FRESNO, Calif. - The No. 9 Fresno State water polo team opened the 2024 season with two wins in day one of the Polo-Palooza, hosted at the Fresno State Aquatics Center this weekend. The Bulldogs defeated No. 13 Michigan 11-10 and No. 11 UC Davis 18-5. The Bulldogs open their season 2-0 for the first time since 2021, and just the second time in program history.
Fresno State's season-opening win was the program's first-ever win over Michigan. Fresno State was 0-5 in the series.
Senior goalkeeper Paula Nieto Jasny played a big role in both wins on the day, totaling 22 saves on the opening day of Polo-Palooza. Sophomore Hailey Andress picked up where she left off as Newcomer of the Year a season ago with four goals against Michigan and five goals against UC Davis.
A plethora of new Bulldogs saw action in the season-opening day. Senior transfer Abbey Simshauser totaled four goals with a hat trick against Michigan. Senior transfer Robyn Greenslade saw action against UC Davis, scoring two goals in the win. Freshman Kira Anderson also scored her first collegiate goal against the Aggies whole Caitlyn Mossman scored a hat trick in her collegiate debut. True freshmen Ida Tully-Giles and Sidney Strickland also saw play time on Saturday.
How it happened vs No. 13 Michigan
Michigan got the first shot off, but Nieto Jasny was showing off early with an early save. Fresno State got out to a 4-0 lead over the Wolverines, before the visitors could counter on a powerplay to make it 4-1 with just under three minutes left in the first quarter. Andress opened scoring with a converted 5-meter penalty shot in the second, extending the lead further.
As time ticked, it turned into a defensive battle with teams trading turnovers. Nieto Jasny came up clutch again with a big save on a Michigan penalty shot, but the Wolverines catch the rebound and make a play for the follow-up goal with 3:29 left in the half. Andress was quick to respond 10 seconds later to make it 7-3 in favor of the Bulldogs.
Michigan scored two more before Brooke Ochoa scored on a penalty shot to make it an 8-5 lead for the Bulldogs at halftime.
The third quarter started with a penalty shot by Simshauser, extending the lead to four. Michigan scored the only two goals throughout the rest of the third quarter to cut the lead to two at 9-7.
At the 5:40 mark in the fourth quarter, Michigan closed the gap to a one-goal game with a quick powerplay score. Simshauser and Andress tacked on two more goals, giving Fresno State their 11th goal at the 3:57 mark in the quarter. Nieto Jasny gave up a goal to the Wolverines, but saved three from the back of the net in the final four minutes to secure the Bulldog win.
How it happened vs No. 11 UC Davis
Fresno State outscored UC Davis 5-2 in the opening period and never looked back. The Bulldogs scored four in-a-row before the Aggies could respond. Andress, Mossman and Greenslade hit three-straight in the second to carry a 7-4 Bulldog lead into the half.
Cynthia Rosa stayed hot in her sprints, gaining possession for the Bulldogs to start the third and Simshauser found the back of the net immediately to increase the lead. After another Nieto Jasny save, Kaitlin Howarth found Andress for her fourth goal of the game and the 10th Fresno State goal. With 3:52 left in the third quarter, and a 11-3 lead, the Bulldogs replaced Nieto Jasny in the cage with true freshman Ida Tully-Giles. At the end of the third quarter, Fresno State led 13-4.
The Bulldogs outscored the Aggies again, 5-1 in the fourth to close out with a big win. Five different Bulldogs scored goals in the final quarter in Howarth, Mossman, Megan Cranley, Kira Anderson and Alice Johnson.
Notable
Fresno State opened its season 2-0 for the second time in program history, and first since 2021.
Fresno State defeated Michigan for the first time in program history.
Fresno State won its season opener for the fourth time in program history, and the first time since 2022.
Fresno State had 12 different goal-scorers in the two games.
Junior Brooke Ochoa is just four goals away from 100 in her career.
Ochoa had a career-high five assists against UC Davis.
Senior Cynthia Rosa went 7-0 in her sprints on Saturday.
Six new Bulldogs saw game action for the first time in their careers - two transfers and four true freshmen.
Up Next
Fresno State continues the Polo-Palooza at the Aquatics Center on Sunday, facing No. 1 Stanford at 11 a.m. and No. 18 San Jose State at 6 p.m.
The full Polo-Palooza schedule and more information on the event can be found here.