BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—The CSU Bakersfield water polo team opens the 2016 season this weekend at the LouStrong Memorial which will be hosted by San José State.
CSUB begins play Saturday at 12 p.m. when the 'Runners take on Cal State East Bay. Play continues at 5:20 p.m. when the Roadrunners face Sonoma State. Sunday's action gets underway at 8 a.m. when CSUB plays No. 9 UC Davis. Tournament play concludes at 2:40 p.m. against MPSF rival and No. 4 California in a non-conference match.
CSU Bakersfield will enter the 2016 campaign as one of only three women's water polo programs (with UC San Diego and Wagner being the others) with three active players that have scored 100 or more career goals in senior Niki De Leon, redshirt junior Nicola Barrett, and junior Kristen Jensen.
De Leon became the 19th Roadrunner to score 100 goals in the final regular season match of the season at San Jose State. De Leon was third on the 'Runners in goals (28) and assists (19). De Leon was second on team in steals (37).
Barrett became the 18th Roadrunner to score 100 career goals with a tally against San Jose State during the MPSF Tournament. She finished last season with 44 goals, the second most on the team and was 19th in the MPSF in scoring. The South Africa native was the team leader in assists with 32.
Junior Kristen Jensen became the 20th Roadrunner player to score 100 career goals with two in the season finale against San Jose State. She was the team leader in goals with 48 and finished 18th in the MPSF in goals per game. Jensen paced the team in steals (50) and was second on the squad in assists (30).
Returning letterwinners Tancy Aldridge, Katie Benson, Jada Helberg, Lauren Paulsen, and Ashley Paz all saw time for the Roadrunners last season and will again be looked upon to contribute to the Roadrunner offense.
Aldridge, a junior, posted 19 goals and 10 assists in 29 matches last season. Benson is also a junior and she scored 22 goals and added 10 assists in 28 matches a year ago. Helberg is a sophomore who scored 14 goals, dished out nine assists and made 13 steals in 24 appearances in 2015.
Paulson is also a sophomore. She charted 16 goals in 20 appearances as a rookie. Paz was named MPSF Freshman of the Week last season after scoring seven goals in a single match during the Cal Lutheran Tournament Mar. 1. Paz put up 21 goals in only 15 matches last season. Wiltse and Wulfe both lettered for the 'Runners a year ago.
The Roadrunners feature a pair of goalies that provide a strong anchor to the CSUB defense. Junior Courtney Wahlstrom went 6-7 with 102 saves. She was fourth in the MPSF in saves per game (8.16). Entering this season, she has 419 career saves, the fourth most in school history. Senior Brittany Tyra was second in the MPSF in saves per game (12.13) last season. Tyra tallied 161 saves on the season, the 10th most in a year by a CSUB goalie. She was 6-10.
CSUB has seven newcomers joining the roster in redshirt senior Sonia Stewart, junior Sydney Luna, and freshmen Lindsey Paulson, Devynn Stein, Stephanie Stofila, and Ruby Versfeld.
Versfeld leads the class of newcomers. A member of South Africa's U-18 Team at the 2013 Tri-Nations Tournament she was also selected to the U-19 All-Tournament team while representing the Western Province Schools in East London, England. Versfeld played for South Africa's U-18 team that competed in the 2014 Youth World Championships in Madrid, Spain. Versfeld was voted the U-18 Currie Cup Player of the Tournament in Johannesburg, South Africa. She was named to the Top 50 list in the South African National Science Olympiad. She also helped South Africa win the 8 Nations Cup in May of 2015.
~www.GoRunners.com~
