FRESNO, Calif. - The No. 6 Fresno State water polo team remains home for another Golden Coast Conference matchup on Saturday, hosting No. 23 San Diego State at the Aquatics Center at noon.
No. 6 Fresno State (13-5, 1-0 GCC) vs. No. 23 San Diego State (11-10, 0-0 GCC)
March 16, 2024 - 12 P.M. PT - Fresno, Calif. - Fresno State Aquatics Center
Series History: Fresno State leads 7-3
Last Meeting: Fresno State def. SDSU 15-11 in the GCC semifinal game (4/29/23)
Notable: Saturday's game will have a post-game autograph session with the team with posters available for fans. Saturday is also alumni day with former Bulldog water polo players in attendance. Admission and parking are free.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Stream: Mountain West Network
Play-by-Play: Bryan Welch • Analyst: Megan Greenwood
Stream: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: TheFosh
X (Twitter): @FresnoStateWP
Bulldog Bones
Fresno State continues conference play against San Diego State this Saturday.
Fresno State competes for its fourth-straight GCC title in 2024.
The Bulldogs have not lost a true conference game since March 27, 2021 in a 13-12 loss to San Diego State on the road.
Fresno State has a streak of 18 consecutive regular season conference wins.
The Bulldogs however did fall to a conference opponent this season, in a non-conference meeting. LMU defeated Fresno State 10-7 in the first game of the Triton Invitational.
Fresno State is also riding a 13-game home winning streak, dating back to January of 2023.
The Bulldogs earned a No. 6 ranking in this week's CWPA team rankings.
Fresno State is the highest-ranked Golden Coast Conference team in this week's rankings.
Fresno State earned its highest ranking in program history with a No. 3 ranking for three weeks earlier this season.
Of Fresno State's 13 wins this season, eight have been against ranked opponents.
Fresno State is holding its opponents to an average of just 7.3 goals per game while holding its opponents to under 30 percent in shooting efforts.
1-0
Fresno State opened GCC play with a dominant 20-4 win over CBU last Saturday, securing the largest margin of victory for the 'Dogs in a conference game in program history. Fresno State scored 20 goals in a GCC conference game for just the third time in program history.
The Bulldogs won their fifth-straight Golden Coast Conference opener.
New to the club
Sophomore Hailey Andress became the fastest Bulldog to score 100 career goals in program history, hitting the mark last weekend against CBU in her 45th career game.
The sophomore Bulldog leads the team in scoring this season with 49 goals. She also leads the team (by a lot) with 110 shots. She had led the team in shots in 12 games this year, and goals in nine. Andress ranks fourth in the conference in goals scored entering this week's contest.
Andress has an active streak of 38 consecutive games with at least one goal, dating back to January 29, 2023.
In her career, Andress has just three games without a goal scored.
The honors roll in
Andress was named to the watch list for the Cutino Award on Thursday. The Cutino Award recognizes the nation's top collegiate water polo player.
The award was created in 2022, and Andress is the first Bulldog to earn recognition by the organizations.
The queen of the drawn exclusion
Sophomore Ashley Williams has 33 drawn exclusions this season, already enough for eighth in a single season in program history.
In the last three games, she has totaled 18 drawn exclusions with a career-high eight against then-No. 12 Long Beach State. Eight drawn exclusions are the second-most in a game in program history with the record being nine. Former Bulldog Emily Nicholson holds the record, and was the only Bulldog in program history to have seven or more in a single game before Williams came along.
Williams has led the team in drawn exclusions in four games this season. She has nine games so far this year with multiple exclusions drawn.
She had 16 drawn exclusions last season as a freshman. 49 drawn exclusions puts her third all-time for career drawn exclusions.
Brooke Ochoa, the one and only
As the GCC Player of the Year a season ago, Brooke Ochoa hasn't let off the gas.
Ochoa continues to move up the program record leaderboards. Earlier this season, she became the fourth player to score 100 career goals, and she currently sits with 119 in her career. She has 16 career hat tricks, the fourth-most in a career. She also has 91 total assists for the third-most in a career and 76 career steals for the fourth-most in a career.
With nine more assists, she would join 2023 senior Daphne Guevremont as the only players in program history to have 100 career goals and 100 career assists.
They fit right in
Joining Anderson as true freshmen in the rotation are Caitlyn Mossman, Sidney Strickland and Ida Tully-Giles. Mossman has done her part, playing in 13 games with 14 goals and 12 drawn exclusions. Strickland has seen some action, adding seven points (four goals, three assists) for the 'Dogs in eight games played. Tully-Giles has totaled 75:52 minutes in the cage this season, grabbing 17 saves and allowing 13 goals.
When looking at transfers, the two newcomers have added experience for the 'Dogs. Abbey Simshauser is the team's current leader in points with 64 (44 goals, 20 assists). She also adds 25 drawn exclusions and 30 steals. Robyn Greenslade added 15 goals this season.
Simshauser's 30 steals are already enough for fifth in a season in program history
Hot start
Fresno State had a hot start to the 2024 season, winning six-straight to open the season. The Bulldogs opened the season with their first-ever win over Michigan, defeating the No. 13 team in the country 11-10 in Fresno on Jan. 20.
The Bulldogs have twice defeated the No. 1 team in the country this season. First, taking down Stanford 11-10 on Jan. 21. It was the first time in program history that the Bulldogs defeated the Cardinal. Fresno State then defeated USC at the Triton Invitational on Feb. 3. Fresno State became just the second school since water polo became an NCAA sport in 2001 to defeat both Stanford and USC in the same season. Second-ranked Hawai'i became the third with a win over both teams in 2024 as well.
A moment for the head coach
Fresno State head coach Natalie Benson has built the program from the ground up, hired as the programs first head coach in 2016 for its inaugural season in 2018.
Since then, Benson has compiled a 92-68 record for the program. She has been named the Golden Coast Conference Coach of the Year three times, and was recognized with the Sandy Nitta Distinguished Coaching National Award in 2022.
Looking ahead
The Bulldogs will see their first road test of conference play at LMU on March 23. LMU was picked to finish second in the GCC in its preseason poll. Fresno State had a non-conference loss to LMU earlier this season, falling 10-7 at the Triton Invite (Feb. 2).