Water polo sweeps three foes at Claremont Convergence


The No. 7 Arizona State University water polo team, coming off a loss one day earlier, rebounded with a trio of victories at the Claremont Convergence in Claremont, Calif., on Saturday, defeating No. 11 Long Beach State (15-10), No. 2 (Division III) Redlands (18-4) and Colorado State (10-8) on the day. The wins squared the Sun Devils’ record at 8-8 on the season and gave them their first winning weekend after splitting their games in the previous weeks of action, going 3-1 this weekend.

Overall, Sarah Harris paced the team with 15 points as both she and Shannon Haas both recorded 10 goals on the day while Harris posted five assists as well. Annabelle Carter scored nine goals in the three games, including five against Redlands, one shy of her career best. Also making an appearance on the scoresheet was freshman Paige Hacker, who netted one goal and added an assist against Redlands for the first points of her collegiate career.

In the first game of the day, the Sun Devils took a 5-2 lead through the first quarter over the 49ers before building that into an 8-5 advantage at the half. A 4-1 third quarter gave ASU a comfortable 12-6 lead before closing the game with three more goals to win, 15-10. Ianeta Hutchinson recorded a career-high 14 saves in the cage to lead the defense, bettering her previous best of 10 saves.

Haas was the leading scorer against the 49ers with four in the contest while Lynlee Smith added three. Carter, Harris, Nikki Unbehaun and Kelsey White all added a pair of goals each to end the scoring the for the Sun Devils. Harris and Smith each recorded four assists each while Morgan Leech posted three in the game, improving on her previous career high of two assists in one game. For Harris, her six points scored also was a career high in a single game after she had recorded five in a game three different times.

Game Two saw the Sun Devils step on the gas pedal from the opening whistle and run away with the victory early against Redlands, opening a 7-0 lead through the first quarter before taking an 11-0 lead into the half. ASU added seven more goals in the final half while allowing four to be scored to bring the final to 18-4. ASU, who scored its most goals in a game this season, was led by Carter’s five goals, which was one shy of equaling her career high. Harris added four goals while Haas scored three, Bella Morrison and White each scored twice and both Hacker and Searra Silverberg each added one.

Hacker, the first collegiate water polo player from the state of Arizona, was one of seven individuals that added assists in the game in which Carter led the charge with three helpers, giving her a career-high eight points in the contest. Hutchinson stopped four shots in the first two quarters of play while Lucy Baranyi saved three shots while playing in the third and fourth stanzas.

The final game of the day saw the Sun Devils improve to 3-0 on the day with its 10-8 defeat of the Rams. After taking a 2-1 lead through the first quarter, CSU tied the score by the half with both teams having scored five times. The score remained close after the third as ASU outscored CSU, 4-3, before winning the final quarter, 2-1. Hutchinson recorded six saves in the win to give her 24 in three games on the day.

Offensively, Harris led the charge with four goals while Haas added three and Carter two more. Morrison added the final goal in the game. Smith (three) and Carter (two) each added multiple assists in the contest while Harris, Morrison, Candice Phillippe and White each added one assist. Hutchinson also assisted on one goal.

Following the busy weekend, the Sun Devils will have just one game on the schedule as they play host to No. 1 Stanford at noon on Saturday at Mona Plummer Aquatic Center in Tempe. The game, which will count toward the MPSF standings, is ASU’s fourth league game of the year with all four having come against a team in the Top 4 nationally. It also will be the third time these two teams have met in 2011.

Claremont Convergence • Claremont, Calif.
Game 1
#7 Arizona State def. #11 Long Beach State, 15-10
ASU - 5 - 3 - 4 - 3 = 15
LBS - 2 - 3 - 1 - 4 = 10

ASU Stats
Goals: Haas 4, Smith 3, Carter 2, Harris 2, Unbehaun 2, White 2
Assists: Smith 4, Harris 4, Leech 3, Phillippe, Unbehaun, White, Young
Saves: Hutchinson 14

Game 2
#7 Arizona State def. D3-#2 Redlands, 18-4
ASU - 7 - 4 - 3 - 4 = 18
RED - 0 - 0 - 1 - 3 = 4

ASU Stats
Goals: Carter 5, Harris 4, Haas 3, Morrison 2, White 2, Hacker, Silverberg
Assists: Carter 3, Smith 2, Hacker, Morrison, Unbehaun, White, Young
Saves: Hutchinson 4, Baranyi 3

Game 3
#7 Arizona State def. Colorado State, 10-8
ASU - 2 - 2 - 4 - 2 = 10
CSU - 1 - 3 - 3 - 1 = 8

ASU Stats
Goals: Harris 4, Haas 3, Carter 2, Morrison
Assists: Smith 3, Carter 2, Harris, Hutchinson, Morrison, Phillippe, White
Saves: Hutchinson 6