MERCED, Calif. – The OUAZ women's water polo team is playing for a championship after rolling through the field at the first ever NAIA Women's Water Polo Finals. The Spirit, who have won all four matches by a combined score of 64-20, will play Westcliff University in the championship game at 1:45 pm.
OUAZ, now 17-10 on the season and winners of seven straight, opened round-robin action with a dominate 19-1 win over tournament host UC Merced. The Spirit had five goals from senior Sabrina Grato and three saves by junior Jasmine Miller.
Facing off with Westcliff in its second game, the Spirit needed a goal by sophomore Kendall Patrick with 1:02 left to escape with a 13-12 victory. OUAZ scored 13 goals on 18 shots (.722) in the game where Patrick and junior Rachel Hughes each netted four goals.
OUAZ ended round-robin action and advanced the semifinals as the top seed with a 15-4 decision over Cal State Maritime. Senior Janel Sepulveda led all scorers with five goals, while junior Diana Leivas, junior Annie Ackert and senior Kylee Crofcheck each added three.
In their semifinal game the Spirit stayed undefeated by beating UC Maritime 17-3. Scoring on 17 of 24 shots (.708), OUAZ led 9-0 at the end of the first period and used balanced scoring to stay there. Five OUAZ players recorded three goals, including Sepulveda who is tied with Patrick as the teams leading scorer (7) heading into the championship game.
