LOS ANGELES--The University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine water polo team split a pair of matches on the opening day of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Women’s Water Polo championships at USC’s McDonald's Swim Stadium. Eighth-seeded UH defeated No. 9 UC Santa Barbara, 6-4, then fell to top-seed Stanford, 14-4, later in the day to drop out of championship contention.

The Rainbow Wahine (14-13) and Gauchos played the opening match of the tourney, with UH winning despite going scoreless in the final two quarters. The Rainbow Wahine raced out to a 6-2 lead by halftime and held on for the victory behind two goals by Beth Novick and 13 saves by senior goalkeeper Christa Tackaberry.

Stanford, the defending MPSF Tournament champions, proved too much for the Rainbow Wahine in the second match. The Cardinal blanked UH, 4-0, in the first quarter and led, 9-1, by intermission. Margie Dingeldein had four goals for Stanford, while Brenda Villa also had a hat trick with three. Erin Kocher led UH with two scores.

The tournament continues tomorrow As UH faces No. 4 California at 12:30 p.m. PDT.

Day 1 Results
Match #1
UC Santa Barbara (16-16) 1-1-2-0---4
Hawai'i (14-12) 3-3-0-0---6
UCSB Goals: Mary Blumberg 2, Mica Bell, Katy Kunkel
Hawai'i Goals: Beth Novick 2, Karin van Hoff, Lissy Schweitzer, Erin Kocher, Chelsea Garner-Prohs

UCSB Saves: Yvonne Conard, 5
Hawaii Saves: Christa Tackaberry, 13

Match #5
Hawai'i (14-13) 0-1-2-1---4
Stanford (20-1) 4-5-4-1---14
Hawai'i Goals: Erin Kocher 2, Chelsea Garner-Prohs, Ta Molina
Stanford Goals: Margie Dingeldein 4, Brenda Villa 3, Julie Gardner 2, Kelty Luber 2, Wendy Watkins, Jeanine Jackson, Ellen Estes

Hawaii Saves: Christa Tackaberry, 6
Stanford Saves: Jackie Frank, 4
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