CLU Regals Water Polo Newshttp://www.callutheran.edu/sportsCalifornia Lutheran University is a diverse scholarly community dedicated to excellence in the liberal arts and professional studies. Founded in 1959, Cal Lutheran is part of a 500-year-old tradition of Lutheran higher education --a tradition that insists on wide-ranging, critical inquiry into matters of both faith and reason.Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:25:22 PSTen-us2012 California Lutheran UniversityRegals Polo Earns Team Academic Honorhttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7774Cal Lutheran women's water polo received Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) team honors after finishing with a team grade point average of 3.21.

]]>THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Cal Lutheran women's water polo received Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) team honors after finishing with a team grade point average of 3.21.

Official Release: 2011 ACWPC All-Academic Team

Seven different team members led by CLU Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year Bobby Sanders earned individual honors for 2011. Current team member Neika Maryn rounds out CLU student-athletes whom received "Outstanding" honors for maintaining a cumulative GPA above 3.70.

Christina Messer, Claire Whitten and Lindsay Bowden earned "Superior" standing for keeping GPA's above 3.40. Goalkeeper Rachel Hahn graduates with "Excellent" standing and a grade point average above 3.20. Fellow net minder Jessika Bell achieved similar marks following her rookie season.

This year marks the third straight season Cal Lutheran has maintained a team GPA of 3.00 or higher. CLU has raised the bar during that time from 3.00 in 2009, to 3.06 in 2010 up to 3.21 following this past year.

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7774Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:00:00 PSTRegals Trio Named to All-America Teamhttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7723Senior Bobby Sanders, along with juniors Christina Messer and Jane Galluzzi were named to the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-America Team, announced earlier this week. Sanders earned her third straight recognition while her teammates received the first of their respective careers.

]]>THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Senior Bobby Sanders, along with juniors Christina Messer and Jane Galluzzi were named to the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-America Team, announced earlier this week. Sanders earned her third straight recognition while her teammates received the first of their respective careers.

Official Release: 2011 ACWPC All-America Teams

Bobby Sanders - First Team
Sanders started all 28 games as the team's primary two-meter defender and led the team with 66 steals and 26 assists. She posted career-highs with 25 goals and ranked second on the team drawing 54 exclusions in her final season with the Regals.

She appeared in 124-of-126 games during her four-year career making 110 starts and graduates holding top-10 program marks in all four major field player categories. Sanders received first team All-America honors in 2009 and again in 2011 while notching honorable mention status in 2010. She is the third Regal to become a three-time All-American (Meredith Butte and Joy Cyprian, 2010).

Christina Messer - Honorable Mention
The junior hole set was one of five CLU players with 30 goals or more, but her team leading 66 drawn exclusions provided nearly 30 percent of the team's player-advantage scoring opportunities. She added 24 steals and 10 assists while starting all 28 games in 2011.

Following the conclusion of this year's conference championship tournament Messer received her first All-SCIAC selection taking second team honors.

Jane Galluzzi - Honorable Mention
After scoring 30 goals combined in her first two seasons she exploded for 44 as a junior to lead the Regals in 2011. Galluzzi scored on 44-of-84 shots this past season and has put away over half of her attempts since 2010. She ranked second on the team with 39 steals while contributing 14 assists and 12 drawn exclusions.

This marks the fifth straight year Cal Lutheran has placed three or more players on the ACWPC All-America Team.

Tamara Parea of Pomona-Pitzer and Tom Whittemore from Redlands were named the Player and Coach of the Year, respectively.

Cal Lutheran finish the 2011 season with an 11-17, 5-5 SCIAC record taking fifth place in the conference standings.

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7723Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:00:00 PSTSanders Receives NCAA Scholarshiphttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7692Recent Cal Lutheran graduate Bobby Sanders, who helped lead the Regals women's water polo team to a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) championship in 2009 and a Collegiate III National Championship in 2010, has been awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

]]> THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Recent Cal Lutheran graduate Bobby Sanders, who helped lead the Regals women's water polo team to a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) championship in 2009 and a Collegiate III National Championship in 2010, has been awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Recipients: Women's Spring Sports List

One of 29 female student-athletes that competed in a spring sport honored with the $7,500 scholarship, the native of Anchorage, Alaska is the first Cal Lutheran graduate in school history to receive this prestigious Scholarship.

Graduating with a 3.97 grade point average and a degree in Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, Sanders plans to continue her studies in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Duke University.

