SAN DIEGO – After a 2-1 record in its opening weekend of competition at the Titan Invitational at Cal State Fullerton, the No. 22-ranked San Diego State water polo team returns to action closer to home this weekend with four games at UC San Diego's Triton Invitational starting with a matchup against No. 4 Hawai'i on Friday at noon PT.
The Scarlet and Black are in the "C" Bracket which includes No. 4 Hawai'i, No. 13 Long Beach State, No. 16 UC Davis.
Friday's single game will be at Coogan Pool at La Jolla High School. Saturday the action switches to UCSD's Canyonview Pool where, if San Diego State wins its Friday game, it will play at 11:20 a.m. PT or if it falls will play at 12:40 p.m. PT.
This Week
Friday, February 2
No. 22 San Diego State vs. No. 4 Hawai'i – noon PT
Saturday, February 3
No. 22 San Diego State vs. TBA – TBA
No. 22 San Diego State vs. TBA – TBA
Sunday, February 4
No. 22 San Diego State vs. TBA – TBA
Storylines
- San Diego State went 2-1 in its opening weekend of play starting with back-to-back wins over Cal state Monterey Bay (20-8) and Cal State Fullerton (14-9). The Aztecs opened the season with a 2-0 mark for the 18th time in the now 30 years of the program, but it was the first time since the 2015 campaign that the team has opened a season with back-to-back wins. In its final game of the weekend No. 1 Southern California gave SDSU its first setback of the year in an 18-7 decision.
-In the Aztecs opening weekend, they got 41 goals from 16 different players, including 11 tallies from seven newcomers to the team.
-The Aztecs are 20-10 all-time in the first game of the season and are a perfect 16-0 in season openers when the Aztecs are the higher ranked team.
-In the 30 seasons of Aztec water polo, SDSU has a 580-391 record (.597).
-The series against Hawai'i began in 1998 with a 10-1 victory for the Aztecs. The teams have met a total of 39 times, with the teams splitting the first four matchups, but from March 20, 1999, the Rainbow Wahine have won 27 of the last 35 meetings. Hawai'i holds a 29-to-10 advantage in the all-time series, which includes a 12-to-4 lead in neutral site games. Friday's game will mark the third time the pair have faced off in La Jolla. Hawai'i won the last meeting 18-8 on Feb. 3, 2023, while SDSU took the first game 11-9 on Feb. 14, 1999.
-San Diego State leads the all-time series with Long Beach State, 27-17. The last time the teams played, on Feb. 23, 2020, the Aztecs won 10-9 in Irvine, Calif. That win snapped a four-game win streak for The Beach. In neutral site meetings, the Aztecs hold a narrow 11-to-9 advantage in the series.
-The Aztecs lead UC Davis 20-9 in the all-time series, which began on March 25, 1995, with a 22-1 win for the Scarlet and Black. In neutral site matchups, SDSU is 16-8, but lost last year to the Aggies at this event, 11-5 on Feb. 4, 2023. In the Triton Invitational, San Diego State has a 5-3 record against UC Davis.
-The Aztecs' first official home contests are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 10 at the Aquaplex. SDSU will host a doubleheader against Long Beach State (1 p.m. PT) and Cal State Monterey Bay (3:30 p.m. PT).
-For the third year in a row, the Aztecs are picked to finish fourth in the Golden Coast Conference (GCC) preseason coaches poll. Fresno State is predicted to defend its 2023 conference title and earned 49 points and 7 first-place votes, followed by Loyola Marymount (42 points, 1 first-place vote), Pacific (37 points), San Diego State (30 points), California Baptist (22 points), Azusa Pacific and Concordia tied with 16 points and Santa Clara (12 points).
-Sophomore Sydney Gish scored six times in the team's season opener versus Cal State Monterey Bay, marking the 16th time in program history a player had totaled at least six goals in a game and the first time since Emily Bennett totaled that many against Bucknell on March 11, 2018. Gish's eight points (6G, 2A) are tied for the second most on the team and her five steals leads the squad.
-Sophomore Claudia Valdes, a 2023 Golden Coast Conference (GCC) All-Freshman Team and All-Tournament Team honoree, totaled a team-high eight goals in the opening weekend, including hat tricks against Cal State Fullerton and Southern California. She leads the team with nine points (8G, 1A).
-Junior Rose Kanemy is tied for the team lead with five assists and a total of eight points (3G, 5A).
-Junior Klara Goldstein has eight points (4G, 4A) and is tied with Kanemy and Gish for second place on the team with eight points.
-Goalies Ava Ratajczak and Tiaare Ahovelo split time in the cage with Ratajczak, a freshman, earning the decision in each of the first three games (2-1). In 48 minutes, she surrendered 20 goals (13.33 GAA), made 13 saves (.394 save percentage) and had an assist and three steals. Ahovelo, a sophomore, let in 15 goals in 48 minutes (10.00 GAA), stopped 11 shots (.423 save percentage), added an assist and two steals.