VALLEJO, Calif. — California Maritime Academy enjoyed a late scoring charge when Meghan Abbott, Anjali Sharma and Ryan Wallace found the back of the cage throughout the fourth quarter of a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) West Invitational match at the PEAC Pool, but an early lead built by the University of California-Merced held throughout the entire game to help the Bobcats defeat the Keelhaulers, 16-6.
By winning that matchup, UC Merced captured this season’s Cal Pac Conference women’s water polo title and earned a berth in the NAIA Championship match against Ottawa University (AZ) later in the day. In the NAIA Invitational championship contest, OUAZ edged UC Merced, 9-8, to successfully defend its title.
When action concluded, tournament officials announced the Cal Pac All-Tournament Team, a list that included Abbott, Cate Andersson and Wallace. Once the Invitational ended, Sharma was featured on the event’s All-Tournament Team.
Cal Maritime fell behind early as UC Merced scored four goals during the opening minutes and maintained that cushion throughout the rest of the match.
Sharma scored the first of her team-high three goals midway through the second quarter, and once again with just under three minutes left in the third quarter.
Sandwiched between those strikes was a goal from Abbott, the first of her two scored throughout the second half.
Andersson recorded six saves in her team’s final game of the season but a limited roster, due to injuries sustained throughout the weeks leading up to this tournament, created a tight rotation for the Keelhaulers all weekend long. This extra workload, combined with minimal subs ultimately caught up to Cal Maritime in the final week of the season.
Cal Pac Championship All-Tournament Team
Meghan Abbott – California Maritime Academy
Cate Andersson – California Maritime Academy
Ryan Wallace – California Maritime Academy
Hope Stokes (Most Valuable Player) – University of California-Merced
Liberty Hamilton – University of California-Merced
Aislyn Sorsky – University of California-Merced
Melanie Torres – University of California-Merced
Cal Pac Specialty Award
Johnny Bega – Cal Pac Coach of the Year
NAIA West Invitational All-Tournament Team
Tori Higginson – Ottawa University (AZ)
Jennifer Liu – Ottawa University (AZ)
Jasmine Miller – Ottawa University (AZ)
Kendall Patrick – Ottawa University (AZ)
Liberty Hamilton – University of California-Merced
Hope Stokes – University of California-Merced
Melanie Torres – University of California-Merced
Anjali Sharma – California Maritime Academy
NAIA West Invitational Specialty Awards
Jennifer Liu – Ottawa University (Tournament Most Valuable Player)
Hope Stokes – University of California-Merced (Defensive Most Valuable Player)
Cate Andersson – California Maritime Academy (Team Most Valuable Player)
Liberty Hamilton – University of California-Merced (Team Most Valuable Player)
Kendall Patrick – Ottawa University (AZ) (Team Most Valuable Player)
