May. 1, 2005

Davis, Calif. - Despite a balanced scoring efffort from the Broncos, the Santa Clara University women's water polo team dropped a 10-7 decision to 17th ranked UC San Diego to finish in fourth place at the Western Water Polo Association Championships Sunday afternoon at the Schaal Aquatics Center at UC Davis.

The Broncos finished the season with an overall record of 18-17, while UCSD improved to 17-17.

UC Davis head coach Jamey Wright was voted as Coach of the Year by his conference peers.

Rachel Riddell was named as the conference's Player of the Year, joining Loyola Marymount junior Stacia Peterson and sophomore Katie Hicks. Senior Sarah Rees and sophomore Cassie Schaefer represented the host Aggies on the all-association first team. Santa Clara's Catherine Flynn and UC San Diego's Tobi Lyman rounded out the conference's top squad.

UC Davis and UC San Diego each claimed two members of the All-WWPA second team. Foe and Clevenger earned such honors for the Tritons while freshman Christi Raycraft and sophomore Katherine O'Rourke earned nods for the Aggies. LMU's Robinson, Sonoma's Haddock and Cal St. Bakersfield's Emma Keogh also made the second team.

All-WWPA honorable mention went to Lindsay Grossman of UC San Diego, Katie Radvanyi of Santa Clara, Sasha Versage of Sonoma State, Tina Torres of Cal St. San Bernardino, Marisa Fernandez of Colorado State, Chelsea Laning of Cal St. Monterey Bay and Lorrimer of UC Davis.

Andrea Evans, Catherine Flynn and Alahhan Simpkins each scored two goals, while Katie Radvanyi added one to round out the scoring for Santa Clara. Kristin Barnes registered four saves between the pipes.

The two teams played evenly to open the game with both squads scoring two goals apiece in the first period. Flynn scored on a penalty early in the match with 5:22 remaining in the first stanza to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead. After the Tritons scored twice to go up 2-1, Evans notched her first goal of the match with just :39 seconds left before the horn sounded.

UCSD outscored the Broncos 4-2 in the second period and 3-1 in the third before SCU battled back in the final quarter. Flynn scored with 5:22 remaining to bring SCU to within three at 9-6. UCSD clinched the win on a man-up goal with 2:43 left before Flynn scored on a penalty with just :46 seconds remaining.