Sept. 17, 2011

TRIESTE, ITALY -

Three University of California women's water polo players - junior two-meter Dana Ochsner, junior driver Kirsten Mase and sophomore driver Kelly Mendoza - concluded their experience at the 9th FINA World Junior Women's Water Polo Championships in Trieste, Italy. Ochsner and Mendoza are competed for the United States National Team, while Mase, a native of Port Moody, British Columbia, was a member of the Canadian National Team.

On Saturday, Sept. 17 Ochsner and Mendoza's USA squad fell to The Netherlands, 11-9, to conclude the competition with a 3-3 record and an eighth place finish. Team USA had lost to Hungary, 9-8, on Sept. 15 in the semifinals with Mendoza notching a goal for the Americans.

Also on Sept. 15, Mase's Canadian squad had defeated China, 11-7, and then finished the tournament in ninth place with a 15-6 win over Uzbekistan on Sept. 16. Mase scored a goal in the dominating victory over Uzebekistan as Team Canada finished with a 4-2 mark.

With the help of goals from Mendoza and Ochsner, Team USA had dominated Germany, 25-2, Sept. 14 to advance to the tournament's quarterfinals. The Americans also had a Sept. 11 victory over host Italy (11-4), a 31-0 win over Indonesia Sept. 12, and a 9-7 loss to Greece Sept. 13. Ochsner had a dominating match against Indonesia with a team-high seven goals, and added two goals in the loss to Greece. Mendoza notched a goal in Team USA's opening round victory over the Italians.

Mase played in all six world championship matches, scoring a goal in Team Canada's 9-7 win over Brazil Sept. 11. Canada went on to win 10-7 over Germany Sept. 12, but fell to Spain, 9-5, Sept. 13 and, 12-9, to host Italy on Sept. 14.

During the 2011 collegiate season, Ochsner was named a second-team All-American, and Mendoza was a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation All-Newcomer Team.

Coached by Richard Corso, the 2011 MPSF Coach of the Year, Cal captured the 2011 MPSF Tournament title and was a national runner-up finish at the 2011 NCAA Tournament with a 26-5 record. In the best season in school history, the Bears advanced to the national title match by defeating UC San Diego (13-5) and UCLA (7-4), before falling to Stanford, 9-5.