Women's water polo garners top-10 preseason rankings
ORANGE, Calif. – The Collegiate Water Polo Association announced its women's water polo preseason Division III top-10 rankings with Chapman earning the No. 8 spot. Still more than a month away from their season opener, the Panthers return a strong core of players heading into their first season of SCIAC competition. The Panthers are scheduled to open their season on March 2 in a tournament at Cal Lutheran.
Chapman is seeking to build upon an impressive 2012 campaign in which it finished with a 14-12 record. The Panthers saw their Division III ranking improve to as high as No. 6 before finishing the season ranked No. 7 nationally. The 14 wins last year marked the first winning season for Chapman since 2004 and the most wins since the team won 16 games in 2006.
Head coach Eric Ploessel will lead an experienced group of high-energy players as Chapman gets its first-ever opportunity to play for a conference championship. Each of the team's top five goal-scorers will return, including three 2012 All-Americans: senior utility Sam Martin, who led the team with 60 goals last season, sophomore utility Riley Ford, who tallied 59 goals while pacing the club with 69 steals and junior driver Julie Case, who scored 27 goals while leading them team with 47 assists.
Defensively, senior utility and 2010 All-American Ani Marganian will return to Chapman's Allred Olympic Pool along with goalie Kirsten Spicer, who led the team with 123 saves in 11 games in 2012.
Chapman will open up their conference schedule with a home matchup vs. No. 2 Claremont on March 20 and will conclude their schedule with six straight matches against conference foes ranked nationally in the top 10.
The Panthers have won 10 or more games in six of the nine seasons since Ploessel took over the women's program, but have yet to string together consecutive winning seasons. Ploessel will count on a wealth of experience this season to accomplish that goal as 13 players will return, including four seniors.
by Ryan Cavinder
Sports Information Assistant
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