No. 25 Fresno State travels to Tempe for Arizona State Invitational

FRESNO, Calif. – Fresno State water polo is back on the road this weekend as the Bulldogs are set to compete in the Arizona State Invitational. The four-team tournament is composed of the 'Dogs, Indiana, Pomona-Pitzer and host ASU. Fresno State will clash with Pomona-Pitzer and No. 6 Arizona State on Saturday, and will take on No. 13 Indiana on Sunday.

"The tournament at ASU will be a great challenge for us, and we are looking forward to the opportunity to continue growing individually and collectively," head coach Natalie Benson said. "Each game, we have made improvements and have learned from the experience, and that is the goal for the season. There is no substitute for in-game experience."

BULLDOG BREAKDOWN
-The 'Dogs come into the weekend having dropped their last four games, with their last victory coming over Fresno Pacific back on Feb. 9.
-Callie Woodruff and Claire Schade lead Fresno State in points with 22 apiece. Woodruff has scored a team-high 20 goals and recorded two assists, while Schade has scored 12 goals and dished out a team-high 10 assists.
-Emily Nicholson and Maddie Loggins have also scored double-digit goals this season with 12 and 10, respectively.
-Nicholson leads the team in drawn exclusions with 20.
-Mackenzie Richards and Schade pace the 'Dogs in steals with 13 apiece.
-All three of Fresno State's goalies have gotten significant playing time this season. Madelynn Garcia leads the group in saves with 50 while Hannah Duggins started the Bulldogs' last game against Loyola Marymount and garnered five stops.

THE MATCHUPS
Saturday, March 10 vs. Pomona-Pitzer – 8 a.m. PT
The Sagehens are 6-5 this season and are coming off a win over Claremont Mudd-Scripps. Pomona-Pitzer's other victories have come over Concordia, Cal State Monterey Bay, Fresno Pacific, Whittier and Villanova. However, the Sagehens' most impressive performance might have come in their March 3 matchup against No. 16 UC Santa Barbara, a 9-8 defeat. Pomona-Pitzer gave the talented Gauchos all they could handle as UCSB eventually outlasted the Sagehens in double-overtime.

Saturday, March 10 vs. No. 6 Arizona State – 2:45 p.m. PT
The Sun Devils are 11-4 on the season and are coming off a 2-2 showing at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational on Feb. 23-25. All four of ASU's losses have come to teams currently in the Top 5, having lost to No. 4 UCLA, No. 3 USC and twice to No. 5 Hawai'i. Additionally, 10 out of Arizona State's 11 victories have come over ranked opponents. The Sun Devils have three players with 20-plus goals on the season in Maud Koopman (27), Bente Rogge (26) and Alkistis Benekou (24). Defensively, Mia Rycraw provides Arizona State with a steady presence in the cage. Rycraw has 122 saves this season (9.4 saves/game) and owns a 5.5 GAA.

Sunday, March 11 vs. No. 13 Indiana – 8:30 a.m. PT
This will mark the second matchup of the season between the Hoosiers and Fresno State, as the Bulldogs opened their inaugural season against Indiana at the UCSB Invitational back on Jan. 20. The Hoosier took round one by a score of 12-6, as Jennifer Beadle and Kelly Matthews led the charge with four goals and three goals, respectively. The Hoosiers are 15-4 on the season and have won their last three games, with their last defeat coming at the hands of Hartwick on March 3.

LIVE STATS
Live stats will be available for all three Bulldog games and can be found at the following links:
vs. Pomona-Pitzer: http://bit.ly/2Fmwj9R
vs. Arizona State: http://bit.ly/2FrqbcE
vs. Indiana: http://bit.ly/2G3y0pO

LIVE STREAM
Fresno State's matchup versus Arizona State will be available to watch via live stream: http://bit.ly/1Ub0Q9U

"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.

Follow us on:
Twitter: @FresnoStateWP
Instagram: fresnostatewp
Facebook: FresnoStateAthletics
Snap Chat: FSAthletics

No. 25 Fresno State travels to Tempe for Arizona State Invitational

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Hannah Duggins

Madelynn Garcia

Maddie Loggins

Emily Nicholson

Mackenzie Richards

Claire Schade

Callie Woodruff

Fresno State Athletics