The University of Redlands women's water polo team traveled to the Claremont Convergence on Friday and Saturday, taking on a diverse quartet of opponents. The Bulldogs opened the competition with a pair of nationally-ranked foes in No. 20 Cal Baptist University and No. 13 University of Hawaii, before finishing out the tournament against the Virginia Military Institute and Gannon University (PA).
The Bulldogs put together a stellar Saturday, earning two wins in solid performances.
The team opened the day with a 9-4 victory over VMI by building a 3-1 lead in the first quarter. Senior center Jaci Cochrane (San Bernardino, CA) fired off the Bulldogs' first goal to tie it up with 2:36 left in the period. Less than a minute later, she found the back of the net again to create a 2-1 advantage, before capping off an eight-minute hat trick by scoring the team's third goal with just one tick left remaining on the clock.
Junior center-defender Deandra Van Houten (Huntington Beach, CA) followed her teammate's example by unleashing three-straight goals of her own over the course of the second and third periods, putting the Bulldogs up by a score of 6-3 midway through the contest.
From here, the momentum stayed with the Maroon and Gray through the final whistle, resulting in the positive outcome. Cochrane, sophomore driver Meg Claypool (Portland, OR), and freshman driver Meghan O'Sullivan (Campbell, CA) each converted goals in the last quarter of the game.
Unfortunately, statistics from Redlands' 9-8 win over Gannon were not available at the time of posting.
Earlier in the tournament, the Maroon and Gray took on Cal Baptist but never recovered from a four-goal deficit en route to a 4-13 loss.
During the second half, the Bulldogs held the opponents to only three scores, showing an improvement on defense.
Overall, sophomore driver Taylor Christie (Anaheim, CA) notched two goals, while Claypool and freshman driver Grace Cochran (Danville, CA) recorded one apiece.
Redlands grew as a squad while facing off against the talented team from Hawaii but lost by a score of 4-25. The Maroon and Gray gained goals from junior center-defender Tricia Bannister (Naperville, IL), freshman center Madison Andres (Princeton, NJ), Cochrane, and Cochran. In addition, senior goalkeeper Julie Lupfer (San Diego, CA) came up with 10 saves in 24 minutes of action for the Maroon and Gray.
The Bulldogs (3-9) continue their tough slate of competition with the Cal Baptist Lancer Invite on Friday and Saturday. Friday's matches take place on Redlands' campus at the Thompson Aquatic Center, with the team taking on Concordia University – Irvine at 1:30 p.m., followed by another showdown against VMI at 6 p.m. The team then heads to Riverside on Saturday for a 9 a.m. contest against St. Francis University (NY) and a 6:20 p.m. tilt against the University of La Verne.