One of the most decorated student-athletes to compete for head coach Craig Rond throughout the eight-year history of his program, the four-year letterwinner ended her senior season as the 2011 Cal Lutheran Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year, received 2011 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-American Third Team and All-District VIII At-Large First Team honors, and concluded her undergraduate career as one of seven four-year members of the Cal Lutheran Scholar-Athlete Society.

Sanders now ranks second all-time with 248 steals, fourth with 94 assists and 140 drawn exclusions, and tied for eighth with 88 career goals scored, and ended the 2011 season with a team-high 66 steals. The two-meter defender also led the team with 26 assists, scored 25 goals on 70 shots, and was received All-SCIAC Second Team recognition for the second consecutive season.

The NCAA awards up to 174 postgraduate scholarships annually, 87 for men and 87 for women. Scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are at least in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition. Twenty-nine, one-time non-renewable grants of $7,500 each are awarded to students from each sports season (fall, winter and spring).

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7692Fri, 24 Jun 2011 07:30:00 PSTSanders Named Academic All-Americanhttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7664Bobby Sanders of the Regals water polo team was named to the 2011 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Women's At-Large Academic All-America Team, announced on Thursday.

]]>THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Bobby Sanders of the Regals water polo team was named to the 2011 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Women's At-Large Academic All-America Team, announced on Thursday.

Sanders received third team honors and graduated this past spring maintaining a 3.97 grade point average while earning her degree in Exercise Science and Sports Medicine. The senior earned CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team honors in 2010.

She is one of seven four-year members of the Cal Lutheran Scholar-Athlete Society and was named the CLU Senior Scholar Female Athlete of the Year for 2011.

In the pool she was named to the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) All-America First Team in 2009 and an Honorable Mention selection in 2010. Sanders ranks in the program's all-time top-10 in each of the four major field player categories and holds the single season record for steals with 93 in 2009.

Marianne Andersson, a senior golfer from Florida Southern College was named the CoSIDA College Academic All-American Player of the Year.

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7664Thu, 09 Jun 2011 10:30:00 PSTSanders Nets CoSIDA Academic Honorhttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7627Bobby Sanders, a senior on the Cal Lutheran women's water polo team was named to the 2011 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District VIII At-Large First Team for the second straight year.

]]>THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Bobby Sanders, a senior on the Cal Lutheran women's water polo team was named to the 2011 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District VIII At-Large First Team for the second straight year.

Sanders was one of five NCAA Division III student-athletes to earn the honor and the only from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). She is the only D-III women's water polo player to make the list and did so alongside four members of the Northwest Conference including two from Linfield.

She repeated one of her two CoSIDA academic honors from last season after earning Academic All-American honors in the "at-large" group which features student-athletes from 13 different sports.

During her four years at Cal Lutheran she has earned Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) First Team All-American, CoSIDA Academic All-American, and twice been named to the Academic All-District VIII First Team and All-SCIAC Second Team.

Earlier this month Sanders was named the Cal Lutheran Female Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year after maintaining a 3.97 grade point average while earning her degree in Exercise Science and Sports Medicine with emphasis in pre-Physical Therapy and Human Performance.

Sanders is the fourth CLU student-athlete to earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors this academic year and the third this spring following Richard Michelin (baseball) and Sara Lichtsinn (softball). Rebekah Casas of the SCIAC Champion women's soccer team was the first to earn the distinction doing so this past fall.

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7627Thu, 19 May 2011 19:00:00 PSTCLU Hands Out End of Year Awardshttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7610On Monday inside Gilbert Arena student-athletes representing each of Cal Lutheran's 19 programs were recognized for their achievements throughout the 2010-11 season at the annual end of the year gathering put together by members of both the CLU athletics department and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

]]>THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - On Monday inside Gilbert Arena student-athletes representing each of Cal Lutheran's 19 programs were recognized for their achievements throughout the 2010-11 season at the annual end of the year gathering put together by members of both the CLU athletics department and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

The Cal Lutheran Senior Athletes of the Year were officially announced during the event with Allison Kerr of volleyball earning the honor for the women. Eric Flores and Andrew Giuffrida will share the honor for the men.

Seventy-two Cal Lutheran student-athletes are scheduled to graduate this month including the CLU Scholar-Athletes of the Year in Bobby Sanders of women's water polo and Ray Ostrander of men's cross country and track and field.

All student-athletes from this past season received a token of appreciation for their respective contributions this year with first year CLU members getting a CLU athletics department shirt, second year a sweatshirt, third year a letterman and fourth year a plaque.

