ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon women's water polo team has arrived in California in preparation for this weekend's Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Championship hosted by Cal State East Bay in Hayward, California.
In its second year as a member of the WWPA, Gannon enters the conference championship as the sixth seed. The Lady Knights open the weekend Friday, April 29 against third seed and host Cal State East Bay at 4:45 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The Pioneers already own an 18-7 victory against the Lady Knights March 19 during the Fluid Five hosted by Indiana University.
Friday's other match-up includes fourth seed Mercyhurst against fifth seed Cal State Monterey Bay. Semifinal contests are scheduled for Saturday, April 30. The three-day event concludes Sunday, May 1 with the championship, third-place and fifth-place matches. The WWPA champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The WWPA has set up a championship Web site at
http://www.thewwpa.com/f/women/2016_WWPA_Womens_Championship.php. The site includes team profiles, the championship schedule, live video, live gameday statistics, directions, ticket information and much more.
Gannon concluded the regular season with a 6-12 record, but won three of its last five matches. The Lady Knights defeated Washington and Jefferson, Grove City and Penn State Behrend during their late-season run.
Alison Cooney (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) and
Shanen Lazenby (Erie, Pa./McDowell) were named to the All-WWPA postseason teams released Tuesday afternoon. Cooney was named to the second team while Lazenby earned honorable-mention accolades. Cooney was named to the All-WWPA second team for the second consecutive year after finishing the regular season with 45 goals, two assists, 47 points, 16 steals, 15 drawn exclusions and four field blocks. The sophomore ranked second among all WWPA players in goals per match (2.50) and sixth in points per match (2.61). Her 45 goals rank among the top-20 single-season totals in program history.
Lazenby also earned All-WWPA honors for the second consecutive season after being named to the first team in 2015. The senior generated 22 goals, 17 assists, 39 points, 50 sprint-off wins, 32 steals and 10 drawn exclusions this year. She ranks fifth among WWPA players in steals per match (1.78), eighth in assists per match (0.94) and 10th in points per match (2.17).
Cal State East Bay brings a 14-10 overall record into the weekend. The Pioneers have won four of their last six matches. Six Cal State East Bay water polo players were named to the All-WWPA postseason teams.
Senior Sabrina Hatzer led the way for the Pioneers, capturing first-team honors. Senior Taylor Cross and junior Nikki Vaughan were selected to the second team while seniors Tori Dettloff and Casey Rushforth earned honorable-mention accolades. Rookie goalkeeper Makenna Nation was named to the All-Freshman Team.
