2017 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship Schedule & Results
No. 3 California Polytechnic State University-vs.-Dartmouth College Scoresheet
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Taylor Best (Jr., Yorba Linda, Calif.) and Claudia Macedo (Jr., San Martin, Calif.) both scored four times to share Player of the Game accolades as No. 3-ranked/Pacific Coast Division Champion California Polytechnic State University took down No. 19/New England Division Champion Dartmouth College, 18-3, in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship at the University of Pittsburgh’s Joe C. Trees Pool.
The win places the Mustangs into a 6:20 p.m. semifinal this evening against the victor of a quarterfinal between No. 5/Florida Division Champion the University of Central Florida and No. 2/Southwest Division Champion San Diego State University. Dartmouth will take on the loser of the UCF-SDSU contest at 4:00 p.m. with a slot in the championship tournament’s Fifth Place game at stake.
Indisputably the most successful women’s collegiate club program in the history of water polo with eight National Championships (2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011), three runner-up finishes (2002, 2007, 2012), a pair of Third Place marks (2000, 2013) and 14-time Pacific Coast Division crowns (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017) as the Mustangs have never finished lower than Third Place at the Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship, the 2017 edition of Cal Poly guaranteed itself at least a shot of playing for Third Place or higher by dispatching the Big Green.
The Mustangs dominated the meeting from the opening sprint to the final horn as California Polytechnic put up seven goals in the first and fourth quarters and pairs in the second and third quarters to build leads of 7-1, 9-2 and 11-3 by the conclusion of the first, second and third quarters, respectively, to cruise to victory.
Best and Macedo led the way for Cal Poly, while Melanie Flores (So., Moorpark, Calif.), Hannah Sweet (Fr., Ripon, Calif.) and Sydney Clark (Jr., Salinas, Calif.) each twirled in two tallies as the quintet accounted for 14 of the Mustangs’ 18 strikes. Hannah Vaughn-Hulbert (So., San Jose, Calif.), Jessie Smith (Jr., Park City, Utah), Molly Casey (Sr., Coarsegold, Calif.) and Rebecca Riley (Sr., Lompoc, Calif.) put away the Pacific Coast Division Champion’s other four goals.
In cage, Sierra Sheeper (Jr., Menlo Park, Calif.) picked up the victory with seven saves. Dartmouth’s Adina Harri (Jr., Starkville, Miss.) suffered the loss with six saves.
Meghan Christie (Sr., San Anselmo, Calif.) accounted for 2/3 of the Big Green’s offensive output by punching in goals during the second and third quarters. PJ Bigley (Sr., Redwood City, Calif.) also hit the twine as she flipped in a solo strike in the first quarter.
An 11-time New England Division champion (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017), the Big Green have the potential to add onto a list of achievements that has seen Dartmouth previously place Second (2004, 2005), Third (2003), Fifth (2002), Seventh (2012), 10th (2011), 12th (2007) and 13th (2009, 2014, 2015) at the Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship.
| Teams | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | Final |
| No. 19 Dartmouth College |
1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 |
| No. 3 California Polytechnic State University | 7 | 2 | 2 | 7 | — | 18 |
Cal Poly Goals: Taylor Best (4); Claudia Macedo (4); Melanie Flores (2); Hannah Sweet (2); Sydney Clark (2); Hannah Vaughn-Hulbert; Jessie Smith; Molly Casey; Rebecca Riley
Dartmouth Goals: Meghan Christie (2); PJ Bigley
Saves: Cal Poly – Sierra Sheeper (7) ; Dartmouth – Adina Harri (6)
Exclusions: Cal Poly – 4 ; Dartmouth – 6
Advantage Opportunities: Cal Poly – 3-for-6 ; Dartmouth – 0-for-4
Sprints: Cal Poly – 4-for-4 ; Dartmouth – 0-for-4
Cards: None
Officials: Pat Beemer, Nikola Malezanov
California Polytechnic State University’s Claudia Macedo
California Polytechnic State University’s Taylor Best
