalluin led the MPSF conference in every offensive category with 70 goals, 38 assists and 48 steals, becoming the second Sun Devil freshman and player in program history to eclipse the 70 goal mark in a season, which also earned her All-American honors. Dhalluin is taking a year away from Tempe to embark on the opportunity to play for the French national team in the Olympics later this year. Luca Petrovary returns in her senior season after earning career highs in goals (53), assists (25) and points (78). 

How To Follow:
Continue following Sun Devil Water Polo on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook all-season long during the 2024 season @SunDevilWP for coverage of the team. Live stats can be found on 6-8 sports along with other MPSF Conference teams.