Tigers Take 1st at Season Opening Tournament
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (February 27, 2007) - Oxy jumped out to a quick start on the 2007 season for four wins at the Chapman tournament Feb 24-25. The Tigers opened with a 13-7 victory against the University of Utah. The dominant 2m play of Centers Ashley Notti ('09) and Kelly Curtin ('09) paced the team. Notti led all scorers with six goals, while Curtin added three. Both girls were strong on the defensive end as well as they combined for 12 steals....BOX SCORE
Game two against UC San Diego was a bit closer in the early going, but Oxy utilized a strong counter attack down the stretch to pick up the 11-4 win. Oxy led 6-4 going into the final period before Danielle Montenegro ('08) exploded with three of her game high four goals in the last frame to preserve the win....BOX SCORE
Game three matched Occidental up against host Chapman University and this time it was Oxy's exceptional perimeter shooting that led them to victory. Playing against a solid drop defense, Haley Rosehill ('09) tallied five goals, while Shannon Pratt ('07) added three. Both players established single game personal bests. Oxy opened up a 7-2 half-time lead and never looked back as they went on for an easy 15-6 win...BOX SCORE
In the championship match Oxy found themselves up against SCIAC rival Whittier. Another strong start gave the Tigers a 4-1 advantage early in the 2nd quarter, but the Poets game storming back and tied the game a seven heading into the fourth. Once again it was some strong outside shooting that led Oxy to victory, as Sara Boehler ('09) amassed a career high four goals to pace the Tigers. Goalie Laura Simanonok who averaged over 11 saves per game in the tournament finished the championship with a career high 15 blocks including some key saves down the stretch to help Oxy to the 9-7 victory....BOX SCORE
Montenegro was named tournament MVP, while Simanonok earned an All-Tournament award as well. This weeks Tiger Talk Pod Cast features a post tournament interview with Coach Larry Zubrin. Listen in on that and watch the games on-line by visiting the Oxy Women's Water Polo Video Website! http://www.waterpolonetwork.com/oxypolo/womens/
