SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior water polo standout Julie Zanobini has made a verbal commitment to play at Loyola Marymount next fall and will sign with the Lion program on Nov. 11.

“It has been my dream for a while,” said Zanobini of playing at LMU. “I am so excited to get to continue playing the sport that I love. “It feels great to be a Lion.”

Zanobini has been a four-year player for the Troubadours, helping the team to three consecutive Sac-Joaquin Section finals appearances.

 “The main deciding factor was the school size and coming from a private catholic middle and high school, it made sense for where I fit the best,” said Zanobini.

She will join a LMU program that was recently ranked as the seventh-best collegiate women’s water polo program in the country according to USA Today. Zanobini wll play for Head Coach Kyle Witt, who was named the Golden West Conference Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. The Lions have won 11 conference titles since 2001.

“I have heard a lot about the success of the program winning their conference every year,” said Zanobini. “It was a really attractive feature for me. It is always great and exciting to be part of a winning program.”

The Davis native has scored 18 goals and recorded 18 assists this season for the Troubadours.

“Our season is going really good and we are looking forward to playoffs coming up this week,” said Zanobini.

The Troubadours are 15-7 on the season after splitting four matches at the Nor Cal Championships last weekend and enter the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs as the No. 2 seed. The Troubies host a home game on Thursday and, if they advance, continue play next week with the semifinals and finals.

“It is going to be a really big week for all of us,” said Zanobini of the combination of playoffs and signing day. “We have talked about ending our season on a win. Win or lose, we are going to be proud of how far we make it. We have all learned something to me this year.”

Zanobini set single-season career highs for goals (21) and assists (30) as a junior in 2014.

“I came in not sure about playing water polo,” said Zanobini, who scored the winning goal in the semifinals in overtime against Granite Bay as a sophomore. “Coming in with my sister was a good transition but now I am a leader and I am excited to lead the younger players to where I am now.”

Zanobini will participate in the St. Francis Signing Day Celebration at 9 a.m. on November 11.