HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay water polo team opens the 2018 season this Saturday at San Jose State's annual Lou Tully Memorial tournament, hosted at West Valley College in Saratoga. 

The Pioneers will be up bright and early to take on the No. 15 ranked Spartans in the regular season opener at 8:00 a.m. They're back in the pool at 3:10 p.m. against No. 9 Pacific for an exhibition game that won't count towards their record.

East Bay enters 2018 with a revamped roster in its 16th season under head coach Lisa Cooper, who captured her 250th career victory last year. Cooper was named 2017 Division II Coach of the Year by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) for the second time in her career after leading the Pioneers to at least a .500 record for the 11th time in 12 years and the No. 2 seed in the Wester Water Polo Association (WWPA) Tournament, the highest in program history. 

CSUEB's 2017 season ended in the WWPA semifinals, and this weekend the squad begins its quest to return to the title game for the fourth time in the last five years. Auriel Bill returns for her sophomore season after earning First Team All-America and First Team All-WWPA nods in 2017 and finishing among the conference leaders in both goals and assists. 

All-WWPA honoree Leilani Vazquez is one of four seniors on the squad this year and returns as the Pioneers' second-leading scorer from last year. Junior Makenna Nation figures to take over the starting goalkeeper role, previously occupied by two-time All-American Nikki Vaughan. 

Seniors Gabriella Garcia and Beverly Ayers provide coach Cooper with experienced options, but she will undoubtedly rely on contributions from a talented class of newcomers that includes JC transfers Brittany Smith and Maeve Flynn and freshmen Adrien Van Dyke, Ivanna Anderson, and Maci Taylor. 

SJSU went 10-19 last season, its first under head coach Gabor Sarusi. The Pioneers and Spartans last meet in 2016 at the Lou Tully Memorial, with SJSU claiming a 13-9 win. 

Pacific is coming off an outstanding 2016 season in which the Tigers finished 21-9, captured the Gold Cost Conference championship, and fell to eventual national champion Stanford in the NCAA quarterfinals. The Pioneers and Tigers have not met since 2013 when Pacific narrowly avoided East Bay's upset attempt, 8-7 in Stockton.