May 8, 1998

LOS ANGELES - Favorites had their way during the first day of competition of the 1998 Women's Water Polo National Collegiate Championships as UCLA, Stanford, California and Hawai'i, the top seeds in their respective brackets, all won both of their matches Friday (May 8) at USC's McDonald's Swim Stadium and at Long Beach State.

UCLA, the top seed in the 12-team tournament and the two-time defending national champions, beat Princeton, 15-1, and UC Santa Barbara, 11-5. Its first match was one of six matches held at Long Beach State due to USC's graduation ceremony. The competition turned to USC's campus in the late afternoon and evening for the remaining six matches.

Stanford, the No. 2 seed overall, finished first in Bracket B with a 10-1 win over Michigan and a 10-2 win over UMass. California, the No. 3 seed overall, finished on top of Bracket C with a 7-0 win over Indiana and a 7-3 win over host USC.

Hawai'i, the top seed in Bracket D and No. 4 overall, beat Princeton, 8-3, and then No. 5 seed San Diego State, 5-3.

UCLA and Hawai'i as well as Stanford and California will square off on Saturday -- the winners advancing to the title match on Sunday.

Highlight performances from the first day of competition included six goals from UC Santa Barbara sophomore Catherine Hill, five goals from Stanford sophomore two-meter player Ellen Estes, UMass junior driver Andrea Vazquez and UCLA junior Catharine von Schwarz and four goals from California senior two-meter player Alisa vonHartitzsch and Princeton freshman Katerine Kixmiller.

California junior goalie Evi Schueller and USC goalies Bernice Orwig and Whitney Allen led their respective teams to the only shutout wins in the first 10 games, both coming over Indiana.

The championships continue Saturday and Sunday (May 9-10) with all matches at USC's McDonald's Swim Stadium. Saturday's competition begins at noon and Sunday's action begins at 9 a.m. All times are PDT.