MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — Tournament Most Valuable Player Shelby Dinh (Sr., Portland, Ore./Westview) made eight saves – including five in the first half to allow her team to build a 2-0 lead by halftime – as Division III No. 1-ranked/Sierra Pacific Division representative the University of California-Santa Cruz held off Division III No. 4/Midwest Division institution Washington University in St. Louis, 8-6, to claim the 2022 Women’s Division III Collegiate Club Championship hosted by Middlebury College.
The second Division III Club Champion in women’s water polo following 2019 winner Middlebury, UC-Santa Cruz received pairs of goals from Selma Malkic (Fr., Alameda, Calif./Encinal), Emma Adams (Jr., Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake) and Emma Laszlo (Fr., Alameda, Calif./Encinal) in the win to accompany solo markers by Sophia Sussman (Sr., Long Beach, Calif./Millikan), Olivia Martinet (Sr., San Diego, Calif./Mission Bay) and Haley Marshall (Fr., Sanger, Calif./Sanger).
For Washington, which fell to Middlebury in the 2019 championship game by a 14-11 score on April 28, 2019, at Villanova University’s Pavilion Swim Center, Lailey Khatibloo (Sr., Seattle, Wash./Newport) punched in four markers with Lauren Treiman (Gr., Salt Lake City, Utah/West) accounting for the remainder of the Bears’ offense in support of a 10 save performance by netminder Camile Devaney (Fr., Miami, Fla./Ransom Everglades).
Neither team was able to find the net until Adams (2:58) and Malkic (17 seconds) put away shots in the first quarter to stake UC-Santa Cruz to a 2-0 lead.
Following a scoreless second quarter, Khatibloo broke through for Washington by swishing even-strength (6:39) and man-up (6:12) scores in 27 seconds to balance the scoreboard at two-all.
Marshall returned the lead to the Banana Slugs at 3-2 with 5:16 remaining in the third quarter prior to Malkic converting a six-on-five chance at 4:08 to again provide UC-Santa Cruz a two-goal lead at 4-2.
Khatibloo chipped a score off the Bears’ deficit at 3:52, but Martinet uncorked a liner to the back twine at the 2:36 mark to make it 5-3.
The Banana Slugs’ lead evaporated prior to the conclusion of the frame as Khatibloo put away her fourth strike of the third quarter at 1:29 and Treiman unleashed a five-meter penalty shot with 37 seconds on the clock to deadlock the teams at five-all heading into the fourth quarter.
Adams returned the lead to UC-Santa Cruz at the 4:36 mark of the final seven minutes of regulation by stroking in a five-meter penalty shot. Sussman (2:58) and Laszlo (2:39) insulated the lead to 8-5 with back-to-back tallies separated by 19 seconds to give the Banana Slugs an 8-5 margin.
Washington attempted to climb back into the game, but the UC-Santa Cruz held off the Bears until Treiman converted a man-up bid with nine seconds left for the 8-6 final score.
The championship marks the fourth Division III Collegiate Club crown in school history as the men’s team claimed the 2010 (vs. Monmouth College) and 2013 (vs. Washington University in St. Louis) titles outright and tied with Washington University in St. Louis for the 2014 championship as a power failure at host Bowdoin College prevented the title game from occurring.
Following the championship award ceremony, the All-Tournament honors were announced:
| 2022 Women’s Division III Collegiate Club Championship All-Tournament Team | |
| Most Valuable Player: | Shelby Dinh (University of California-Santa Cruz) |
| Coach of the Tournament: | Brian Goodwin (Middlebury College) |
| First Team | |
| Shelby Dinh/Haley Marshall (Goalie) | University of California-Santa Cruz |
| Emma Laszlo | University of California-Santa Cruz |
| Selma Malkic | University of California-Santa Cruz |
| Lauren Treiman | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Lailey Khatibloo | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Eesha Shah | Carleton College |
| Sarah Mines | Middlebury College |
| Second Team | |
| Camile Devaney (Goalie) | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Lauren Perl | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Olivia Martinet | University of California-Santa Cruz |
| Ella Chabre | University of California-Santa Cruz |
| Estelle Martin | Middlebury College |
| Mikayla Pascual | Middlebury College |
| SJ Bennett | Hamilton College |
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Division III No. 4 Washington University in St. Louis |
0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | – | 6 |
| Division III No. 1 University of California-Santa Cruz | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | – | 8 |
| UC-Santa Cruz Goals: | Selma Malkic (2); Emma Adams (2); Emma Laszlo; Sophia Sussman; Olivia Martinet; Haley Marshall | |||||
| Washington Goals: | Lailey Khatibloo (4); Lauren Treiman (2) | |||||
| Saves: | UC-Santa Cruz – Shelby Dinh (8) ; Washington – Camile Devaney (10) | |||||
| Exclusions: | UC-Santa Cruz – 6 ; Washington – 8 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | UC-Santa Cruz – 2-for-8 ; Washington – 3-for-6 | |||||
| Sprints: | UC-Santa Cruz – 3-for-4 (1st, 2nd, 4th) ; Washington – 1-for-4 (3rd) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Steve Sargalski, Chad Quinn | |||||
Washington University in St. Louis’ Callie Muhlner (#13) eyes an opening as the University of California-Santa Cruz’s Olivia Martinet (#12) defends
University of California-Santa Cruz’s Emma Laszlo (#9) looks to shoot over Washington University in St. Louis’ Josie Alexander (#15)
Washington University in St. Louis’ Nicole Harvey (#2) goes for a loose ball as the University of California-Santa Cruz’s Emma Adams (#2) pursues
University of California-Santa Cruz’s Shelby Dinh goes up for a save
2022 Women’s Division III Club Championship Coach of the Tournament: Brian Goodwin (Middlebury College)
2022 Women’s Division III Club Championship Most Valuable Player: Shelby Dinh (University of California-Santa Cruz)
2022 Women’s Division III Club Championship Runner-Up: Washington University in St. Louis
2022 Women’s Division III Club Champion: University of California-Santa Cruz
