Fresno Pacific played some of its best minutes of the season on Saturday versus host-school CSU Monterey Bay, but gave up the win in last few minutes, falling 9-8. Earlier in the day the team dropped an 11-4 game against Santa Clara.

"We had a solid weekend," said coach Bryan Suhovy in spite of the losses. "We made a lot of good strides."

Katie Rainer and Jenn Wolter led the Sunbirds offensively on the day, each with three goals. Nikki Haley and Michelle Kaplan added two scores apiece while Mallory Retig and Brittney Guerrero both had one. Dani Mortimer had a great day in the cage with 24 total saves.

Against CSU Monterey Bay, who defeated Fresno Pacific 15-4 in their last meeting, the Sunbirds came out strong, going up 4-1 in the first quarter and holding on to go in to halftime leading 6-4.

The Sunbirds let the Otters back into the game in the third, though, with Monterey Bay outscoring Fresno Pacific 3-1 to tie the game at seven apiece. In the final quarter the Otters were able to grab the last goal in the final minutes, taking the 9-8 victory. 

"It was unfortunate that we didn't come up with the win," said sophomore Jaimie Lugo. "We played really well as a team, though. I think we're gonna give them a run for their money next time we play them."

"We've been working really hard and it showed today," added Rainier.

The Otters received votes in the latest national water polo rankings.

"It was a huge improvement from the last time we played them," said Suhovy. "The girls really wanted the win, but I'm really proud of the way we played. We adjusted, we were mentally prepared, and we went for it."

Against Santa Clara, Fresno Pacific struggled offensively as the Broncos capitalized on scoring opportunities to take the 11-4 win.

"Santa Clara is a solid program," said Suhovy. "They're usually in the top 20. We played really well, though. Overall, I'm really happy with what happened this weekend."

The Sunbirds host a doubleheader against Cal Baptist (another team receiving votes nationally) and Sonoma State, a team that narrowly defeated FPU in the season opener, on February 26.