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7610Mon, 09 May 2011 18:00:00 PSTCal Lutheran Athletes Making the Gradehttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7608It started in a little room in the humanities building. It eventually moved to the Lundring Events Center, where everyone assumed it would remain for many years. But the numbers just kept increasing, so this year's Cal Lutheran Scholar-Athlete Society induction banquet had to be held in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center.

]]>It started in a little room in the humanities building. It eventually moved to the Lundring Events Center, where everyone assumed it would remain for many years. But the numbers just kept increasing, so this year's Cal Lutheran Scholar-Athlete Society induction banquet had to be held in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center.

A record-high 112 athletes were honored last Saturday for having a cumulative GPA of at least 3.4. The standard far exceeds the 2.0 needed to be eligible to compete in athletics.

"To me that is the whole Division III philosophy of being a student and a top athlete," CLU Athletic Director Dan Kuntz said. "Our mission is to help them do well in school and do well in their sport and give them an opportunity to carry those on to other things."

The Scholar-Athlete Society started in 2003 with only 36 athletes. Although the amount of teams at CLU has remained the same, the number of athletes honored has jumped exponentially.

This year's total represents nearly 30 percent of the athletes at CLU.

"They are competitive people, and if you let them know what the expectation is, they are going to go for it," Kuntz said. "Once it happens once and someone see it, they realize the opportunity is there for them and it becomes a road map for others to follow."

CLU distance runner Roy Ostrander and women's water polo player Bobby Sanders, who were recently named Cal Lutheran Senior Scholar-Athletes of the Year, have been members of the society all four years at CLU.

In front of a large gathering of relatives, coaches and administrators, each of the 116 honorees received certificates and other small tokens of reward.

"If they have the passion and commitment to their sport, it is a large chunk of their time they have to dedicate to play," Kuntz said. "It's asking a lot because they are not getting scholarship money or a private tutor or special trainer or registration just for them. They are doing this on their own because they want to."

Kuntz believes the environment at CLU is conducive for athletes to balance sports and academics successfully.

"The students have people around them and resources available if they need support, and I think a person tends to thrive more if they feel like they can do more," Kuntz said. "I think those things have really evolved at CLU the last several years and there has been a lot of work to ensure the infrastructure is in place."

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7608Mon, 09 May 2011 15:45:00 PSTSanders, Messer Earn All-SCIAC Honorshttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7599Senior Bobby Sanders and junior Christina Messer of Cal Lutheran women's water polo were named to the 2011 all-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) team, announced earlier today.

]]>LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Senior Bobby Sanders and junior Christina Messer of Cal Lutheran women's water polo were named to the 2011 all-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) team, announced earlier today.

Official Release: 2011 All-SCIAC Women's Water Polo Team

Bobby Sanders - Second Team
The senior two-meter defender makes it back to the all-SCIAC team after earning second team honors for the first time in 2009. In conference play she led CLU with 28 steals and ranked second drawing 16 exclusions and dished out seven assists.

During her career Sanders has earned Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) All-America first team (2009) and honorable mention (2010) honors, all-SCIAC second team (2009, 2011) selections and received ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-America and All-District VIII first team honors (2010).

Christina Messer - Second Team
The junior hole set put together a career year leading the Regals with 66 drawn exclusions and ranked second on the team with 39 goals. In 10 conference games she drew 25 ejections and scored 17 times on only 30 attempts.

After putting up career-highs in every major field player category Messer earns her first post-season honor with an all-conference second team selection. Like Sanders she has been a member of the Scholar-Athlete Society in each of her first three years at Cal Lutheran.

Tamara Parea of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges was named SCIAC Player of the Year. Redlands defeated Occidental in the SCIAC Championship title game and both will share this year's league title.

Cal Lutheran finished the season 11-17, 5-5 SCIAC and in fifth place in the final conference standings.

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7599Thu, 05 May 2011 11:00:00 PSTCLU Announces its 2011 Senior Scholar-Athleteshttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7597Ray Ostrander of the men's cross country and track and field teams, and Bobby Sanders from women's water polo have been named the 2011 Cal Lutheran Senior Scholar-Athletes of the Year. Both have been members of the Scholar-Athlete Society each of their four years while at Cal Lutheran.

]]>THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Ray Ostrander of the men's cross country and track and field teams, and Bobby Sanders from women's water polo have been named the 2011 Cal Lutheran Senior Scholar-Athletes of the Year. Both have been members of the Scholar-Athlete Society each of their four years while at Cal Lutheran.

