POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Marist water polo team officially opens its 2013 season with a home matchup against in-state rival Hartwick this Saturday at McCann Natatorium. The Red Foxes are coming off a 2012 season where they finished at .500 with a 19-19 overall record. They were 10-2 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), earning them the second seed in the MAAC tournament but fell to Wagner, the third seed, 5-4 in the semifinals.
The 2013 Marist team brings back all but three of its players from last year's squad, including two major award winners. Sophomore Alison Hamby (Sacramento, Calif.), last season's MAAC Rookie of the Year, is the Red Foxes' top returning point scorer, finishing 2012 with 43 goals and 28 assists for 71 points. Goaltender Rebecca Thomas (Cape Town, South Africa) was the MAAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year finishing the year with a .637 save percentage while also compiling a 7.63 goals against average in 32 games.
Jessica Hamby (Sacramento, Calif.), Alison's twin sister, is the Red Foxes' top returning goal scorer from a year ago, having found the back of the net 46 times in 2012. Senior Robyn Crabtree (Cutler Bay, Fla.), who was voted a team captain for this season, finished last season with 29 goals and 26 assists while finishing third on the team with 45 steals, earning herself an All-MAAC Second Team selection. Crabtree's classmate and co-captain, Shelby Rinker (Lansdale, Pa.), finished second on the team last year with 46 assists while also adding 22 goals and 36 steals.
Also contributing for the Red Foxes this season will be seniors Mackenzie Maynes (Newcastle, Wash.), Heather Fellmeth (North Wales, Pa.) and Elise Humphries (Anaheim, Calif.); juniors Yuriria Chavez (Chicago, Ill.), Kathryn Knutson (Oakland, Calif.) and Natalie Stringer (San Diego, Calif.); and sophomores Hannah Levien (Davis, Calif.) and Anna-Lena Hathaway (Pasadena, Calif.). Four newcomers also are joining the squad this year and will look to make an immediate impact. Utilities Brooke Else (Lansdale, Pa.), Ellie Hoffman (Pasadena, Calif.) and Kelly Stiebler (Columbus, Ohio) will add depth behind the upper-classmen while Skyler Henry (San Diego, Calif.) will back up Thomas in net.
After Saturday's game, Marist will be off for two weeks before making the first of its two trips to the West Coast when the Red Foxes will compete in the Triton Invite, hosted by UC-San Diego on Feb. 9-10. Marist will return home March 2-3 for the Marist Invite. The team's final home date of the regular season will be Saturday, April 6 when it hosts Siena and Villanova in MAAC play.
Marist will host its 10th straight MAAC Championships at the McCann Natatorium on the weekend of April 27-28. The two semifinal games will be played on Saturday afternoon with the consolation and championship games being held the following afternoon. The Red Foxes have won four of the past seven championships, winning in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
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