Entering the Women̢۪s National Collegiate Club Championship, Fresno State women̢۪s club water polo coach Patrick Guyett had one goal in mind.
“To win nationals,� Guyett said.
That they did.
Laura Imai scored twice as the Bulldogs, ranked No. 2 in the nation by Women̢۪s Collegiate Club, defeated No. 1 Cal Poly 4-3 in the championship game at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass. on Sunday.
Preparing for the nationals was difficult for the Bulldogs due to the lack of swimming pools to practice in, but that didn̢۪t matter.
“We practice twice a week,� said Guyett, who was named coach of the year. “Between school and work it’s difficult, but I got a lot of smart girls that know how to play. We wanted to show the nation what we could do.�
Imai, the tournament̢۪s most valuable player, scored on a penalty shot at 2:28 of the second quarter to give Fresno State a 3-1 lead. Imai capped the scoring for the Bulldogs with a backhanded goal in the fourth quarter.
Fresno State trailed 1-0 in the first quarter when Cal Poly̢۪s Colleen Scheitrum scored on an assist from Elisa Hopper. The Bulldogs rallied in the final minute of the quarter when Erika Tasier scored on a direct shot with 50 seconds remaining.
In the second quarter, Katie Cosgrove scored on an unassisted goal with 6:36 remaining in the second quarter, to give Fresno State a 3-1 lead at the half.
The Mustangs trimmed the lead to 3-2 when Scheitrum scored her second goal with 2:43 remaining in the third quarter.
Goalies Jacque Ritchie and Sarah Behlen each recorded a save in 14 minutes of play for Fresno State.
To advance to the nationals, Fresno State had to play catch-up against UC-Davis last month.
The Bulldogs rallied in the fourth quarter against UC-Davis when Teri Bartel scored a goal to send the game into overtime.
Megan Eldredge scored in overtime as Fresno State defeated UC-Davis 5-4 at Clovis West on April 14-15 to advance to the nationals.
“We came out really strong in the first quarter,� said club president and co-captain Beth Bartlett. “We had goals in the first two minutes of the game and the other coach called a timeout and that brought down our adrenaline rush after that.�
Fresno State jumped out to a 3-0 first quarter lead before UC-Davis answered with two goals in the second quarter.
“We started pretty good,� Guyett said. “They made a good comeback and they took it to us.�
The Bulldogs beat UC-Davis three times this season. Both teams compete in the Northern California division.
Fresno State’s winning goal came on a quick-quick man-up goal.
“One of their girls got ejected and usually it takes time to set the play up, and right away we tied it up.�
Guyett was confident that his team would do fine at the nationals.
“They’re dedicated to win,� Guyett said. “Not afraid to get physical which is a good thing.�
Fresno State opened up at nationals against Notre Dame on Friday.
Last season, Fresno State placed third at the nationals.
“We kind of have an understanding the type of the competition will be out there,� Eldredge said. “You don’t want to underestimate your competition.�
Before the tournament, Bartlett looked forward to competiting at nationals.
“Very good tournament,� Bartlett said. “All of the teams we’re playing are ranked below us in the polls. It’s really difficult to judge if we never played against them and we don’t have a common opponent. But we have a very good shot at winning the championship�
Despite the lack of practices, Eldredge felt the team could perform well at the nationals.
“It’s difficult because we have to work around our schedule,� she said. “We understand that and we’re not as fortunate as other teams. It gave us more of an edge.�
Rukori Middleton • May 30, 2007 at 10:24 am
and Stanford and SJSU have intervarsity women’s water polo teams (Nor Cal.). BROWN UNIVERSITY IN RHODE ISLAND HAS WOMEN’S NCAA POLO!!! They’re in Rhode Island for heaven’s sake.
This school is whack. Congrats to the ladies for the major victory—-too bad Welty’s administration is busier with boosting the campus’ economic clout and seeing Campus Point through.
c’mon, Bulldog Foundation, add men’s V-Ball, women’s and men’s water polo NOW!!! Damn, they charge students more than any other school I can think of for football season tix——all for a 4 and 8 group of semi-qualifiers???
Rukori Middleton • May 30, 2007 at 5:24 pm
and Stanford and SJSU have intervarsity women’s water polo teams (Nor Cal.). BROWN UNIVERSITY IN RHODE ISLAND HAS WOMEN’S NCAA POLO!!! They’re in Rhode Island for heaven’s sake.
This school is whack. Congrats to the ladies for the major victory—-too bad Welty’s administration is busier with boosting the campus’ economic clout and seeing Campus Point through.
c’mon, Bulldog Foundation, add men’s V-Ball, women’s and men’s water polo NOW!!! Damn, they charge students more than any other school I can think of for football season tix——all for a 4 and 8 group of semi-qualifiers???
omg • May 27, 2007 at 1:47 pm
JD youre an idiot..Get a freaken life, didnt you learn from the last article. You have no idea what you are talking about..and why so obsessed with the water polo team…were you cut in high school? I’m sorry you werent good enough then..but these ladies are..and we should have a “real” polo team. if the school would fund it both the men and women would have a chance to be competitive..hopefully someday fresno state will get one and will be able to silence morons like you.
omg • May 27, 2007 at 8:47 pm
JD youre an idiot..Get a freaken life, didnt you learn from the last article. You have no idea what you are talking about..and why so obsessed with the water polo team…were you cut in high school? I’m sorry you werent good enough then..but these ladies are..and we should have a “real” polo team. if the school would fund it both the men and women would have a chance to be competitive..hopefully someday fresno state will get one and will be able to silence morons like you.
JD • May 9, 2007 at 9:46 pm
FSDogs1, you are a water polo poseur. you parrot water polo takes you hear from others and act like an expert. fs doesn’t need water polo because so many of those clovis water polo “stars” have parents that are too ashamed to send their kid to a state school not named poly.
the end.
JD • May 10, 2007 at 4:46 am
FSDogs1, you are a water polo poseur. you parrot water polo takes you hear from others and act like an expert. fs doesn’t need water polo because so many of those clovis water polo “stars” have parents that are too ashamed to send their kid to a state school not named poly.
the end.
FSDogs1 • May 7, 2007 at 11:14 am
You might be right, especially considering ALL of the water polo talent in the area, especially at Clovis West, Buchanan and Clovis. It’s a hotbed, and those players are all going elsewhere to play for some of the nation’s top teams in California.
Why not Fresno State?
FSDogs1 • May 7, 2007 at 6:14 pm
You might be right, especially considering ALL of the water polo talent in the area, especially at Clovis West, Buchanan and Clovis. It’s a hotbed, and those players are all going elsewhere to play for some of the nation’s top teams in California.
Why not Fresno State?
Thug Flutie • May 6, 2007 at 9:27 pm
That money could have been better spent having the team compete intervarsity. A trip all the way to Mass. just to play a team from San Luis (2 hours away)? Wow, glad we ditched swimming, wrestling, and men’s soccer and added women’s golf. And that equestrian team hasn’t won diddley. How many equine teams does the NCAA have? All i’m saying is that instead of going for the gold in the club ranks, our school schould just go ahead and add men’s volleyball and women’s water polo like the schools down in SO CAL.
Thug Flutie • May 7, 2007 at 4:27 am
That money could have been better spent having the team compete intervarsity. A trip all the way to Mass. just to play a team from San Luis (2 hours away)? Wow, glad we ditched swimming, wrestling, and men’s soccer and added women’s golf. And that equestrian team hasn’t won diddley. How many equine teams does the NCAA have? All i’m saying is that instead of going for the gold in the club ranks, our school schould just go ahead and add men’s volleyball and women’s water polo like the schools down in SO CAL.