Ray Ostrander
Ostrander has been among the elite in the classroom, on the courses and around the track. He has been an NCAA national qualifier each of the past two seasons and became the first Kingsman in 13 years to earn back-to-back first team all-SCIAC selections. He became the first male harrier in CLU history to earn all-West region honors three consecutive years.

By virtue of his placement at the national championships and cumulative grade point average Ostrander was named to the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III all-Academic Team in 2009 and 2010. He was one of only 142 male runners to earn such distinction this season.

Ostrander is a double major in Environmental Science and Geology.

Bobby Sanders
Sanders has been named Collegiate Water Polo first team All-America (2009) and honorable mention (2010) as well as ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-America first team (2010). She was part of the first-ever SCIAC Champion team in Cal Lutheran history when Cal Lutheran won in 2009.

She is one of only seven student-athletes in this year's graduating class to have earned CLU Scholar-Athlete Society honors during each of her four years. Sanders ranks in the program's career all-time top-10 marks in each of the four major field player categories with 88 goals (T-8th), 94 assists (4th), 248 steals (2nd) and 140 drawn exclusions (4th).

Sanders is majoring in Exercise Science and Sports Medicine with emphasis in pre-Physical Therapy and Human Performance.

The Cal Lutheran Senior Athletes of the Year will be announced at the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Senior Athlete Social on Monday, May 9.

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7597Tue, 03 May 2011 14:00:00 PSTRegals Defeat Poets to Cap off Seasonhttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7591Six straight goals by Cal Lutheran secured a 13-7 victory over Whittier and a fifth place finish at the 2011 SCIAC Championships on Sunday afternoon. While scoring five fourth quarter goals of their own the Regals defense held the Poets to only one second half score.

]]>LA VERNE, Calif. - Six straight goals by Cal Lutheran secured a 13-7 victory over Whittier and a fifth place finish at the 2011 SCIAC Championships on Sunday afternoon. While scoring five fourth quarter goals of their own the Regals defense held the Poets to only one second half score.

Box Score: CLU 13, WC 7 - F

Christina Messer scored twice within the opening minute to give Cal Lutheran the early lead. Later in the period Whittier's Katrina Thoreson responded in kind scoring a pair of her own within a 35 second span and Alex Reddin added another with 1:34 left to give the Poets their first lead of the game.

In total the first half featured four ties and as many lead changes with Reddin's goal in the final minute of the second quarter tying the game 6-6.

Jane Galluzzi and Shannon Streeter scored two second half goals apiece during the team's 6-0 run that spanned 14 minutes over the third and fourth periods. Galluzzi finished with a game-high four goals along with two scores from Kelsey Bergemann, Messer and Streeter.

While the offense fired on all cylinders over the final 10 minutes the defensive effort also keyed the scoring run. Goalkeepers Rachel Hahn and Jessika Bell combined to make 12 saves.

Senior Rachel Hahn made four saves and fellow senior Bobby Sanders drew six exclusions and contributed two assists in the final game of their respective collegiate careers.

Redlands defeated Occidental 7-6 in triple sudden death overtime to win the SCIAC Tournament and the title of conference champions. Cal Lutheran finishes in fifth place in the final conference standings.

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7591Sun, 01 May 2011 18:00:00 PSTHistory Repeats Itself for Cal Lutheranhttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7586Led by Christina Messer and her game-high five goals, ten different Regals found the back of the net Saturday afternoon in Cal Lutheran's 18-12 road victory against the La Verne Leopards.

]]>LA VERNE, Calif. - Led by Christina Messer and her game-high five goals, ten different Regals found the back of the net Saturday afternoon in Cal Lutheran's 18-12 road victory against the La Verne Leopards in day two of the SCIAC Women's Water Polo Championship Tournament.

Box Score: CLU 18, ULV 12 - F

This is the second time within the last three weeks that CLU has departed the La Verne Aquatics Center with a six-goal victory over La Verne.

In day one of the three-day tournament, Cal Lutheran struggled to generate any type of offense, and was nearly held scoreless throughout the entire second half against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. With Friday's events still fresh on the minds of many Regals, the team established itself on one end of the pool from the very beginning thanks to Messer who scored in the inaugural goal of the day for the Regals only 17 seconds into the match.

The goal was the first of five goals scored throughout the morning by Messer, four of which took place throughout the first quarter.



Both Messer and Jane Galuzzi led the Regals with six shots taken apiece; combined, the duo were responsible for 12 of the team's 29 shots taken against the Leopard, and half of CLU's goals scored.

