Feb. 26, 2014
For the third week in a row, the San Jose State University women's water polo team inched its way up the national coaches poll ranking. The Spartans (13-7), back in the top-10 at #10 for the first time since the opening week of the season, hosts #3-Stanford in the team's home opener at The Aquatics Center, Saturday, March 1. The 12:00 p.m. match also is the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) opener for both teams.
San Jose State scored its biggest win of the season at the UC Irvine Invitational with a 10-9 victory over #6-Hawaii on February 23. The win was the Spartans' first over a team ranked sixth or higher in three years. San Jose State also beat Pacific to finish in 10th place in the 16-team tournament.
During the weekend, freshman Clara Espar Llaquet and sophomore Rae Leknesseach reached two scoring milestones. Espar Llaquet, third in the MPSF with her 3.00 goals scored per match, reached the 50 and 60-goal plateaus during the four matches at the UC Irvine Invitational and did it in fewer games than any previous San Jose State player. Espar Llaquet scored 11 goals raising her season total to 60.
Lekness tied a San Jose State single-match record with eight goals in the Pacific win on February 22. The sophomore from Calgary became the 17th Spartan to score at least 100 career goals and notched her second 50-plus goal season. Lekness is fourth in the MPSF in scoring with her 52 goals and has 106 in less than two seasons.
Despite having three of the conference's top-15 scorers with co-captain Timi Molnar 15th with 34 scores, interim head coach Johnny Begais seeking more consistency from the an offense that is fourth in the MPSF at 12.40 goals per match. The Spartans will need that consistency against Stanford since the Cardinal yields just 6.00 goals per match.
Stanford (10-1) is slightly better than San Jose State with a 12.82 per match scoring average. The Cardinal finished third at the UC Irvine Invitational and lost its first match of the season, 9-6 to #2-ranked UCLA.
Senior Annika Dries, seventh in the MPSF scoring, and Ashley Grossman, ninth, are the top two scorers for the Cardinal.
There is no admission charge for the match. Parking is available one block away for $5.00 per vehicle in the 7th Street garage.
Collegiate Women's Water Polo Coaches Association national weekly poll
February 26, 2014
| Rank, Team | Points |
| 1. USC | 100 |
| 2. UCLA | 95 |
| 3. Stanford | 90 |
| 4. California | 85 |
| 5. Arizona State | 79 |
| 6. UC Irvine | 76 |
| 7. Cal State Northridge | 64 |
| Princeton | 64 |
| 9. Loyola Marymount | 60 |
| 10. San Jose State | 53 |
| 11. UC San Diego | 52 |
| 12. Long Beach State | 46 |
| 13. Hawaii | 44 |
| 14. Indiana | 36 |
| 15. UC Santa Barbara | 32 |
| 16. UC Davis | 21 |
| 17. San Diego State | 20 |
| 18. Santa Clara | 19 |
| 19. Hartwick | 8 |
| 20. Michigan | 3 |