The University of Redlands women's water polo team jumped into action for the first time this season by hosting a tri-match with No. 22 Cal State University Northridge and No. 25 Cal Baptist University on Thursday evening at the Thompson Aquatic Center.
The Bulldogs struggled early against Northridge, as the Matadors fired off six goals to open the game. From there, the deficit was too great for the home team to overcome en route to a 5-15 loss.
Junior attack player Michelle Na (Mercer Island, WA) recorded two goals, while sophomore attack player Sami Walker (Taylorsville, UT), junior attack player MaryKate Hunter (Redlands, CA), and sophomore center Kolby Kahahawai (Kailua, HI) each scored once.
In the Maroon and Gray's second match of the day, Cal Baptist repeated the early surge and quickly gained an 8-0 lead after the first quarter. However, the Bulldogs settled down to match the Lancers nearly goal-for-goal in the remaining three periods. But Redlands was unable to fully recover and suffered a 7-17 defeat.
Walker scored a hat trick for the Bulldogs, while Na produced another two-goal showing. Freshman attack player Olivia Allen (Santa Monica, CA) and Kahahawai rounded out the squad's scoring with one apiece.
In the non-Redlands match, CSUN prevailed by a score of 11-5 over Cal Baptist.
Redlands (0-2) looks forward to hosting Siena College (NY) on Thursday, February 23, at 6 p.m. in a non-conference match.
