SCIAC Men's Water Polo Championship - Day 2 Recap
ORANGE, Calif. - Day 2 of the SCIAC Men's Water Polo Championships set the stage for a championship showdown between the tournament's top two seeds on Sunday. No. 1 Whittier got past Pomona-Pitzer, 16-10, while Claremont-M-S was able to hold on to a slim lead, edging out Redlands by a final of 13-12.
The Stags are in search of their third conference championship in the last four seasons, but will have to get by the Poets, who are the top-ranked Division III team in the nation. Competition on Sunday is slated to start at 10 a.m. with the championship match beginning at 2:30 p.m.
Game Recaps
| Game 6: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| #9 Caltech | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| #7 La Verne |
3 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 16 |
Bryan Jimenez scored three of his game-high four goals consecutively in the third quarter as La Verne pulled away with six goals in the frame and advanced in the consolation bracket to face Cal Lutheran on Saturday night. Caltech wraps up its season in ninth place in the tournament.
| Game 7 (semis): |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| #3 Redlands |
3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 12 |
| #2 Claremont |
4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 13 |
John Holland's goal with 4:17 left in the third quarter - one his four in the period and six in the match - gave Claremont-Mudd-Scripps the lead for good as the Stags advances to Sunday's final. The teams were not separated by more than two goals from late in the first quarter on. Clint Freeman led Redlands with five goals.
| Game 8 (semis): | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| #4 Pomona-Pitzer |
2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| #1 Whittier |
6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 16 |
Goran Martaic tallied a game-high four goals as the No. 1 seed Poets advanced to the championship match on Sunday. Whittier led by as many as nine goals, controlling the match from start to finish en route to a Sunday showdown with Claremont for the conference title.
| Game 9: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| #8 Occidental |
2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| #5 Chapman |
5 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 16 |
The Panthers were led by Jake Gross and Jack Cutler, who scored three goals each as Chapman cruised to a 16-6 victory. Chapman had 11 different players score in the contest, advancing to the 5th place game on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
| Game 10: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| #7 La Verne | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 15 |
| #6 Cal Lutheran | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 20 |
The Kingsmen scored early and often, tallying six goals in the first quarter, including three from AJ Franklin. La Verne was unable to overcome Cal Lu's offensive attack, falling by a final of 20-15. The Kingsmen will take on Chapman in the 5th place game on Sunday while La Verne will face Occidental for 7th place.
SCIAC Men's Water Polo Championship website: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/mwaterpolo/tournament/index