Friday, Feb. 1
Pioneer Pool
1 p.m. vs. Sonoma State (2-3, 1-0 WWPA)
5 p.m. vs. Azusa Pacific (1-5)

Saturday, Feb. 2
Kjeldsen Pool
9 a.m. @ Pacific (3-2, 0-0 Big West)
1:30 p.m. vs. Hartwick (1-0, 0-0 CWPA)

HAYWARD, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay women's water polo team opens its 2013 campaign at home this Friday with a pair of afternoon matches. The Pioneers are in search of their tenth consecutive winning season under head coach Lisa Cooper, but to do it, they'll have to navigate a tough schedule that features some of the top teams in the nation. On Friday, the team will host conference rival Sonoma State at 1 p.m. at Pioneer Pool, followed by an evening match-up with Azusa Pacific at 5 p.m. The next day, they'll travel to Stockton to face off against Pacific and Hartwick College as part of the Pacific Invitational. 

2012 IN REVIEW
East Bay is coming off its best-ever finish at the WWPA Championships in 2012. The team went 19-12 and 10-6 against conference opponents, good for fourth place. They lost to No. 7 Loyola Marymount in the tournament semi-finals for the season straight year, but bounced back to defeat Cal State Monterey Bay in the third-place game. The Pioneers played seven games against nationally ranked opponents in 2012, a figure that may rise this year.

As has been a constant throughout Cooper's tenure, the Pioneers earned their share of the end-of-season hardware. Claire Pierce (87 goals) was named first-team All-WWPA and first-team ACWPC All-American, both for the second time in her career. Goalie and current Pioneer assistant coach Jayme Pekarske (313 saves) was also selected as a first-team All-American, and Erica Crain (60 goals, 65 steals, 48 assists) was named to the second team. Both Pekarske and Crain were also honorable mention choices for All-WWPA honors.

FRIENDLY CONFINES
East Bay was the only team in the WWPA to go undefeated at home last year, posting a record of 7-0. (They also tied for the best road record in the conference at 5-3). This year, with various tournaments accounting for most of their schedule, the Pioneers only host six matches, four of which are in February. This means that 33.3 percent of the team's home games for the season are taking place this Friday. East Bay will have to be ready to go from the first whistle in order to get the most out of their home-pool advantage, like they did last year.

REACHING NEW HEIGHTS
The Pioneers have enjoyed a great deal of success in the pool over the last decade, but impressively, the program has continued to improve every year. The past three WWPA tournaments have seen East Bay take fifth, then fourth, and then third. And despite playing in a conference that routinely pits them against nationally ranked and Division I opponents, the team has finished with the second-best overall record in the WWPA each of those three seasons.

TOP RETURNERS
Pierce returns for her senior year as one of the most decorated athletes in the program's history. She already holds the Pioneer career record for goals scored (264), she ranks second in steals (195), and she's fifth in assists (90). Joining Pierce is junior Sara Hudyn, who had a strong sophomore year, finishing as the team's third-leading scorer with 49 goals, 38 steals, and 38 assists.

Another junior, Australia-native Kate McAfee, returns after playing a major role for East Bay as a sophomore. McAfee notched 24 goals and 29 steals, and finished second on the team with 44 assists. Junior driver Julia Charlesworth also figures to get significant playing time coming off a season in which she posted 22 assists and 16 steals for the Pioneers.

East Bay has a big cap to fill the goalie position with Pekarske graduating. Sophomores Marrina Nation and Mary Reardon will likely compete for the starting spot in the early part of the season. Both had limited time between the pipes last year, with Nation totaling 16 saves and Reardon adding six.

NEW PIONEERS
Coach Cooper has added a talented crop of transfer students and freshman for 2013, including yet another addition from across the Pacific. Nicole Meyer, a first-team All-American from Diablo Valley, is joined by fellow juniors Hollie Mickelson, Charlie Warburton, Samantha Rivas, and Allison Zell on this year's roster. Riverside native Breanna Ritter will utilize her redshirt season.

This year's class of freshman recruits includes a four-time All-League honoree from Fountain Valley (Jennifer Lightbody) and a “Sportswoman of the Year” award winner from Perth, Australia (Casey Rushforth). Simonne Call, Tara Bustamante, and Rita Ortega round out the first-year Pioneers.

PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
Despite finishing top-four in the conference standings each of the last three seasons, the Pioneers didn't receive much love from the rest of the WWPA coaches in this year's preseason poll. East Bay was picked to finish fifth, receiving 24 points, just ahead of Friday's opponent Sonoma State and just behind Colorado State. LMU received the maximum 49 points and UCSD was picked second, getting the remaining first-place vote. Below are the full poll results:

2013 WWPA Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Loyola Marymount (7) – 49 points
2. UC San Diego (1) – 43 points
3. Santa Clara – 36 points
4. Colorado State – 30 points
5. Cal State East Bay – 24 points
6. Sonoma State – 20 points
7. Cal State Monterey Bay – 15 points
8. Cal State San Bernardino – 7 points

SCOUTING THE SEAWOLVES
Sonoma State has already played a handful of games as they look to improve upon a 10-23 record in 2012. The Seawolves played four games last week against nationally ranked opponents in the UCSB tournament, and they've already notched overtime wins against Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal Baptist. Senior Adrienne Bisharat is the Seawolves' leading returning scorer, having scored 42 goals last season, and she has four so far in 2013. Sophomore Alexa May has been solid at 2M in the early going, leading Sonoma with six goals this season. Senior GK and reigning WWPA Newcomer of the Year Ariel Lockshaw is in her second year as the starting goalie. The Pioneers have won seven consecutive games over the Seawolves dating back to 2010.

CATCHING UP WITH THE COUGARS
Azusa Pacific opened its season two weeks ago by beating Fresno Pacific, but the team has dropped its last five games, including four straight losses by more than seven goals in the UCSB tournament. The Cougars were 9-27 last year, the most losses in program history. Senior Jennifer Horchler returns as Azusa Pacific's all-time leading goal scorer. She also holds the APU record for steals after finishing second in the nation last season (79 steals), and she leads the team with 10 already this season. The Cougars are strong in the 2M position, as sophomore Alyssa Hess has racked up 11 goals and seven steals in six games. They struggle on defense and between the pipes, however, allowing nearly 12 goals per game. The Pioneers defeated Azusa Pacifc 21-9 when the teams met in Hayward almost exactly a year ago.