Senior center Jaime Nippert (Gresham, OR) led the University of Redlands women's water polo program to victories against NAIA competitor Azusa Pacific University and conference foe Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges during the Redlands Mini-Tournament No. 2 on Saturday at the Thompson Aquatic Center. Nippert posted game-highs for goals in each contest, tallying eight in all on the day.

In the day's first action, the U of R held a tight lead over Azusa Pacific after two periods, but the Bulldogs exploded for five unanswered netters in the third period to finish out the match with a 15-7 advantage.

Nine different Bulldogs found the back of the net, headlined by multi-goal showings from Nippert, senior center Joy Corona (Lake Bluff, IL), junior center Jill Stein (Palm Desert, CA) and junior driver Moana Tuipulotu (Lahaina, HI).

In goal, sophomore Julie Lupfer (San Diego, CA) picked up eight saves as the starter before freshman Grace Trilla (Western Springs, IL) stopped two shots in limited action.

In a non-conference matchup with a familiar foe, Redlands defeated CMS by as score of 9-5. In a back- and-forth contest, the teams battled to a 5-5 tie after three quarters. However, the Bulldogs found their stride in the last period, putting up a four-spot while shutting out the Athenas en route to the victory.

Once again, Nippert rallied the offensive attack, recording three goals, while fellow senior Casey Sripramong (Glendale, CA) chipped in two.

Lupfer quieted the Athenas' scoring effort by tallying an impressive 11 saves.

The Bulldogs (4-3) jumps back into action on March 9-10 when the team competes in the annual Claremont Convergence Tournament.  Redlands opens the tournament by facing Concordia University – Irvine at 12:40 p.m. on Friday.