The University of Redlands women's water polo team made the trek to Whittier College on Wednesday night for a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown against the Poets.  After a back-and-forth first period, the Bulldogs struggled to regain their offensive rhythm and ultimately fell by a score of 6-12.

After Whittier scored the first goal of the game, the Maroon and Gray immediately answered when freshman attack player Olivia Allen (Santa Monica, CA) fired one past the Poet goalkeeper to even the tally at 1-1.  The teams continued to trade goals throughout the opening eight minutes, resulting in a knotted score of 4-4.  For Redlands, sophomore center Kolby Kahahawai (Kailua, HI) registered two netters, while sophomore attack player Sami Walker (Taylorsville, UT) uncorked one of her own.

Sophomore goalkeeper Kelly Grosswendt (Newbury Park, CA) patrolled the Redlands cage during the first period and provided four big stops to keep the game close.

Unfortunately, the Redlands squad endured a scoring drought over the next 13 minutes, which resulted in a six-goal deficit.

Sophomore utility player Rachel Nelson (San Juan Capistrano, CA) ended the scoreless stretch for the Bulldogs by firing off back-to-back goals to end the third period on a positive note. 

Now trailing 6-10, the Bulldogs faced another offensive skid in the fourth period, leading to the 6-12 loss.

Grosswendt finished with six saves in two periods of action, while sophomore goalkeeper Katelyn Jenkins (Bellevue, WA) provided three stops in the final two frames.

Redlands (7-19, 2-3 SCIAC) returns home to the Thompson Aquatic Center on Saturday, April 8, for an 11 a.m. conference match against the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps College Athenas.  Prior to the contest, the Bulldogs will honor their lone senior Chum Alvarez-Zakson (Santa Monica, CA) in the final home game of her career.