Cal Lutheran's success was not just limited to one end of the pool as Rachel Hahn successfully kept the Leopards at bay, allowing her team to build upon its initial two goal advantage as the game progressed. What began as a 5-3, first quarter lead morphed into an 8-4 advantage at the half.

Pulled in the fourth quarter with six saves to her credit, and her team holding a comfortable 13-6 lead, Hahn watched teammate Kylee Tomasetti make four saves of her own to help Cal Lutheran earn its first victory of the weekend.

Competing in their penultimate game for Cal Lutheran, seniors Hahn and Bobby Sanders each turned in a solid performance for head coach Craig Rond against the Leopards with Sanders netting her 25th goal of the season with 14 seconds remaining in the third quarter to give her team, at that time, a 13-6 lead.

Responsible for one of the four goals scored in Friday's contest against CMS, Meike Howell scored her second goal in as many days in the second quarter and now trails only Kelsey Bergemann and her team-high total of 37 goals scored by only one.

Repeating her results from Friday's game against CMS, Amanda McNutt also scored for the second straight day, beating netminder Shane Burgess in the fourth quarter to record her ninth goal of 2011.

Rounding out the scoring for Cal Lutheran were Shannon Streeter, Sarah Mock, Lindsay Bowden, Tiffany Ly, and Lauren Ray who, with the exception of Streeter, all scored throughout Burgess' two quarters of action.

Entering the day with four goals scored, Ray turned in a highly-efficient performance for Cal Lutheran by scoring on both shots taken, rounding out the trio of Regals who were able to score on multiple occasions against La Verne.

Cal Lutheran will make one final trip to La Verne Sunday morning to face the Whittier Poets in a game that cannot arrive soon enough for the Regals. Defeated at home, in overtime, by only one goal in their regular season match-up, the Regals look to avenge that loss in their final game of the season.

Sunday's Cal Lutheran-Whittier game will begin at 11:45 a.m.

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7586Sat, 30 Apr 2011 14:00:00 PSTCLU Offense Stifled at SCIAC Championshipshttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7582Competing in day one of the SCIAC Championship Tournament against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Cal Lutheran could not erase a four-goal halftime deficit and was defeated by the Athenas 11-4 on Friday afternoon at the La Verne Aquatic Center.

]]>LA VERNE, Calif. - Competing in day one of the SCIAC Championship Tournament against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Cal Lutheran could not erase a four-goal halftime deficit and was defeated by the Athenas 11-4 on Friday afternoon at the Las Flores Aquatic Center.

Box Score: CMS 11, CLU 4 - F

Kelsey Bergemann, Mieke Howell, Christina Messer, and Amanda McNutt were responsible for the entire CLU offense as each scored one goal apiece throughout the game.



Starting Friday's contest by jumping out to a 1-0 lead 29 seconds into the game thanks to Messer, the Regals watched CMS tie the game before regaining the lead once again at 2-1 when Howell beat Athena goalkeeper Heather Williams to record her 35th goal of the season.

Howell now possesses the second-highest goal total of any Regal, trailing only Bergemann (37 goals) who was responsible for the only CLU goal recorded in the second quarter.

Within a 52 second time-span, Cal Lutheran not only saw its lead swing to the other side of the scoreboard, but watched it swell. CMS was responsible for seven of the next eight goals scored, creating a sizable lead that the Regals would be unable to erase.

Finishing with seven saves against the Athenas, Regals goalkeeper Jessika Bell tried her best to keep her team within striking distance, but CMS just would not allow Cal Lutheran any chance of creating enough space to take a clear shot on goal throughout the final 16 minutes of action.

McNutt provided the lone highlight for Cal Lutheran in the second half as her goal prevented the Regals from being blanked throughout the final two quarters of action.

Cal Lutheran will now face the host Leopards Saturday morning in a game scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Defeating La Verne in its own pool by an 11-5 score more than two weeks ago, the Regals can earn a spot in the tournament's fifth place game, and complete the season sweep with a victory.

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7582Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:00:00 PSTRegals Polo Ready for SCIAC Championshipshttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7575Cal Lutheran will compete at the 2011 SCIAC Championships hosted by the University of La Verne at the Las Flores Aquatics Center this upcoming weekend. The Regals earned the No. 6 seed and will face No. 3 CMS at 11:45 a.m. on Friday, Apr. 29, to open their tournament schedule.

]]>LA VERNE, Calif. - Cal Lutheran will compete at the 2011 SCIAC Championships hosted by the University of La Verne at the Las Flores Aquatics Center this upcoming weekend. The Regals earned the No. 6 seed and will face No. 3 CMS at 11:45 a.m. on Friday, Apr. 29, to open their tournament schedule.

