FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State water polo team heads north as it is in the hunt for its fourth straight Golden Coast Conference tournament title this weekend. The GCC championship is hosted by Santa Clara and begins Friday with the championship game played on Sunday afternoon.
GAME 1 INFO
No. 2-seed Fresno State (18-7, 6-1 GCC) vs. No. 7-seed Santa Clara (7-20, 1-6 GCC)
Friday, April 26, 2024 - 12 P.M. PT - Santa Clara, Calif.
Live Stats: TheFosh
Stream: OverNght ($$)
Twitter: @FresnoStateWP
Series History: Fresno State leads, 6-1
Last Meeting: Fresno State def. Santa Clara 23-4 on April 20, 2024
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
THE BRACKET
Friday, April 26
Apr. 26 - No. 6 seed Azusa Pacific vs. No. 3 seed Pacific - 10 am
Apr. 26 - No. 7 seed Santa Clara vs. No. 2 seed Fresno State - 12 pm
Apr. 26 - No. 5 seed California Baptist vs. No. 4 seed San Diego State - 2 pm
Apr. 26 - No. 8 seed Concordia vs. No. 1 seed LMU - 4 pm
Saturday, Apr. 27
Game 5: 7th Place - Two Lowest Seeded Losing Teams from Day 1- 10 am
Game 6: 5th Place - Two Highest Seeded Losing Teams from Day 1 - Noon
Game 7: Semifinal #1 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 - 2 pm
Game 8: Semifinal #2 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 - 4 pm
Sunday, Apr. 28
Game 9: 3rd Place - Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8 - 11 am
Game 10: Championship - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 - 1 pm
BULLDOG BONES
Fresno State is riding a four game winning streak into the championship weekend.
The Bulldogs are competing for their fourth straight GCC tournament title.
Fresno State ranked No. 9 in the CWPA team rankings this week.
The Bulldogs were the second highest ranked GCC team this week, behind LMU at No. 6. LMU is the top-seeded team in the tournament.
Fresno State is led by head coach Natalie Benson who has a 97-70 record as head coach of the Bulldogs.
Senior attacker Abbey Simshauser was named the GCC Player of the Week on Thursday. It was her second honor of the season, earning the recognition in Week 1 as well as the last week of the regular season.
All-Conference CaliberFresno State saw six players earn All-GCC recognitions this week ahead of the championship weekend. The Bulldogs led the conference with three first team selections, the most in a single season in program history. Hailey Andress, Paula Nieto Jasny and Abbey Simshauser were the first team picks.
Earning second team recognition was junior Brooke Ochoa. Senior Cynthia Rosa was an honorable mention selection and freshman Caitlyn Mossman was named to the GCC All-Freshman team.
Six selections for the Bulldogs were the second-most among all teams in the conference behind LMU with seven.
The six selections matches the program's single season best from 2023.
Big players, big plays
Andress and Simshauser consistently have paced the Bulldogs' offensive efforts this season. Simshauser leads the 'Dogs in points with 91 behind 63 goals and 28 assists. Andress leads the team in goals with 65, and adds 20 assists on the year. Simshauser and Andress also both lead the team with 45 steals, a new single season program record.
Defensively, Nieto Jasny has put in heavy minutes for the 'Dogs with a 14-7 record and 178 saves. She owns a .544 save percentage.
Ashley Williams leads the team with 44 drawn exclusions this season.
She's still HER
Coming in this season as the team's leading scorer a season ago, and the GCC Player of the Year, first team all-conference selection and tournament MVP, junior Brooke Ochoa has seen herself comfortable in a new role this season.
Ochoa was named a second team all-conference selection this season, but her presence hasn't been felt any less in the pool this year than last. With the addition of Simshauser as a transfer from Wagner College, Ochoa looked to a new role within the team. Although not leading the team in goals scored this season, she has led the team in assists with 38 on the year so far. She also adds 31 drawn exclusions and 32 steals.
2023 Tournament Flashback
The Bulldogs won the 2023 GCC Championship and punched their ticket to the NCAA women's water polo championship in a battle a season ago.
Fresno State entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed and defeated No. 8 CBU 14-9 on the opening day. The 'Dogs advanced to play the host school in 4-seed San Diego State on Saturday, defeating the Aztecs 15-11 to advance to the championship game on Sunday. Fresno State defeated No. 3 seed Pacific 5-3 to win the championship, winning the lowest scoring GCC championship in conference history.