SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The No. 15 UC Santa Barbara Women's Water Polo team sent their four graduating stars off with a satisfying Senior Night victory on Thursday, taking down Cal State Fullerton, 10-3, and grabbing the No. 6 seed at next weekend's Big West Championship. All four graduating Gauchos — Mary Beth Heffelfinger, Leigh Lyter, Camilla Mackay and Drew Halvorson — started the match, and the four of them accounted for four of Santa Barbara's goals on the night. Elsewhere on the scoresheet, Emily Ferguson had a hat-trick, and Madison Walker made 11 saves.
 
FROM HEAD COACH SERELA KAY
"I'm really proud of the seniors, you could really feel the energy of the rest of the team playing for the four seniors," Kay said. "I thought MB (Heffelfinger) really stepped up and had a great game tonight, had a defensive presence and then also was present in the frontcourt by scoring a few goals. I think it took us a little while to get going, and then once we opened the counterattack, we got a little bit more comfortable."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
While they were not exactly setting the world alight in the first half, the Gauchos were still comfortably in control, shutting out Fullerton through the first 16 minutes. Lyter celebrated her Senior Night with a goal just over a minute into the game, putting Santa Barbara into the lead they would never relinquish. Ferguson added her first of three goals 20 seconds before the first quarter ended. Mackay added a Senior Night goal of her own in the second quarter, the lone goal of the frame.
 
Coming out of the break, both teams found their eye for goal, combining to score seven goals in the third quarter. The Gauchos score the first four of those seven, with Annie Kuester, Heffelfinger, Cami Mras and Jojo Scheer each denting the twine to make it 7-0 Santa Barbara before the Titans got on the board. When they did, Ferguson got the goal right back, making it 8-1, only for the Titans to score again and make it 8-2 at the horn. Heffelfinger scored her second Senior Night goal to start the fourth quarter, and after Fullerton got their third goal of the night, Ferguson made sure her team got the last laugh, completing her hat-trick.
 
SALUTING THE SENIORS
Coach Kay remarked on the impact that this year's graduating class has had on the program following Thursday's game.
 
"Drew is in her sixth year, so she has had a big impact," Kay said of Halvorson, who arrived in Santa Barbara prior to the 2019 season. "Not only in the water, but her personality is really happy-go-lucky, and we'll miss — she's always laughing and you can always rely on her. I can crack a joke and I know she'll laugh."
 
"MB, she is very selfless and she'll do anything it takes to win, and she'll always be there for any teammate," Kay said of Heffelfinger, who spends time outside the pool working with the UCSBe Healthy Athletes program. "She is a role model that way."
 
"Millie has really grown throughout her time here," Kay said of Mackay, who earned the opportunity to play for her native Australia last summer. "From when she first got to America till now, she has really grown into having a big presence, so that has been really special to watch, the growth that she has had."
 
"Leigh is our team captain and leading scorer," Kay said of Lyter, whose teammates chose her for the captaincy and who currently ranks ninth on the program's career goals list. "There are big shoes to fill after her and all four of them, so we will really miss them."
 
UP NEXT
Next up for Santa Barbara is a trip to Davis and the 2024 Big West Women's Water Polo Championship. The Gauchos currently hold the No. 6 seed in this year's tournament, meaning they will face one of three possible No. 3 seeds: Long Beach State, UC Irvine, or UC San Diego.