WWPA Championships pit Chapman in rematch with Redlands

LA JOLLA, Calif. – The Chapman University men's water polo team will make its fourth consecutive appearance at the Western Water Polo Association Championships from Nov. 17-20, hosted by UC San Diego. The No. 9-seeded Panthers earned their highest seed yet in the 12-team field and will face No. 8 University of Redlands on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Canyonview Aquatics Center.

Chapman (13-13) is coming off one of its more impressive campaigns in school history, just one win shy of the single-season school record. The Panthers are ranked No. 6 in Division III and finished the regular season winning five of their final eight matches, but lost a heartbreaker to Redlands 14-12 at home last month. The Bulldogs, ranked No. 3 in Division III, won both of the regular season matches between the two teams and have never lost to Chapman.

The winner of Chapman-Redlands will earn a date with four-time defending conference champion and top-seeded Loyola Marymount University on Friday.

The Panthers are led by sophomore 2-meter Brett Carter who was named to the All-WWPA team this week. Carter led the Chapman offense with 53 goals alongside senior driver David Carson who added 36 goals and set a school record this year with 60 assists. In goal, the Panthers are stabilized by junior Taylor Roszkos and his 217 saves.

In 2010, the Panthers earned ninth place in the 10-team tournament with a thrilling 13-12 sudden-death overtime win over Whittier College – the first WWPA Championships win in Chapman history. The winner of the WWPA Championship earns an automatic bid to National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championships, Dec. 2-3 in Berkeley, Calif.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

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