There were flowers. There were families. There were tears.
And then there was a fight.
In their final home game of the 2025 season, the No. 21 San Diego State Aztecs honored six seniors—Rose Kanemy, Amanda Chambers, Sofia Righetti, Brooke Lee, Ava Ratajczak, and Luna Sarmiento—with a heartfelt ceremony before Saturday’s matchup against No. 9 Loyola Marymount. As bouquets were handed out and photos snapped poolside, emotions ran high before the ball even hit the water.
Then came the opening sprint—and a wake-up call.
The Aztecs fell behind 4-0 just four minutes into the match and couldn’t recover fully, falling 17-11 to the undefeated-in-conference Lions. The loss drops SDSU to 14-12 overall and 4-3 in Golden Coast Conference (GCC) play, with postseason seeding now riding on other results.
Yet, while the scoreboard told one story, the third quarter told another.
“We knew this was gonna be a tough game,” said head coach Dana Ochsner, her voice hoarse postgame. “We were down seven players for the first three days of this week. But I think we really found our rhythm. Changing what we were doing defensively and committing to the idea that we were still in that game was really important. And the girls did a great job.”
That rhythm came after halftime. Trailing 11-5 at the break, SDSU erupted for three unanswered goals to start the third. Shannon Murphy, Mimi Stoupas and Sammi Byers each found the back of the cage to cut the deficit to 11-8, sending a jolt through the Aquaplex crowd.
And then came Rose Kanemy—senior, captain and newly minted all-time assist leader in Aztec water polo history—who ripped a penalty shot past LMU’s keeper to bring SDSU back within striking distance.
“We really brought some more energy as a team,” Kanemy said. “We’re finding our teammates and looking for extra looks and finding great opportunities.”
Kanemy’s presence on Saturday extended far beyond the score sheet. Her leadership, according to Ochsner, has been a pillar of the program’s growth.
“When you’re the leader in assists, it speaks to your vision and IQ—but also to your selflessness,” Ochsner said. “She is a great shooter as well. More often than not, she takes that moment, evaluates, and usually sends one more pass, which leads to other teammates being able to score. And again, that’s something we’ve really talked about, is setting teammates up for success. Rose’s show that she’s a monster at that.”
Kanemy, who finishes her SDSU career with 188 career assists, reflected on what that record—and her Aztec journey—meant.
“It’s honestly really awesome,” Kanemy said. “I obviously love to be there for my teammates, getting them those passes. It’s just as great as scoring a goal for me. It’s just really awesome to get to leave a legacy here and have made an impact on my years here.”
Joining Kanemy on the scoresheet were Megan Holcomb, who recorded her second straight hat trick, and two-goal efforts from Sydney Gish, Murphy, and Stoupas. In the net, Ratajczak made five saves in the first half before handing duties to Tiaare Ahovelo, who closed the game with one stop.
But it was Holcomb who embodied the grit that has come to define Ochsner’s squad.
“It’s gonna take a little bit of time to keep building and keep scratching our way up,” Holcomb said. “We just gotta keep leaning on each other.”
For the seniors, that camaraderie was everything.
“We started as a class of 10, and now there are four of us originals,” Kanemy said. “Bringing in Luna [Sarmiento] and Ava [Ratajczak] has been really great as well and we’re all super close. It’s a really great group to finish my career with.”
That emotional bond was evident during the pregame ceremony, where each senior walked poolside with family, receiving flowers and applause from a packed home crowd.
“Everyone’s had such a family environment in our team this year,” Kanemy said. “It was just really nice having everyone and feeling everyone’s support today.”
As Ochsner noted, this senior class wasn’t just a part of the journey—they helped redefine the culture.
“They have seen through a lot of challenging times,” Oschner said. “They’ve seen the growth. Obviously, they’ve been there from the transition for me from assistant to head coach, and I think the big thing for me is how much they embraced that, and they worked with me to change the culture and really turn this team into something they could be proud of, and I wouldn’t have been able to do that without them. So their leadership, their commitment to being Aztecs and their commitment to this program has been really huge..”
With postseason play on the horizon, SDSU now awaits results across the conference. If LMU beats California Baptist on Thursday, the Aztecs will secure the No. 4 seed in the GCC Tournament, set to begin April 25 in Los Angeles.
Before then, the team’s next battle is the annual Harper Cup matchup against UC San Diego—a rivalry game that holds deep meaning.
“The Harper Cup is probably our favorite game every single year,” Kanemy said. “Especially knowing that we’re gonna be in an away crowd and be extra amped up, we’re really excited and hopefully win that cup this year.”
One more game. One more fight.
