No. 7 Chapman opens season against three top-10 opponents

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University women's water polo team will open the 2011 campaign ranked No. 7 in the Division III preseason polls according to the Collegiate Water Polo Association. The Panthers kick off the season at their own Chapman Tournament beginning Friday at the Allred Aquatics Center where they will face three of the top 10 teams in Division III.

The road for the 2011 season will not begin with an easy stroll. In the self-hosted tournament, Chapman opens up against Occidental College, the top-ranked team, at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday. After playing Mercyhurst College (Pa.) later that night, the Panthers will face off against two more teams also ranked in the top-10 on Sunday: No. 8 Grove City College and No. 10 University of La Verne.

Chapman is coming off a year in which it once again qualified for the Women's Water Polo Association (WWPA) championships, but finished with a 7-24 record overall. The Panthers were ranked No. 9 in Division III at season's end.

The Panthers return both of their All-America players from last season: junior 2M Arielle Worthington and sophomore driver Ani Marganian. Worthington was a main factor in the Panthers' offense by scoring a team-high 48 goals and playing in all 31 games. Meanwhile, Marganian directed the offense in her first year as a Panther racking up a school-record 64 assists, which also ranked second in the nation in 2010. Sophomore goalie Alicia Wei also returns after making 177 saves in her rookie season.

The 10-team round-robin tournament will begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday featuring 10 games per day at the Allred Pool. Admission is free.

by Robert Flicker & Doug Aiken
Sports Information Intern & Sports Information Director

Tournament schedule & results: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/wwaterpolo/2010-11/Chapman_Tournament_Schedule