The #11 UCSB women’s water polo team dropped two matches against ranked opponents over the weekend in Campus Pool.

In Saturday’s contest against #3 Stanford, a lackluster start ultimately plagued the Gauchos, losing to the Cardinal 8-5. Santa Barbara outscored Stanford 5-4 over the final three quarters, but the quick 4-0 hole was too steep for it to overcome in the end. Freshman defender Amanda Tipton put the Gauchos on the board with over six minutes remaining in the second quarter, scoring the first of her two goals. Junior attacker Allie Carkin also netted two goals, with both of them coming in the final quarter. Junior goalkeeper Rosey Redaelli finished with seven saves on the match.

The waters continued to be unkind to the Gauchos, as another lackadaisical start left the Gauchos with an insurmountable deficit to overcome, losing to #10 San Jose State, 9-7. Santa Barbara again found itself down early, trailing 5-1 to the Spartans at the end of the first half.

During the third quarter, the Gauchos rebounded firing on all cylinders, outscoring San Jose State 3-0 to cut the deficit to just one. San Jose, however, managed to hold off the surging Gauchos, outscoring them 4-3 in the final period. Senior utility Jen D’Anna, Carkin and Tipton each picked up three goals for the Gauchos. Freshman goalkeeper Brittany May notched seven saves on the day.

Santa Barbara will remain idle during the week until Friday, when it will see a bevy of action over the weekend. The Gauchos host both Brown University and UC Davis on Friday afternoon at Campus Pool. They then host the Gaucho Invitational on Saturday and Sunday, with matches being played at both Campus Pool and the Rec Cen Pool.

– Nexus staff report