STANFORD, Calif. — The Cal Lutheran women's water polo team's historic season ended in the Opening Round of the National Collegiate Water Polo Championships as the Regals fell to the Division I, Pacific Tigers, 16-4 on Tuesday afternoon. Stanford University is the host of the championships with the games being played at their Avery Aquatic Center.
It was a special season for Cal Lutheran as the Regals made their second NCAA Championship appearance, their other being in 2009. They advanced to the NCAA Tournament via a berth from winning the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament.
The Regals' six seniors, Nicole Guerriero, Avery Karich, Bailey Meyer, Mardell Ramirez, Nikki Roed and Megan Seeman helped lead the team back to the tourney while compiling a record of 21-9 overall and a 12-2 SCIAC mark.
In the goal, First Team All-SCIAC honoree, Meyer, broke her own single-season saves record, totaling six in the game with Pacific, giving her 320 on the year. Her previous record was 289. She also set the all-time saves record at 919, while just seeing action for three years. She added three steals during the game on top of her saves.
SCIAC Newcomer of the Year and First Team selection,Lexi Rond, broke the single-season record for drawn ejections. She tallied four against Pacific and now has 112 on the year. The previous record was 96 and set in 2007.
Rond led the offense with two goals on the day and Ramirez and Roed added one more each. Roed now has 152 goals in her career which is the fifth-most in program history.
After Rond's four drawn ejections, Ramirez tallied two while Taylor Campbell, Karich, Victoria Rose Meek and Susanna Zdolsek all had one. Throughout Meek's three-year career, she has 162 drawn ejections, which are the fifth-most on CLU's top-10 list.
Defensively, Mackenzie Thomas recorded two steals while Campbell, Meek, Roed and Seeman each had one. Seeman also dished out one assist.
The Regals took to the pool and were the second opening round game of the day. CLU was only able to manage one goal a quarter against the Division I opponent as the Violet and Gold got in a hole early, and were not able to overcome the difference.
The Pacific Tigers scored four goals in the first quarter and took a quick 4-1 lead. CLU fought back in the second quarter, scoring the first goal, and cut the lead in half. UOP answered with three goals and took a 7-2 lead at the half. The Tigers took control in the second half as they went onto win the game 16-4.
The Regals graduate their six senior after a successful campaign, and look to be right back in the mix for another SCIAC Championship in 2020.
Box Score: UOP 16, CLU 4
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director