The University of Redlands men's water polo team took on Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in a battle of the unbeaten teams in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action, before hosting Cal Baptist University in a non-conference showdown on Saturday. Despite playing to an even score in three periods of the game, the Bulldogs struggled to answer Pomona-Pitzer's big second stanza en route to a 4-8 loss to start the day. Later that evening, the Maroon and Gray rallied to force a five-all tie against CBU, but came up short in the 7-12 decision.
After a scoreless first frame against the Sagehens, Redlands saw the home team fire off four goals in the second to take a lead it would not relinquish. The Bulldogs made the necessary adjustments in the third period and recorded an even 4-4 stanza. Senior driver Zac Polmanteer (Long Beach, CA), junior driver Kevin Chapa (Carlsbad, CA), and sophomore center Billy Clifford (Redlands, CA) came up clutch on offense, while senior goalkeeper Chris Sekula (LaGrange, IL) provided big-time saves in the cage.
Unfortunately, it was not enough to overcome Pomona-Pitzer's big second stanza, as the Bulldogs lost by a score of 4-8.
Against CBU, Redlands gained first-quarter scores from junior center-defender Max Taylor (Henderson, NV), senior center-defender Mark Zikov (La Quint, CA), freshman driver Cater Kerwin (Bakersfield, CA), and senior center-defender Danny Hartwig (Vista, CA0 to even the tally at four apiece. The teams traded goals, before the Lancers fired off three-straight netters to secure a slight lead late in the second frame. The Bulldog offense appeared to stall, as they notched only one goal in each the third and fourth quarters. Senior driver Kyle Murata (Brea, CA) and Hartwig provided those netters for the Maroon and Gray.
Sekula did his best to keep the Maroon and Gray in the game by racking up 13 saves in a complete-game effort.
Redlands (14-12, 3-1 SCIAC) returns to SCIAC action on Wednesday, November 2, when it hosts Whittier College in an important conference match at the Thompson Aquatic Center.
