Panthers fall in SCIAC semis, will play for third on Sunday

REDLANDS, Calif. - The Chapman University men's water polo team saw its SCIAC championship and NCAA playoff hopes come to an abrupt end on Saturday. No. 2-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps led from start to finish and defeated the No. 3 seeded Panthers 10-7 at the Thompson Aquatics Center in Redlands.

Chapman (16-10) will now play for third place in the SCIAC Tournament on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. against either Whittier College or the University of Redlands. Meanwhile, Claremont will return to the SCIAC Tournament finals, where its lost to Whittier last season.

The Panthers were shell-shocked in the first period, falling behind quickly 4-0 after eight minutes, and 5-0 two minutes into the second. The Panthers finished the half on a high note as senior driver Mark Alvarado scored with 12 seconds remaining to trail 6-2 at the break.

Senior utility Jake Gross led the Panther charge in the third period, scoring three of his game-high five goals consecutively in the frame as Chapman cut the deficit to one at 6-5. But that was as close as the Panthers would get. Claremont closed the fourth quarter with three straight goals to hold on for the win.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://goredlands.com/sports/mwaterpolo/2014-15/files/CMS-CU.pdf

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