Goleta’s Ryann Neushul helped Stanford win the NCAA Women’s Water Polo Championship on Sunday in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Neushul scored three goals in the Cardinal’s 10-7 title victory over USC.
It is the second national title for the Dos Pueblos alum. She was a freshman starter on Stanford’s 2019 title team. Ryann is a sophomore after taking the 2020 and 2021 seasons off to train with the U.S. National Team. There was no NCAA Tournament held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her older sisters, Kiley and Jamie, each won three NCAA titles playing at Stanford.
Olympic gold medalist Makenzie Fischer led Stanford with four goals. Also scoring for the Cardinal was former Dos Pueblos player Jewel Roemer. Her goal broke a 7-7 tie in the fourth period.
San Marcos alum and Olympic gold medalist Paige Hauschild scored for USC, which was seeking to repeat as national champion. Hauschild, Fischer and Jamie Neushul were teammates on the U.S. Women’s National Team that won the Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics last summer.
DP Alum Talia Bloxham Scores Game Winner for Amherst
Talia Bloxham, a 2018 Dos Pueblos graduate, scored on a squeeze play in the top of the seventh inning to give Amherst College a 1-0 victory over Tufts for its first NESAC championship in program history.
The title earns Amherst a berth into the NCAA Division 3 Tournament.
Bloxham led off the seventh with a bunt single and advanced to second on a sacrifice by Megan Taketa. She reached third on a wild pitch and took off for home on a suicide squeeze attempt. Rachel Lovejoy laid down a perfect bunt and Bloxham slid under the tag of the catcher to break the scoreless game. (See video for the highlight and an interview with Talia).
In the bottom of the seventh, the Mammoths turned a double play to end the game.
Pitcher Dani Torres Werra threw a six-hit shutout.
Kenzie Hemman Earns Lacrosse Honor
Kenzie Hemman, a 2021 Dos Pueblos graduate who plays lacrosse at Whitworth College in Spokane, was named to the All-Northwest Conference second team.
She played on last year’s DP girls lacrosse team that reached the CIF semifinals.
Hemman started all 16 games for Whitworth and scored 23 goals on 54 shots and led the team with 40 ground balls and 25 caused turnovers.
In addition to Hemman, former DP players competing in the NCAA include Olivia Geyling (George Fox University, Ore.), Liv Naaman (Mt. Holyoke College, Mass., and Anna Chase (Whitworth College).