Box Score
IRVINE, Calif. – The top-seeded University of Hawai'i women's water polo team earned a spot in the 2013 Big West Tournament finals with a 10-5 semifinal win over No. 4 seed Long Beach State Saturday afternoon at the Anteater Aquatics Center.
After being held scoreless in UH's quarterfinal win over Pacific on Friday,
Monika Eggens exploded for five goals to lift the Rainbow Wahine to its victory over the 49ers (24-7). With her performance, the senior attacker also surpassed Kelly Mason to become the school's all-time leading goal scorer (240).
Fellow senior
Amarens Genee added three goals for UH as she teamed with Eggens to score eight of the team's 10 goals. The Rainbow Wahine led from wire-to-wire. UH scored the first five goals of the match—four of them by Eggens—and never looked back in winning its seventh straight match. It's the team's longest win streak since tallying nine straight victories during the 2010 season.
UH (20-9) will now face No. 2 seed and tournament host UC Irvine (21-8) in tomorrow's championship match at 4:15 p.m. PT (1:15 HT). UH has advanced to a conference tournament final just once before, falling to Stanford in the 2006 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship. The winner of Sunday's match gains an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship to be held May 10-12 in Boston, Mass.
The Rainbow Wahine and Anteaters—who shared the regular-season league title—split a pair of tight matches earlier this year, both in California. UCI defeated UH, 10-9, in the UC Irvine Invitational on Feb. 24, while the Rainbow Wahine pulled off a thrilling 12-11 overtime win over the Anteaters in a league contest on March 14.
Hawai'i 10, Long Beach State 5
April 27, 2013 at Anteater Aquatics Center
Irvine, Calif.
Scoring By Period
LBSU 0 1 2 2 = 5
UH 2 3 2 3 = 10
LBSU Scoring: Justine Morgan (2), Christina Kotsia, Chelsea Parks, Coriann Snyder
UH Scoring: Monika Eggens (5),
Amarens Genee (3),
Danielle Lewis,
Caity Lopes da Silva
Saves: LBSU - Kelly Ringel (10); UH-
Amy Carlson (8)
-UH-
