DAVIS, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's water polo team lost three matches to nationally-ranked NCAA Division One opponents at the Aggie Invite over the weekend.
Claudette Asenjo led the Bobcats (1-8) efforts with three goals, including scoring twice against San Jose State. Melanie Torres also scored twice against the Spartans, while Viviana Luna deposited a shot into the back of the net against San Jose State and Pacific. Kiryn Wicker scored twice against Pacific. Amelie Ramirez played all 96 minutes in the cage finishing with 17 saves, including a weekend-high seven against Pacific.
Match One: #9 UC Davis 21, UC Merced 0
UC Davis scored on its first possession and never looked back, leading 6-0 after one and 16-0 at halftime. Bridget Miller led the Aggies with four goals, while eleven different Aggies scored at least once. Torres and Wicker took four shots each for UC Merced in an attempt to break the scoreless drought. The Aggies scored two of their goals on a power play. The tournament host scored once via a 5m penalty shot.
Match Two: San Jose State 25, UC Merced 7
San Jose State scored four early goals before the Bobcats scored two of the next three to make it a 5-2 game towards the end of the first quarter. Breyenne Pierce and Torres combined for the Bobcats goals. However, the Spartans scored the next five goals to create further separation. Asenjo put UC Merced back on the board just before halftime, but the Bobcats trailed 10-3. The Bobcats weren't able to slow down the Spartans in the second half, getting outscored 15-4 the rest of the way. Two of the Bobcats four second half goals came in the final minute of action, including a goal from Torres that beat the buzzer. Bridget Cranley led 14 San Jose State goal scorers with five tallies.
UC Merced Goals: Torres (2), Asenjo (2), Aislyn Sorsky (1), Pierce (1), Luna (1)
Match Three: #22 Pacific 16, UC Merced 4
Pacific dominated the first quarter with four goals in the first four minutes and held the Bobcats scoreless over the entire quarter. Pacific also scored the first goal of the second quarter before Luna got the Bobcats on the board the next trip down the field. The Tigers responded with three unanswered goals before halftime to lead 8-1 at the break. Each team scored in the first minute of the second half, but the Tigers broke away even more reeling off five straight goals to put the game out of reach. Asenjo and Wicker managed to score in the fourth quarter, but the Bobcats fell 16-4. Pacific's Dora Alaksza held match-high with five goals.
UC Merced Goals: Wicker (2), Asenjo (1), Luna (1)
Up next, UC Merced will start a four-match weekend against University of Redlands on Saturday, February 15 at 10:00am. The match is part of the Bulldog Mini hosted at the Fresno State Aquatics Center.
