Updated at 7:18 p.m., Saturday, April 28, 2007
Stanford defeats UH in MPSF water polo semifinal, 16-10
Advertiser Staff
There would be no upset this time for Hawai'i in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation water polo semifinals.Top-seed Stanford defeated the fourth-seeded Rainbow Wahine, 16-10, today to advance to the conference tournament championship match tomorrow at Tempe, Ariz.
Stanford (25-1) faces UCLA (24-2) for the title. Hawai'i (17-9) meets USC (19-5) for third place tomorrow. UCLA beat USC, 10-9, in the other semifinal.
Last year, the Rainbows upset then-No. 1 USC to advance to their first MPSF final before falling to the Cardinal in the championship game.
In today's match, Lisa van Raalte led UH with four goals. Angela Turnbull added two. Goalkeeper Meike De Nooy had 11 saves.
The game included a 25-minute dust-storm delay, according to the Arizona State athletics department Web site.
By reaching the semifinals, the Rainbow Wahine likely clinched their third consecutive NCAA Championship appearance. The eight-team tournament is made up of the five league champions nationally and three at-large teams. UH is ranked fifth nationally, behind the MPSF's Stanford, UCLA and Southern California. The tournament begins May 11 at Long Beach, Calif.