Official Website: 2011 SCIAC Women's Water Polo Championships

The three-day event will feature each of the eight conference teams. Competition will start at 10 a.m. each day with games to take place on 1 hour, 45 minute intervals. The schedule over the final two days will be determined by results from Friday's and Saturday's contests.

CLU closed out the regular season winning three of its final four conference games to finish 3-4 in SCIAC play. Despite having identical league marks Whittier earned the tiebreaker for the No. 5 seed having defeated Cal Lutheran in the head-to-head matchup during the regular season.

The same goes for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps losing out on a tiebreaker with Redlands for the No. 2 seed in the tournament. The Athenas defeated the Regals by an 11-9 margin in their regular season meeting in Claremont on Apr. 9.

Top seed Occidental swept the regular season and racked up an average margin of victory of over seven goals. The Tigers possess the top offense (93 goals) and defense (40 goals) by a wide margin and are currently the unanimous No. 1 in the latest Collegiate Water Polo Association poll.

Cal Lutheran has finished third or higher in the final SCIAC standings each of the past four years and notched the school's first ever conference title in water polo during the 2009 campaign.

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7575Wed, 27 Apr 2011 19:00:00 PSTRegals Wear Down Sagehens in Home Winhttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7564Cal Lutheran scored the final five goals during a 9-4 victory to close out the regular season schedule. In her final collegiate game at the Samuelson Aquatics Center senior goalkeeper Rachel Hahn made 10 saves to lead the Regals defense.

]]>THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Cal Lutheran scored the final five goals during a 9-4 victory to close out the regular season schedule. In her final collegiate game at the Samuelson Aquatics Center senior goalkeeper Rachel Hahn made 10 saves to lead the Regals defense.

Box Score: CLU 9, PP 4 - F

A battle of attrition and defense was the theme early on with Cal Lutheran winning the first quarter. There were only two major stoppages of play with the second a goal by Christina Messer in the final ticks of the period.

Pomona-Pitzer bounced back in the second frame and returned the favor scoring with Annie Oxborough-Yankus scoring the equalizer 11 seconds prior to halftime.

After both teams traded early second half goals CLU scored five unanswered goals to close out the game. Jane Galluzzi scored two of her game-high three, including the game-winner during that late stretch. Messer, Amanda McNutt, Galluzi and Shannon Streeter each netted fourth quarter scores while the defense silenced Pomona-Pitzer.

The senior duo Hahn and Bobby Sanders spearheaded the defensive effort combining for six steals and 11 total blocks.



Cal Lutheran (9-16, 3-4 SCIAC) will compete at the three-day 2011 SCIAC Championships hosted by La Verne starting on Friday, Apr. 29. CLU earned the No. 6 seed and will face Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (13-11, 5-2 SCIAC) in its opening round match.

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7564Sat, 23 Apr 2011 21:00:00 PSTSecond Half Spurt Takes Down Caltechhttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7555Cal Lutheran scored eight second half goals during an 11-3 road win over Caltech on Wednesday afternoon. Jane Galluzzi tallied three goals to lead the offense as the Regals picked up their second conference win of the season.

]]>PASADENA, Calif. - Cal Lutheran scored eight second half goals during an 11-3 road win over Caltech on Wednesday afternoon. Jane Galluzzi and Christina Messer tallied three goals each to lead the offense as the Regals picked up their second conference win of the season.

Box Score: CLU 11, CIT 3 - F

Wednesday was no different than the previous 10 meetings between these two teams with CLU having never lost to the Beavers. However the Caltech defense had a strong first half effort and allowed a team-best 11 goals against in conference play.

Following the victory every player on the Cal Lutheran roster has scored at least once this season including freshmen Jacqueline Grant and Lindsay Bowden. Each scored the first collegiate goals of their respective careers at Braun Pool.

Kelsey Bergemann contributed on both ends of the pool with three assists and three steals in the victory.

Cal Lutheran (8-16, 2-4 SCIAC) will host Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday, Apr. 23 at 11 a.m. in the final regular season and home game of the 2011 season.

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7555Wed, 20 Apr 2011 19:00:00 PSTCal Lutheran Sunk by Top Ranked Occidentalhttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7538Cal Lutheran was never able to take the lead over the nation's current top ranked team on Saturday morning and dropped a 9-5 decision to Occidental at the Samuelson Aquatics Center. CLU never trailed by more than two until a 4-0 fourth quarter scoring run by the Tigers ended any chance of completing the comeback.

