FRESNO, Calif. - The No. 8 Fresno State water polo team looks towards its final regular season road test this Friday at Azusa Pacific.
No. 8 Fresno State (15-7, 3-1 GCC) at Azusa Pacific (13-10, 2-2 GCC)
April 12, 2024 - 3 P.M. PT - Glendora, Calif. - Citrus Aquatic Center
Series History: Fresno State leads, 7-2
Last Meeting: FS def. APU 14-8 at the Rainbow Invite on Jan. 26, 2024
MEDIA COVERAGE
Stream: Instagram Live
Live Stats: TheFosh
X (Twitter): @FresnoStateWP
Bulldog Bones
Fresno State is fresh off of its first true road win of the season with a 14-7 win at CUI last weekend.
Fresno State's win at CUI snapped a two-game losing skid for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs checked in at No. 8 in this week's CWPA team rankings.
Azusa Pacific did not crack the Top 25 this week, but is receiving votes.
The Bulldogs are the second-highest ranked GCC team behind No. 6 LMU.
The Bulldogs sit in second place in the GCC standings entering this week.
Fresno State is chasing its fourth-straight GCC championship title in 2024.
Fresno State has won the last seven meetings with Azusa Pacific, dating back to March 29, 2019
The Bulldogs are led in scoring by sophomore Hailey Andress with 59 goals. Andress also leads the team in shots with 139.
Senior and Wagner College transfer Abbey Simshauser leads the Dogs in points, totaling 53 goals and 23 assists on the year.
Simshauser also leads the 'Dogs in steals with 39.
Junior Brooke Ochoa adds 66 points behind 35 goals and a team-high 31 assists.
Sophomore Ashley Williams leads the 'Dogs in drawn exclusions with 41 on the year.
Senior Paula Nieto Jasny has started in 17 games and played in 19 this season, recording 154 saves with an 11-7 overall record.
Freshman keeper Ida Tully-Giles played her first career complete game last weekend, totaling six saves and seven goals allowed in the win.
Record book watch
A handful of players have put up the numbers to find themselves in the record book for single season numbers.
Goals - Hailey Andress (59) and Abbey Simshauser (53) have entered the Top 10 for single season scoring. Entering this week, Andress ranks third all-time as she surpassed her personal single season career-best of 52 goals scored a season ago. In her first season as a Bulldog, Simshauser enters this week's competition ranked fourth all-time.
The program record for most goals scored by a player in a single season is 72 (Fanni Muzsnay, 2022).
Hat Tricks - Andress has 10 hat tricks on the season, enough for the second-most in a season in program history. Simshauser has nine, the third-most. Brooke Ochoa has seven on the year.
The program record for most hat tricks in a season is 12 (Fanni Muzsnay, 2022).
Assists - Ochoa enters this week with a team-leading 31 assists, the fourth-most in a season in program history. Ochoa herself has had 32 in her previous two seasons with the program. The program record for most assists in a single season is 41 (Claire Schade, 2019).
Steals - Simshauser has made an immediate impact on the defensive end as well, recording 39 steals so far this season. The single season program record is 41, set by Ochoa a season ago. Simshauser currently sits third all-time. Andress adds 37 steals, enough for the third-most in a single season in program history.
Andress tied the program record with six steals against Cal on March 28.
Exclusions Drawn - Ashley Williams has stepped up in center, recording 41 drawn exclusions this season. Williams sits with the sixth-most in a single season in program history. Emily Nicholson holds the program record with 110 in 2019.
Saves - Another year, and another major performance by Paula Nieto Jasny
in the cage. Entering this week, she has 154 saves on the season. She already owns the program record with 216 saves, twice (2022, 2023). Her 154 saves this season are already the third-most in any season in program history.
Sprint Wins - Cynthia Rosa is the queen of the sprint. This season, she has a record of 61-5. Her 61 wins are the second-most in a season in program history behind only herself with 70 a season ago.
Win the first possession
Rosa has coined the sprint for the Bulldogs, recording a 61-5 record at this point in the season.
Rosa is third in the nation in sprint wins and in win percentage (.924).
This isn't a new thing for the senior, as she has already set program records for the sprint. In her career, she has a 171-17 record in sprints. She boasts a .910 all-time sprint win percentage.
She really is HER
Sophomore Hailey Andress made an immediate impact as a true freshman in 2023, helping lead the team to its third-straight Golden Coast Conference title as the conference's newcomer of the year.
She hasn't let off this year, leading the team in goals as she became the fastest player in program history to surpass 100 career goals earlier this season. Her accomplishments have earned her national attention as she was named to the watch list for the Cutino Award in 2024. The Sutino Award recognizes the nation's top collegiate water polo player. The award was created in 2022, and Andress is the first Bulldog to earn the recognition by the partnering organizations.
A balanced attack
In the Bulldogs 2023 championship run,
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 94-70 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.
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.
'Dogs picked as conference favorites in preseason poll
The Fresno State water polo team was picked to win the Golden Coast Conference in 2024 as voted upon by the conference head coaches in the preseason poll.
The eight head coaches from the GCC picked Fresno State to win its fourth-straight conference title in 2024. The Bulldogs have won at least a share of the last three GCC regular season titles and have won the last three tournament titles. They earned seven first place votes to sit atop the poll with 49 points.
The Bulldogs checked in at No. 9 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association preseason team rankings, and were the highest ranked GCC team entering Week 1.
Perea to be inducted into Pomona-Pitzer Athletic Hall of Fame
Fresno State water polo assistant coach Tamara Perea is set to be inducted into the Pomona-Pitzer Athletic Hall of Fame, the athletic department announced earlier this month. Perea is one of nine individuals who are a part of this induction class, with the official ceremony being held on Thursday, April 25, 2024 in the Center for Athletics, Recreation, and Wellness (CARW) at Pomona College at 220 E. Sixth Street, Claremont.
Perea has been with the Bulldogs' program since 2019, helping coach the team to three-straight Golden Coast Conference championship titles and NCAA national championship appearances in those seasons.
Looking ahead
The 'Dogs return home for a Senior Day weekend at the Aquatics Center, hosting Pacific on Friday, April 19 and Santa Clara on Saturday, April 20.
The GCC conference championship will be hosted by Santa Clara on April 26-28.