The Tritons took to the pool Sunday morning with a long day ahead of them. At the end of the day, though, there were nothing but smiles gracing the faces of the women’s water polo team.
UCSD was slated to play a mixed doubleheader, with a game against California State University Bakersfield in the morning, and one against University of La Verne for the nightcap. The Tritons showed up ready to tackle the challenge and came away with a pair of victories.
The CSU Bakersfield game was a thorough shellacking, as the Tritons roared out to a 9-0 halftime lead. They then built on this dominating lead, adding eight more in the second half while allowing only two to post the 17-2 victory.
The whipping was led by Samare Silverman, who found the back of the cage a whopping five times in the match. Erin Welsh contributed a hat trick, while Danielle Boyle had a pair. Seven other Tritons had individual tallies.
The Tritons kept their offensive guns blazing in the second game, this time compiling a 7-1 lead by the time the whistle sounded to signal the end of the first half. No mercy was shown in the second half either, as the Tritons continued to pour it on with a vengeance.
Dana Tucker, Hillary Smith, Renae Coulter, Danielle Bourret, Elena Tellechea and Silverman all knocked down two goals apiece in the drubbing.
When the smoke cleared, and the poor, beaten La Verne players were dragged from the pool, the scoreboard reflected the Tritons’ polo prowess, glowing with the 14-2 final score.
There are few more enjoyable ways to spend a blustery Sunday than by outscoring your opponents by a 31-4 margin. The Tritons’ destruction of their opponents was made even more sweet by the fact that it pushed the 12th-ranked club’s record above the .500 mark, at 7-6.
UCSD will look to keep this trend alive as it faces off against Villanova University here at Canyonview Pool at 6 p.m. On Friday the battle for San Diego supremacy goes down as the dreaded SDSU Aztecs invade our campus looking to upend our beloved Tritons.
Bad blood is already boiling between the two teams following two particularly gritty prior meetings between the clubs. This battle will be another 6 p.m. start at Canyonview Pool.
Following these two home matches the Tritons will be heading to the LBC to grapple with Long Beach State and Claremont College in a Saturday doubleheader. It looks to be another full weekend, but the Tritons are riding high and look to be ready to take on all challengers.
