49ers
go unbeaten at Rainbow Challenge
By Oscar Montealegre
On-line Forty-Niner
The
fourth ranked women’s water polo team returned
from the Rainbow Challenge Tournament in
Hawaii with their record unblemished.
The 49ers recorded five wins and two ties,
both ties coming from the national team
of Australia.
In addition, goalie Bri Hawkins was named
the Rainbow Challenge most outstanding player.
Hawkins achieved a tournament record with
her 14 saves against New Zealand. Hawkins
showed her dominance throughout the tournament
by aiding the 49ers to a 4-0-2 record; Hawkins
having 50 saves in the tournament.
Also, Angelica Garcia was named to the all-tournament
team. Garcia was consistent throughout the
tournament and her goals and her play were
pivotal in launching the 49ers to an undefeated
record in the Rainbow Challenge.
Other players also stepped up in the tournament,
Cassie Azevedo had three goals in the tie
against Australia and four goals in victories
versus both Cal Baptist and UC Santa Cruz.
Drue Wawrzynski made a significant contribution
by recording six goals in the tournament,
Cassie Azevedo left her imprint at the Rainbow
Challenge Tournament by scoring ten goals
in the tournament, three of them coming
in the tie against Australia and four of
coming between UC Santa Cruz and San Diego.
The tournament consisted of the University
of Hawaii, Cal Baptist, UC Santa Cruz, UC
San Diego, Team New Zealand, Team Canada
and Team Australia. The 49ers began the
road trip with a conference win over Hawaii
on Thursday, and defeated UC Santa Cruz
and UC San Diego on Friday.
Versus UC Santa Cruz, the 49ers scored five
first quarter goals which foreshadowed the
dominance that UC Santa Cruz had to look
forward to the remaining three quarters.
By the fourth quarter the 49ers established
a 15-0 lead, eventually UC Santa Cruz scored
two late goals that ended the game 15-2.
Things were different in the game between
the 49ers and UC San Diego. At the half
UC San Diego was leading the game 3-2. However,
in the third quarter the 49ers mounted a
four-goal rally that eventually gave them
the victory by the score of 8-6.
Saturday versus Cal Baptist, the 49ers scored
nine unanswered goals in a 14-3 clobbering.
In which the 49ers shut out Cal Baptist
the last two quarters.
Against New Zealand, the 49ers ended the
first half with an impressive 6-1 lead.
The game between the two teams ended 8-3,
49ers victorious but the main headline in
this game was Bri Hawkins limiting New Zealand
to only three goals and recording 14 saves.
The last game on Sunday versus Australia
was a tightly contested match. The teams
played each other on Saturday, which resulted
in a draw. Sunday was the rematch, and for
the second time in the tournament they played
to a tie. The 49ers showed their offensive
consistency in this game by scoring two
goals in each quarter. Australia’s Amy Hetzel
recorded the single-game tournament record
by scoring five goals against the 49ers.
Cassie Azevedo’s third goal of the match
came with 59 seconds remaining in the third.
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