The University of Redlands women's water polo team captured a hard-fought 8-7 win over Chapman University in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Saturday at the Thompson Aquatic Center. The Bulldogs also faced Santa Clara University but fell short in a 6-14 decision against the NCAA Division I opponent.
In the morning bout against the Panthers, Redlands scored the first goal of the game with 4:52 left in the first period when first-year Holly Kvanvig (Beaverton, OR) fired one into the back of the net. The teams traded scores to end the quarter in a 2-2 stalemate, with senior attacker Sami Walker (Taylorsville, UT) notching the Bulldogs' second goal of the game with 2:46 remaining.
Although Chapman built a 4-2 lead by the 1:34-mark of the second stanza, Redlands quickly answered with goals from Walker and senior attacker Katelyn Jenkins (Bellevue, WA).
Early in the third frame, the Bulldogs owned a 6-4 advantage off of back-to-back scores by junior attacker Hunter Olivier (Indio, CA). However, the Panthers pulled one back with 4:49 left on the clock. On the Maroon and Gray's ensuing possession, sophomore attacker Katelynn Holloman (Wildomar, CA) uncorked a score to put Redlands up, 7-5. The back-and-forth battled continued, with Chapman notching another netter before the end of the quarter.
After the Panthers evened the tally at seven apiece early in the final frame, the Bulldogs relied on stellar defense to minimize the opponents' opportunities. Senior goalkeeper Kelly Grosswendt (Newbury Park, CA) recorded five of her nine saves during the final eight minutes, as Redlands gained the only goal of the period off the hands of Walker with 3:06 to go.
Late in the contest, the Maroon and Gray staved off Chapman's final efforts to score, allowing the home team to hang on for the 8-7 win.
Redlands jumped back into the pool for an afternoon melee against Santa Clara. A slow start plagued the Bulldogs and forced them to play catch-up. Despite scoring twice in the second, third, and fourth quarters, Redlands fell to the Broncos, 6-14. Jenkins led the Maroon and Gray's offense with a hat trick, while senior defender Carmen Gardner (South San Francisco, CA), junior attacker Courtney Gray (Yucaipa, CA), and sophomore attacker Kayla Takakura (Wailuku, HI) each scored once. Grosswendt faced an onslaught of SCU shots and stopped 18 of them in a valiant effort.
Redlands (8-10, 2-1 SCIAC) welcomes Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges to the Thompson Aquatic Center on Tuesday, March 12, for a 7 p.m. SCIAC showdown against the Athenas.