Women’s water polo opens 2020 season this weekend

ORANGE, Calif. - The 2020 Chapman University women's water polo team will make their way into the pool for its first two contests of the season this coming Saturday at the Cal Baptist Tournament. The Panthers were recently picked to finish seventh in the SCIAC in a poll of the conference coaches.

The Panthers' squad finished last season in seventh place with a 4-10 SCIAC record. This year's roster will consist of eight upper-classmen, two sophomores and eight freshmen. 

Two-time All-SCIAC and All-American selection Audrey Hattori is back for her third season with the Panthers. The Santa Monica native appeared in all 27 games last season and led the Panthers with 58 goals and 32 assists. She also tallied a team-high 68 steals and 52 earned exclusions.

Freshmen Sophie Salstrom and Julia Bridges are two new faces between the pipes for Chapman. The rookies will await their opportunities this season to start in goal. 

Veterans Alissa Caltagirone, Kylie Beloian, Charlene Ma, and Roisin Cunningham Smythe joined Hattori as the only players to play in all 27 contests last season. Offensively, the five players contributed a total of 98 of Chapman's 124 goals last season and will be back to contribute to the scoring load.

With 11 newcomers this season, the Panthers will look to upperclassmen leadership to help guide them through conference play.  

Chapman will open the season at the Cal Baptist Tournament against Loyola Marymount and Cal Baptist on Saturday. The Panthers will go on to play three matches in February before entering a busy March and early April. Chapman's first home matches are against Cal State Northridge and the University of Toronto on Feb. 19 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. respectively.

by Niki Ardebili
Sports Information Intern

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