April 25, 2009

STOCKTON, Calif. - Senior hole set Gianna Rossi connected on an outside shot midway in the fourth period to lift UC Irvine to a 10-8 win over UC Davis in the semifinal round of the inaugural Big West Conference women's water polo championship tournament, held at Pacific's Chris Kjeldsen Pool Saturday evening.

The Aggies, ranked ninth nationally and seeded second in the tourney, move to 22-10 for the season. The Anteaters, No. 10 in the nation and No. 3 in the championship, improve to 23-9. UCI will advance to the Big West title game to face UC Santa Barbara, which upset Cal State Northridge in sudden victory in Saturday's previous semifinal.

Senior Lindsay Kiyama, sophomore Dakotah Mohr, freshman Kaylee Miller and junior Dana Nelsen each scored two goals for UC Davis, while junior Casey Hines posted 13 saves in net.

Sophomore driver Cortney Collyer and senior utility Ashlyn Taylor led UCI with two goals each. Lauren Davis protected the 'Eater cage for six saves.

The Aggies drew first blood early in the first quarter when Nelsen assisted Kiyama on a goal from the left wing at the 7:25 mark. But UCI responded with three straight scores, including Taylor's shot from two meters out that put the score at 3-1 with 5:56 remaining in the second.

UC Davis recovered to a 3-3 tie, first on Miller's lob on the next possession, then when Nelsen's assist to Kiyama finished a counterattack opportunity at the 4:08 mark. The Aggies regained the lead in the final minute before the halftime break. Ashley Chandler picked up a steal at two meters on defense, then Rachelle Smith drew an exclusion on the opposite end. That set the stage for Nelsen's 6-on-5 goal with 0:28 left in the second, putting UC Davis up by a 4-3 edge.

Mohr scored two goals within a span of 16 seconds early in the third period to extend the margin to 6-3, then UCI's Sara Frost and Nelsen traded goals to keep the Aggie advantage at three goals.

Erin Kiene and Collyer each scored goals to trim the UC Davis lead down to 7-6, then Nelsen assisted Miller on an outside shot at the 2:01 mark in the third, bumping the score to 8-6.

That proved to the be the last of the Aggie offense, as UCI scored four straight to overtake UC Davis. Taylor hit a 6-on-5 goal from the right win to tie the game at 8-8, Rossi hit her game-winner at the 4:35 mark in the fourth, and junior Kat Plummer added an insurance goal on a 6-on-5 chance with 1:32 remaining.

The tournament win marked the third victory by the Anteaters over the Aggies during the 2009 season.

UC Davis will face UC Santa Barbara in Sunday's third-place game at 2 p.m.

BIG WEST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIP
Chris Kjeldsen Pool, Pacific

GOALS - UCI: Cortney Collyer 2, Ashling Taylor 2, Julia Fancher 1, Caitlin Haskell 1, Sarah Frost 1, Erin Kiene 1, Gianna Rossi 1, Kat Plummer 1. UC Davis: Lindsay Kiyama 2, Dakotah Mohr 2, Kaylee Miller 2, Dana Nelsen 2.

GOALIE SAVES - UCI: Lauren Davis 6. UC Davis: Casey Hines 13.