Dec. 28, 2010
Top 10 of 2010, Day One
Top 10 of 2010, Day Two
Top 10 of 2010, Day Three
Top 10 of 2010, Day Four
Top 10 of 2010, Day Five
Top 10 of 2010, Day Six
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- In 2010, the Marist water polo team won its third consecutive MAAC championship, and then captured the seventh-place game in the NCAA Tournament for the program's second NCAA win in its history.
Prior to the 2009 season, no team in the history of the MAAC Water Polo League had won back-to-back titles. The Red Foxes are now 3-for-3 in reaching the NCAA Tournament in the tenure of Head Coach Ashleigh Huckins, and have won the conference four times in the last five years.
Marist has also won the seventh-place game in the NCAA Tournament each of the last two seasons. In 2010, the Red Foxes down Pomona-Pitzer 6-5 for the eighth NCAA Tournament victory in the history of the Marist Athletics Department. The Red Foxes entered the NCAA Tournament ranked 20th in the country.
Samantha Swartz was named Most Outstanding Player in the MAAC Tournament, in which the Red Foxes outscored the opposition 35-9 in their two victories. Swartz was also named Second Team All-NCAA Tournament.
Below are the releases from Marist's NCAA Tournament victory and MAAC Championship triumph.
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May 16, 2010 - For the second consecutive year, the #20 Marist women's water polo team finished in seventh place at the 2010 NCAA Championship. On Sunday, the Red Foxes used three second half goals to earn a come-from-behind 6-5 victory over eighth-seeded Pomona-Pitzer at the Aztec Aquaplex on the campus of San Diego State University. Senior Samantha Swartz (Harleysville, Pa.) scored four goals in the game including all three second half tallies for Marist.
Swartz finished the weekend with eight goals to lead all scorers for Marist. On Sunday, the Red Foxes also used goals from seniors Rachel Sunday (Carlisle, Pa.) and Angie Rampton (Simi Valley, Calif.). Goalkeeper Jessica Getchius (Simi Valley, Calif.) made nine stops in the contest.
Sunday opened the scoring with a tally 1:08 into the match to give the Red Foxes a 1-0 lead. Pomona-Pitzer responded with two power play goals from Tamara Perea to take a 2-1 lead at the end of the first stanza.
In the second quarter, Marist used goals from Swartz and Rampton to reclaim a one-goal advantage, 3-2. The Sagehens responded with back-to-back goals of their own from Annie Oxborough-Yankus. The latter of the pair was a 5-meter penalty shot at the 3:15 mark.
The Red Foxes took the lead for good in the third quarter when Swartz found the back of the cage twice. The stretch was capped at the 4:03 mark as Marist took a 5-4 lead. Pomona-Pitzer was able to tie the game at five with a Perri Hopkins shot that found the back of the cage with 2:13 remaining in the third. Swartz put Marist on top for good 1:13 later for the 6-5 final advantage.
In the fourth quarter the teams played scoreless water polo. A key steal was made by senior Kristen Barnett (Houston, Texas) in the middle of the pool with 26 seconds to play. Following Barnett's lone takeaway in the match, Marist took the ball into the offensive zone and ran out the clock to seal the victory.
The game saw five ties and four lead changes. Neither team led by more than one goal in the contest. Sunday's victory marked the second for the program in the NCAA Tournament. In 2009, the Red Foxes defeated Cal Lutheran 16-11 on May 10. Marist, the three-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions, concludes the 2010 season with a record of 19-17.
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April 25, 2010 - The Marist water polo team swam away with its unprecedented third consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Women's Water Polo championship on Sunday, taking down the second-seeded Iona Gaels 18-5 at the McCann Center Natatorium. Senior Samantha Swartz (Harleysville, Pa.) was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player after recording three goals in the title game. Angie Rampton (Simi Valley, Calif.) also had three goals on Sunday and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Iona (21-13) got on the board first as Maggie Wood scored at the 5:44 mark of the first quarter. That would be the Gaels' lone goal of the first half. Rampton, Kristen Barnett (Houston, Texas), Emily St. Omer Roy (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), and Rosie Pauli (Sacramento, Calif.) each scored within the final 3:40 of the quarter to give the Red Foxes a 4-1 lead.
Marist (18-14) continued to pour it on in the second quarter. Rampton and Pauli scored back-to-back to put the Red Foxes up 6-1 with 6:12 to go in the half. Swartz scored her first goal of the game with 2:45 remaining in the second to make the score 7-1. Rachel Sunday (Carlisle, Pa.) and Robyn Crabtree (Cutler Bay, Fla.) each scored in the final two minutes of the half to give Marist a 9-1 halftime lead.
The Red Foxes outscored Iona 3-1 in the third quarter, as a pair of Jessica Getchius (Simi Valley, Calif.) made 16 saves in goal with a steal and an assist.
Marist now advances to the 2010 NCAA Women's Water Polo Tournament with the MAAC Water Polo League's automatic bid. The NCAA Tournament will be held at the Aztec Aquaplex on the campus of San Diego State University in San Diego, Calif. May 14-16. The bracket for the NCAA Tournament will be released on Monday, May 3.
