Over the weekend the UCSB women’s water polo team traveled to UC San Diego to compete in the San Diego Invitational Tournament and finished the event with two wins and two losses, taking home 5th place out of 12 teams.

Santa Barbara played well in their first game, which was against UC Davis.

“We came out strong, picked up plays, and played well as a team,” senior captain two-meter defense Mica Bell said.

The #11 Gauchos beat the #12 Aggies 8-6, taking Davis out of any possible high rank for this tournament.

“It was nice to start the tournament with a powerful victory against Davis,” Head Coach Danielle Altman said. “The match against San Diego State also went really well; we just could not put our shots away.”

UCSB took a loss in their second game to SDSU with a score of 4-2.

“Game by game we are just coming together more and more,” Bell said.

In the women’s third game they utilized this teamwork and found the back of the net three times, giving them a win against #17 UCSD 3-1.

In the final game of the tournament the girls played an intense four quarters, but fell to Indiana University 7-6.

“The girls played their best game against Indiana. They were focused and consistent the entire game. They made few errors, we just couldn’t get the ball in the goal,” Altman said.

Altman also added that the team must continue to work on putting shots away, especially in power play situations. The team is young and with a few more games and experience the team will do extremely well.

“They are great athletes, with equally great potential,” Altman said. “As they play together they will grow together, and be a dominant team.”

The Gauchos’ next play is on Saturday against Cal Baptist at noon at Campus Pool. The game will be followed by a clinic, where the UCSB women will aid and instruct younger aspiring water polo players.

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