Rewatch The Game
Championship Bracket
Wagner Postseason Guide
Indianapolis, IN – The Wagner women's water polo team, four-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) champions, ended its season with a 17-2 loss to the top-seeded and No.1-ranked UCLA Bruins in the first round of the NCAA Championship this afternoon at the IU Natatorium.
Seniors
Emily Riddle,
Gabryel Oloapu, and
Amanda Sutherland end their time on Grymes Hill with 105 career victories, four MAAC Championships, three regular season titles, four NCAA opening round appearances, and one trip to the NCAA Championship tournament. With the triumph over UC San Diego in the NCAA's opening round play-in game, the trio tied the Class of 2016 as the winningest class in Wagner women's water polo history.
The Seahawks made their first trip to the tournament since 2007 after upsetting
UC San Diego, 6-5 on May 6 in the play-in game, becoming the second Wagner program to win an NCAA playoff game in joining the 2012 football team that earned a 31-20 victory over Colgate.
Prior to its win in California, the Seahawks defeated league rival,
Marist College, 11-7 on April 30 en route to their fourth consecutive conference title. With this victory, the Green & White became the first program in MAAC history to win four straight championships.
Four Bruins registered hat tricks today, as UCLA received a combined five goals from 2016 USA Olympic team members Rachel Fattal and Maddie Musselman.
Meanwhile,
MAAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year and Tournament MVP,
Kimberly Watson (Pointe-Claire, Quebec / John Rennie) and rookie
Jacqui Sjogren (Queensland, Australia / St. Andrews Anglican College) each netted tallies for the Seahawks. Watson's unassisted goal came with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter, while Sjogren rattled the cage with 4:57 left in the final stanza.
In addition to her lone goal, Watson collected her 96
th sprint of the year, breaking her single-season record from 2016 by nine.
Defensively, senior goalkeeper
Emily Riddle (Edmonton, Alberta / Dr. E.P. Scarlett) recorded seven saves in her final 32 minutes in the cage for the Green & White as Wagner recorded seven steals on the day, including a team-high three from sophomore attack
Erica Hardy (Montreal, Quebec / St. Thomas).
On Thursday night, the Seahawk squad attended the pre-tournament banquet to celebrate the 2017 season. Senior captain and MAAC Defensive Player of the Year,
Emily Riddle was given the privilege to speak at the dinner as she spoke about what it meant for the Green & White to attend its first NCAA Tournament in eight years.
