Women's Water Polo | January 31, 2019

PROVIDENCE, Ri. -- La Salle women's water polo will begin their third season Friday as they take on the Bruno Classic--a quartet of games occurring over the weekend at Brown University. The campaign will be their first under head coach Tom Hyham, who oversaw the Explorers men's campaign last semester and before that as head coach to a top-five club team in Southern California.

ABOUT THE EXPLORERS

• The women's team went 0-18 last season, including 0-14 in conference play and at neutral locations.
• The 2019 squad will feature old and new faces alike. La Salle returns twelve of the thirteen women from last season's team, including leading scorer Jillian Delisle, while also inserting plenty of new blood with seven freshmen and two sophomore additions.
• Delisle paced the team in goals with a mark of 35 in 18 games played. She added nine assists, while also ranking second on the team in steals (28) and kickouts drawn (21). The sophomore will look to carry momentum over from the previous campaign, which she finished strongly vs. Villanova: a season-high five goals on six shots to go along with an assist and four steals.
• The Explorers further boast the return of other top statistical leaders. Karle Linden comes back after leading the team in assists (11) and tied for second in goals (18). Remaining on the defensive side are Katelynn Kubo, who set the mark for steals (38) and kickouts drawn (22), and Jenny Fermaintt, who remains in net after recording 82 saves last season.
•  Nine of the 21 athletes on the roster are new to the La Salle team. The freshman class consists of Emily Rogers (goalkeeper), Kendra Schlitzer (attack), Arianna Cammarano-McKenna (attack), Sabrina Hoffmeister (attack), Mary-Trese Squeglia (utility), Madelyn Koerper (center), and Charley Stricker (freshman). The sophomore additions are Sarah DeFusco (attack) and Lizzie Nadolski (attack).

SCOUTING BROWN

• The women's team went 16-18 overall last season. They finished with a 5-5 record at home and 2-4 when hosting the Bruno Classic last season. This is their first game vs. La Salle in program history.
• The home team lost their leading scorer from last season, Jessica Heilman, who finished with 69 goals and 11 assists. They're bolstered by the return of two 40-plus goalscorers in Carmen Rosas and Lexi Atwell, along with McKenna Miller who struck for 39 goals and assisted on 28 last season. Brown will also expect goalkeeper Lauren Burns to step up after the departure of last season's number-one Marisol Dakan. 
• Game time: Friday, 8:30 p.m.

SCOUTING SAINT FRANCIS

• This is the women's first time participating in the Bruno Classic. Last season they went 12-19, while performing well in neutral locations to the tune of an 11-8 record. This will be their second time playing the Explorers, having won their first matchup 14-10 last season in the Mercyhurst Invite.
• Saint Francis are without four of their top five goalscorers from last season, including Marialena Seletopoulou who finished with 110 goals on 175 shots. They do have third-best finisher Ani Aghakhanian (25 goals) returning, along with Kate Wilke, who posted 231 saves in net.
• Game time: Saturday, 9:15 a.m.

SCOUTING BUCKNELL

• Bucknell have begun their last three seasons at the Bruno Classic, going 3-7 during that time period. In 2018 they started 2-2 and finished with a 16-18 overall record, including an 8-13 mark in neutral locations. This will be the Bison's first matchup with La Salle in program history.
• On the roster is sophomore Kali Hyham, daughter of Explorers coach Tom Hyham. Last season, she was named to the All-CWPA Championship Second team and, at the utility position, scored 38 goals and assisted on nine, with a fourth-best point total of 48. Although Bucknell lose second-leading scorer Colleen Barron (64 points), they do return leading scorer Emily Konishi (96 points) and top goalscorer Ally Furano (47 goals). In net, the Bison will need to replace the 234-save Manuela Herrera, who graduated, with either last season's number-two Hayley Pogue or freshman Georgia Lewis.
• Game time: Saturday, 2:15 p.m.

SCOUTING HARVARD

• Women's water polo have already begun their 2019 season with wins over Iona and Villanova on January 27, outscoring the two opponents 30-19. Last season, they went 17-19 with an 11-11 mark at neutral locations, including a win and a loss at the Bruno Classic. Harvard have never faced La Salle in program history.
• The Crimson return five of their top six scorers from last season, losing 37-goal and 30-assist Sami Strutner to graduation. They get back top-scorer Kristen Hong (111 points) and top provider Sofia Carrera-Justiz (56 assists); Hong also led the team in steals with 40 and Carrera-Justiz set the pace for blocks with 12. Despite the graduation of number-one goalkeeper Cleo Harrington (213 saves), Harvard have a ready-made replacement as Sam Acker (163 saves) will start in net.
• Game time: Sunday, 10:20 a.m.

IN CONCLUSION

• Coach Hyham had this to say about the teams in the Bruno Classic: "They're significant opponents. They're where I believe we should be. From a rankings standpoint I don't think there's any reason why we can't go in and be competitive with them all, and frankly we should be able to go in and win some games this weekend. If not all, at least some games. So I think our opponents will be tough—I know a couple of them pretty personally—but I'm looking forward to seeing how we stack up against them."