]]>THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Cal Lutheran was never able to take the lead over the nation's current top ranked team on Saturday morning and dropped a 9-5 decision to Occidental at the Samuelson Aquatics Center. CLU never trailed by more than two until a 4-0 fourth quarter scoring run by the Tigers ended any chance of completing the comeback.

Box Score: OXY 9, CLU 5 - F

Tigers senior Karie Nickle netted a first quarter hat trick and provided the visiting squad a 3-1 lead. The third was a buzzer-beater that came on a quick shot following a Cal Lutheran exclusion in the final second of the opening period.

A pair of second quarter goals by from Kelsey Bergemann pulled the Regals back to within one at halftime and CLU would trail by the same margin through three quarters of play.

OXY opened the fourth quarter with four unanswered goals led by two scores from Julie Monday to secure a victory and remain unbeaten (5-0) in conference play. A late goal by Tiffany Ly ended the Tigers scoring run and capped off the scoring.

Despite trailing early on it was a promising start for the Regals drawing three exclusions within the opening four minutes of play. After failing to convert on a 6-on-4 during their first player advantage scoring chance Regals junior Christina Messer netted a 6-on-5 equalizer midway through the first period.

Messer earned three of the team's four drawn exclusions and scored the only man-up goal. All four came in the first half and limited the Regals premier scoring chances against an already strong defensive unit for the Tigers.

Occidental has not allowed any SCIAC team to score more than five goals against this season. Goalkeeper Rachel Adeleye made 10 saves while CLU counterpart Jessika Bell made nine stops.

Cal Lutheran (7-16, 1-4 SCIAC) will play its final regular season road game at Caltech on Wednesday, Apr. 20 at 5 p.m.

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7538Sat, 16 Apr 2011 18:30:00 PSTSanders, Streeter Supply Offense in Winhttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7530Women's water polo picked up its first conference win of the season on Wednesday defeating La Verne by an 11-5 margin at the Las Flores Aquatics Center. Three goal games from Shannon Streeter and Bobby Sanders led the offensive effort.

]]> LA VERNE, Calif. - Women's water polo picked up its first conference win of the season on Wednesday defeating La Verne by an 11-5 margin at the Las Flores Aquatics Center. Three goal games from Shannon Streeter and Bobby Sanders led the offensive effort.

As has been the case throughout most of the season Cal Lutheran received scoring from a number of players. Lexy Varshawsky, Mieke Howell, Jane Galluzzi, Christina Messer and Lauren Ray each scored once.

Messer racked up another three drawn exclusions bringing her season total to 58 and now ranks fourth all-time in CLU single-season history.

Cal Lutheran led at the half, as it has in its previous three conference games, by a 6-3 margin. However the Regals pulled away in the third quarter shutting out the Leopards while extending their lead to six heading into the final period.

Freshman goalkeeper Jessika Bell notched nine saves and two assists in the victory. She now has 40 saves in four conference games this season.

Cal Lutheran (7-15, 1-3 SCIAC) will host Occidental (14-8, 4-0 SCIAC) on Saturday, Apr. 16 at 11 a.m.

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7530Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:00:00 PSTRegals Still Searching for First SCIAC Winhttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7511Leading by three and allowing only three first half goals Cal Lutheran allowed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to score four times in each of the final two quarters suffering its third straight conference loss by an 11-9 margin on Saturday morning.

]]>CLAREMONT, Calif. - Leading by three and allowing only three first half goals Cal Lutheran allowed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to score four times in each of the final two quarters suffering its third straight conference loss by an 11-9 margin on Saturday morning.

Box Score: CMS 11, CLU 9 - F

The Regals led 6-3 at the half spearheaded by defensive efforts from Bobby Sanders who contributed five steals and goalkeeper Jessika Bell with 10 saves overall.

The offense scored three goals in each of the first two periods but was held to only three total in the second half. Mieke Howell led Cal Lutheran with four goals followed by Kelsey Bergemann and Sanders with two apiece.

Howell and Bergemann currently leads this year's squad with 33 scores this season. Sanders' five steals brings her team-high total to 51 and Christina Messer's four drawn exclusions brings her total to 55 this season ranking sixth all-time in program history.

Cal Lutheran (6-15, 0-3 SCIAC) will remain on the road to face La Verne (8-16, 1-2 SCIAC) on Wednesday, Apr. 13 at 5 p.m.

