No. 13 Water Polo Set to Open Season at ASU Invitational

TEMPE – No. 13 Water Polo is set to open the season this weekend as they host the ASU Invitational featuring Cal Lutheran, No. 23 San Diego State, No. 15 UC Davis, and Cal Baptist at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center Jan. 18-19. Each match will be broadcasted on Overnght and live stats will be available on 6-8 sports.

The Maroon & Gold enter the Spring campaign ranked No. 13 according to the College Water Polo Association, as voted on by a panel of coaches. At the end of the 2024 season, the Sun Devils finished the year tied for tenth.

The Sun Devils open their four-game slate against Cal Lutheran at 11:20 a.m., then will take on San Diego State at 3:20 p.m that same day. On Sunday, the Sun Devils take on UC Davis at 10:15 a.m and cap off the weekend against Cal Baptist at 12:45 p.m.

ASU INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE
Saturday, January 18 (All times listed in AZ Time)
CBU vs. No. 15 UC Davis - 10:00 a.m.
No. 13 ASU vs. Cal Lutheran - 11:20 a.m.
Cal Baptist vs. No. 23 SDSU - 12:40 p.m.
No. 15 UC Davis vs. Cal Lutheran - 2:00 p.m.
No. 13 ASU vs. No. 23 SDSU - 3:20 p.m.

Sunday, January 19
No. 13 ASU vs. No. 15 UC Davis - 10:15 a.m . 
Cal Lutheran vs. No. 23 SDSU - 11:30 a.m. 
No. 13 ASU vs. Cal Baptist - 12:45 p.m. 
No. 15 UC Davis vs. No. 23 SDSU - 2:00 p.m. 
Cal Baptist vs. Cal Lutheran - 3:15 p.m. 

SUN DEVIL OUTLOOK (0-0, 0-0 MPSF)

• Arizona State enters the season ranked No. 13 in the country as voted on by the CWPA.
• The maroon & gold have compiled a record of 62-21 in season opening weekends since 2002. In fact, the Sun Devils are 30-7 in season opening weekends in the last eleven years.
• Last Season, the Sun Devils finished with a 23-8 record, the second winningest season in program history. The team also finished fifth place overall in the MPSF conference tournament and finished the 2024 season tied for tenth overall.
• The team consists of 11 newcomers, coming from three different countries other than the United States. (Hungary, Australia, and Spain) 
  • The team also returns 11 from the 2024 squad.
• The Sun Devils went 19-0 in such games last season when leading in the first half, and also went 18-1 in such games when the maroon & gold scored first.
• Junior Millie Quin is one to watch as the returner accounted for the fifth most goals scored in a season by a Sun Devil with 73 and notched 42 assists to tally 115 points in 2024.
• Two freshmen represented their respective countries at the World Aquatics Women's U18 World Championships this past fall. Itziar Almeda took home gold, notching 16 goals throughout the tournament to help solidify the win for Spain. Keri Glad represented the United States and finished in fourth.

OPPONENT OUTLOOK
Cal Lutheran (0-0)

• Cal Lutheran went 11-18 during the 2024 season with a 7-5 SCIAC conference record.
• The last meeting between the two programs was during the Sun Devils 2024 home opener where ASU defeated Cal Lutheran 26-2, setting a new program record for most goals in a game.
• The all-time record between the two schools is 2-0, making ASU undefeated when playing Cal Lutheran. 

SDSU (0-0)

• Last season, SDSU boasted a 17-15 overall record and a 4-3 record in the Golden Coast Conference.
• The most recent meeting between the two programs was in 2022 where the Sun Devils defeated the Aztecs 11-6.  
• The overall record between the two schools is 17-9 with ASU going 10-0 in the last 10 matches with the Aztecs. 

UC Davis (0-0)

• The Aggies finished the 2024 season with a 10-18 record and a 2-5 record in the Big West Conference. 
• The most recent match between ASU and UC Davis resulted in a 9-4 win for the Maroon and Gold during the 2024 season. 
• The team returns 18 from the 2024 roster. 

Cal Baptist (0-0)

• Another Golden Coast Conference member, Cal Baptist ended last season 11-19, (3-4 GCC). The team finished in sixth place, two spots behind fellow conference foe, SDSU.
• The all-time record between the two schools is 14-1, in ASU's favor. The Sun Devils have won 14 straight against the Lancers.
• The roster features 29 student-athletes with 20 returners from 2024. 

LAST SEASON
Sun Devil Water Polo had their second winningest season in their 23rd year of existence, going 23-8 after starting out 11-1 which is the third-best start in program history. The Sun Devils managed 12 wins over ranked opponents in 2024 and increased their win total by 12 games from the 2023 season. For the first time in program history, Luca Petovary was named MPSF's Player of the Year, the second major award winner in program history, and the first time a Sun Devil has won the honor. She rewrote the history books last season by scoring a program record 122 goals and breaking a 26-year MPSF record for most goals in a season. 

HOW TO FOLLOW
Follow Sun Devil Water Polo on Twitter/X @sundevilwp, Instagram @sundevilwaterpolo and Facebook all-season long during the 2025 season for coverage of the team. Live stats can be found on 6-8 sports along with other MPSF Conference teams.