Women's water polo tabbed as No. 10 seed for WWPA Championship

ORANGE, Calif. – With the 2010 Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Women’s Water Polo Championship just over a week away, the WWPA announced the seeds on Wednesday with Chapman earning the No. 10 seed. The Championship which is hosted by California State University, Bakersfield at the Hillman Aquatics Center runs from April 30-May 2.

With a 7-21 record, 0-9 in WWPA games, the Panthers with the No. 10 spot out of 10 teams will take on No. 7 Sonoma State University in the first game of the tournament on Friday, April 30 at 9 a.m. Sonoma State (7-25, 5-12) won both regular season matchups, outscoring Chapman 28-10 in the two games. Although the Seawolves have struggled in 2010, they ended their regular season with a 16-9 victory over California State University, Monterey Bay.

The Chapman/Sonoma State winner will take on No. 2 U.C. San Diego in Game No. 5 at 3:40 p.m. Friday while the loser plays in Game 7 on Saturday at 9 a.m. against either No. 4 California State University, Bakersfield or No. 5 Santa Clara University. U.C. San Diego ended their regular season with a 15-1 win over Chapman last week and has also defeated Sonoma State twice this season.

Leading Chapman into the tournament is sophomore 2M Arielle Worthington who has scored a team-high 45 goals while playing in all 28 games this season. Freshman driver Ani Marganian leads the Panthers with 64 assists which ranks second in the nation and is also a school record. She also has a team-high 52 steals. In goal, freshman Alicia Wei has 153 blocks in 18.25 games. Sonoma State is also going to have to watch out for freshmen utilities Rachel Graham and Samantha Martin who are tied for second with 24 goals scored. Sophomore driver Briana O’Keefe is another top scorer with 20 goals scored in 27 games played.


by Nicole Inal
Sports Information Intern

For more information, click on the link below to visit the WWPA website:
http://www.thewwpa.com/The_WWPA/Women.html