The University of Redlands men's water polo team took to the familiar waters of the Thompson Aquatic Center for the second day of the Inland Empire Classic on Sunday. The Bulldogs began with a tough match-up against the top-ranked team in the nation from UCLA before facing Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in non-conference action. After falling to the Bruins by a score of 3-18, the Bulldogs capped off the two-day tournament with an overtime loss to the Sagehens, 11-12.
In a match that included 10 tie scores, the Bulldogs held a 9-8 advantage midway through the fourth period but the Sagehens forced the overtime with 2:03 remaining in regulation.
After the teams traded scores in the first extra frame, each managed another netter to make it 11-all. Redlands' critical goal came with just 18 seconds left on the clock when junior driver Zac Polmanteer (Long Beach, CA) fired one past the Sagehen goalkeeper.
However, Pomona-Pitzer quickly regrouped and uncorked the game-winning netter with only two ticks to go, resulting in the difficult Bulldog loss.
Sophomore driver Kevin Chapa (Carlsbad, CA) served as the Maroon and Gray's top scorer with four netters in the match, while Polmanteer and junior center-defender Mark Zikov (La Quinta, CA) each provided a two-goal showing for the Bulldogs.
Earlier in the day, Redlands played a variety of players against the national powerhouse from UCLA, with sophomore center-defender Danny Hartwig (Vista, CA), freshman driver Aki Andersen (Laguna Beach, CA), and freshman center Billy Clifford (Redlands, CA) each finding the back of the net. Despite the lopsided score, the Bulldogs gained some quality saves from junior goalkeeper Chris Sekula (LaGrange, IL) and senior goalkeeper Christian Jamison (San Bernardino, CA), who shared time in the cage. No specific statistics were available.
Redlands (2-6) heads to the NorCal Tournament at Stanford University on Saturday, September 19, and Sunday, September 20, beginning with an 8 a.m. clash against No. 2 USC.
