Five Big West schools - four of which are ranked in the Collegiate Water Polo Association top 20 poll - participate in the Triton Invitational this weekend in women's water polo action.

NOTEWORTHY

Big West Competes At Triton Invitational This Week
Five Big West schools are competing in the Triton Invitational this weekend at UC San Diego.  Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, UC Davis, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara are among the 17 teams vying for the tournament title.  Four teams were placed into each of four groups with competition taking place within each group on the first day.  On Saturday, UCD faces Maryland, UCI meets Cal Baptist and UCSB plays Indiana at Canyonview East Pool.  Day one competition also includes CSUN taking on Marist and LBSU squaring off against Cal State Bakersfield at Canyonview West Pool.  The tournament concludes on Sunday with two more matches per school.  UC Davis finished in second place at last year’s event.

There are 11 nationally ranked squads in this year’s field.  UC Irvine is the Big West’s highest ranked team at No. 11 in the Feb. 3 Collegiate Water Polo Association poll.  CSUN at No. 12, UCSB at No. 14 and UCD at No. 15 follow in the rankings.  Below is the complete list of nationally ranked teams at the Triton Invitational: 

No. 8 San Diego State
No. 10 Loyola Marymount
No. 11 UC Irvine
No. 12 Cal State Northridge
No. 13 Hartwick
No. 14 UC Santa Barbara
No. 15 UC Davis
No. 16 Indiana
No. 17 Cal Baptist
No. 18 Cal State Bakersfield
No. 20 Maryland

Matadors Off To 4-0 Start
Cal State Northridge is off to a 4-0 start to the 2010 season after going undefeated at the Cal Baptist Tournament last weekend.  The Matadors dispatched Azusa Pacific, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Cal Baptist and Fresno Pacific, outscoring the four opponents 54-21.  CSUN scored double-digit goals in all four contests under the tutelage of first-year interim head coach Marcelo Leonardi.

Tournament Tested Early
Several Big West teams have competed against some of the top teams in the country in the early portion of 2010.  At last week’s NorCal Invitational, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara and Pacific all took on No. 3 Hawai’i.  The Aggies and Gauchos battled host No. 4 California, while UCSB and Pacific both faced No. 1 Stanford.  UCSB came the closest to pulling off an upset.  The Gauchos kept both games tight against Hawai’i and California, losing 7-5 and 12-7, respectively.

Recapping The 2009 Season
The inaugural season of Big West Women’s Water Polo was an exciting one in 2009 as three 20-win teams shared the regular season championship.  Cal State Northridge (20-16), UC Davis (23-10) and UC Irvine (23-9) all posted 4-1 records in league play to claim a portion of the title.  The Matadors won a three-way coin flip to secure the No. 1 seed in the Big West Tournament in Stockton, but were eliminated by fourth-seeded UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals.  The upstart Gauchos overcame their 1-4 showing in Big West play to topple Pacific and CSUN, reaching the championship match.  UCSB’s upset bid fell short as UCI won 13-9 in the final.  The Anteaters finished the season with the Big West’s highest national ranking in the Collegiate Water Polo Association poll at No. 9.