PHILADELPHIA - Coming off a spotless 12-0 record in the regular season, and 45 consecutive wins over the last four years, Penn women’s water polo entered the national tournament seeded fifth, their 2008 finish. This year's event took place April 30-May 2 and was hosted by UC-Davis.

The team opened the tournament with a 7-2 win over New York University. After a slow start -- the score was 1-1 at the half -- Penn moved ahead in the third quarter on goals by Soleil Roberts and Sheena Curtin, ending the quarter 3-2. In the final quarter, the team found its strength and scored four goals, two on lob shots netted by Player of the Game Deidre Sandrock, and another pair by Natasa Kordic and Winnie Eastwood.

Penn faced the University of Arizona in the second round, and after a rocky first half Penn rallied in the second. Down, 4-0, at the break, the Quakers got goals from Sandrock, Kordic, Eastwood, Curtin, and Roberts in outscoring Arizona 6-2 to send the game to overtime. Each team scored once in the first extra period, sending the game into sudden death. There, freshman Kathryn Nary scored the final goal and won the game for Penn, 8-7. That put the Quakers into their first semifinal round in program history.

In the semifinal round, Penn encountered defending national champion Cal Poly, who eventually went on to win the title again this year. Down 3-0 after the first quarter, Penn got on the board behind goals from Roberts and Eastwood, but the half still closed with Cal Poly leading, 8-3.  Despite a later goal by Kordic in the third quarter, Penn was unable to beat their opponent, and ended the game with a 14-4 loss.

The final game, for third place, was against the University of Oregon, last year's runner-up. The game began with an early goal by Curtin for Penn, and another in the second by Nary, ending the first half at 2-2. However, the Penn team was unable to maintain its momentum, with Kris Miller scoring the only other goal in the fourth quarter. The final score of the game was 7-3, with Penn taking fourth place in the tournament.

Curtin, a graduate student, was named to the second all-tournament team this year, her third appearance on the list. Although the last two games ended in losses, fourth is the highest finish in the history of Penn women's water polo club team.