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7511Sat, 09 Apr 2011 13:00:00 PSTCLU Forces Overtime, Suffers Familiar Fatehttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7496Cal Lutheran and Redlands needed sudden death overtime to settle the score. Despite a school record 18 saves from CLU goalkeeper Jessika Bell, UR junior Jamie Nippert tallied the final goal in a 10-9 decision handing the Regals their second straight overtime loss to start conference play.

]]>THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Cal Lutheran and Redlands needed sudden death overtime to settle the score. Despite a school record 18 saves from CLU goalkeeper Jessika Bell, UR junior Jamie Nippert tallied the final goal in a 10-9 decision handing the Regals their second straight overtime loss to start conference play.

Box Score: UR 10, CLU 9 - F/SDOT

Trailing 8-6 with six minutes left in the fourth quarter the Regals rallied to tie the game capped off by a Mieke Howell man-advantage score with 2:07 left in regulation.

Trailing 9-8 in overtime CLU's Jane Galluzzi scored with five ticks on the clock forcing sudden death overtime. The comebacks forced the game to last 41 minutes, 30 seconds in length but it came to an anti-climactic end.

Following a scoreless first frame of next goal wins, Nippert's cross cage shot from about six meters out with five ticks of the shot clock found the back of the net.

It was a frustrating defeat as Cal Lutheran's last four losses have been by one goal, previous three in overtime and back-to-back conference losses after holding early 4-1 leads.

It looked promising at the start for Cal Lutheran building a three-goal cushion courtesy of two first quarter goals from Bobby Sanders, along with power play scores from Claire Whitten and Kelsey Bergemann.

However the advantage vanished late in the first half after goals from Nippert and Mandy Nussbaum in the final 70 seconds cut the deficit to one at intermission. The Bulldogs took their first lead of the game after Casey Sripramong and Jill Stein each scored to open the second half.

The Regals would never lead the rest of the way but did respond coming from behind to tie the game on four separate occasions. One of the most important for the home squad came from Howell converting a 6-on-5 chance late in the fourth quarter.

CLU's offense has taken advantage on player advantage opportunities throughout this season and did so again on Wednesday. However the Regals had limited chances drawing only five exclusions, but did convert three times.

The Regals had one final possession to extend the game after Bulldogs junior Casey Sripramong scored with 36 seconds left in overtime. Cal Lutheran netted the equalizer for a fourth time and second on the day for Jane Galluzzi as she tied the game at 9-9 with only five seconds to spare.

Redlands snaps a five-game losing streak to Cal Lutheran earning its first victory over the Regals since 2007.

Cal Lutheran (6-14, 0-2 SCIAC) will head out to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (9-10, 1-1 SCIAC) on Saturday, Apr. 9 at 11 a.m.

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7496Wed, 06 Apr 2011 19:30:00 PSTApril 6 is National Student-Athlete Dayhttp://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7492On Wednesday, Apr. 6 institutions of higher learning will celebrate student-athletes across the country as part of National Student-Athlete Day. The program of the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS), has been celebrated annually on this date since 1987.

]]>THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - On Wednesday, Apr. 6 institutions of higher learning will celebrate student-athletes across the country as part of National Student-Athlete Day. The program of the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS), has been celebrated annually on this date since 1987.

Official Website: National Student-Athlete Day

"We are very proud to honor hundreds of student athletes competing at CLU in 19 Division III sports programs and soon to be 20 with the addition of women's golf in 2011," commented Cal Lutheran Athletics Director Dan Kuntz. "As Division III athletes our students embrace the philosophy that competing in sports is an educational experience where learning extends beyond the classroom."

Brett Halvaks, the current CLU SAAC President as well as the NCAA Division III SCIAC and Northwest Conference SAAC Representative is receiving and giving out recognition to fellow student-athletes.

"I believe this day provides a wonderful opportunity to recognize what CLU Student-Athletes have accomplished over this past year; both in their sport and in the classroom as well," said Cal Lutheran Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President Brett Halvaks.

The special day honors individuals at both the high school and collegiate levels. There are over 425,000 NCAA student-athletes with Cal Lutheran representing some of the more than 168,000 from Division III.

"It is remarkable to think that CLU, not to mention all Division III student-athletes in general are competing at such a high level while being provided minimal athletic aid," stated Halvaks who is a member of both the Kingsmen cross country and track and field teams.

Appropriately two of Cal Lutheran's eight spring teams will hold true to the student-athlete moniker with women's water polo hosting Redlands at 5 p.m. and baseball heading out to Chapman on a day that recognizes the student-athlete.

]]>http://www.clusports.com/womens_water_polo/news/7492Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:00:00 PST