The Rocket

Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Steve Reed Junior goalie Lauren Surbaugh looks for an open player in last week's win against Penn State-Behrend. Surbaugh and her teammates went 1-2 at last weekend's Villanova Invitational. [Click to enlarge]

The Slippery Rock women's water polo squad (2-9 overall, 1-3The SRU women's water polo team needed to find a weapon on offense.

At a point in the season when every game matters, the Rock needed someone to step up and handle the burden offensively.

Senior Beth Choike has come forward to accept the challenge.

Choike led the Rock (3-11 overall, 1-3 Collegiate Water Polo Western Division) in scoring at last weekend's Villanova Invitational, scoring 13 goals in three games.

Her performance, however, could not help the Rock come away with a winning record for the weekend.

The Rock finished 1-2 at the invitational, starting with a 13-4 victory over Utica College before falling to Iona College 13-7 and Villanova 12-10. The 13-4 victory and 12-10 loss marked only the second and third times, respectively, that SRU was able to net double-digit goals in a game this season.

The only other time they had managed 10 or more goals came in an 11-6 victory over Penn State Behrend on March 25.

Against Villanova, junior Heather Walbright attributed the defeat to lost confidence.

"We need to work on putting things behind us," Walbright said. "We missed a couple of close shots in the second half and that hurt our confidence."

The loss to Iona marked the second time this season the Rock has lost to the Gaels, as the team also dropped the teams' first content by a 15-2 margin on March 15.

Another reason the team's offensive production picked up was because of the emergence of Walbright.

She scored four goals during the tournament, but also dished out eight assists.

Rock Coach Jim Yeamans was pleased with the way his team has improved, but does have some regrets.

"I'd love to play Villanova again," Yeamans said. "It was a close game and we came close to beating a quality Division I opponent."

The tournament was the final nonconference action for the Rock. The next three contests will all be against CWP-West opponents.

Yeamans said the fact his team has played a lot of tough Division I opponents has helped his team get better.

"We got better this season by playing a tough schedule," Yeamans said. "You don't get better by playing a bunch of stiffs. Sure, you will win, but you won't learn anything."

The Rock will kick off a three-game, three-day stretch at 7:30 p.m. tonight at home against Mercyhurst College.

SRU will then travel to Grove City College for a noon tilt on Saturday before returning home to square off against Indiana University at 9 a.m. on Sunday

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