The University of Redlands women's water polo team took to the waters at the Thompson Aquatic Center for a pair of games on Saturday. The Bulldogs came out firing with a 15-6 win over Caltech in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action, before avenging an earlier-season loss to Virginia Military Institute with a 10-8 performance.
Against the Beavers, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 5-3 first-quarter lead with a well-balanced attack that included five different goal-scorers.
Redlands extended its advantage with a 6-1 effort in the second period, as highlighted by a hat trick by senior attack player Annie Kinney (Newport Beach, CA). In addition, senior utility player Taylor Christie (Anaheim, CA) fired off two goals for the Bulldogs.
By the end of the third frame, the Maroon and Gray sat comfortably in front with a 15-5 lead. Freshman attack player Erin Tait (Turlock, CA) accounted for two netters, which came in back-to-back fashion early in the stanza.
Despite going scoreless in the fourth period, the Bulldogs collected the 15-6 SCIAC victory.
Senior goalkeeper AC Lopez (Northridge, CA) and freshman goalkeeper Katelyn Jenkins (Bellevue, WA) shared time in the cage, with Jenkins notching seven saves in the second half.
Kinney and Christie each finished with three scores, while Tait provided two.
Against VMI, Redlands dug deep to not only avenge an earlier loss to the Cadets but to rally from five goals down to capture the 10-8 win.
After VMI fired off five goals in the first frame, the Bulldogs answered with a 5-1 run in the second period to cut the deficit to one at the midway point of the contest. The home team used a diverse offense that included two scores from Christie and one apiece from senior utility player Caitlyn Freeman (Brentwood, CA), sophomore attack player Rachel Haney (Redmond, OR), and freshman utility player Kolby Kahahawai (Kailua, HI).
The third frame provided the turning point for the Maroon and Gray, as the Cadets were held scoreless, thanks in part to the impressive play of freshman goalkeeper Allison Totzke (San Bernardino, CA), who made three key stops in the cage. Furthermore, Redlands gained a three-goal showing from Haney, along with another netter by Christie.
Leading by a score of 9-6, the Bulldogs stayed in front in the final frame, with freshman attack player Sami Walker (Taylorsville, UT) uncorking Redlands' only goal.
Totzke finished with six saves, while Jenkins added two in the first period.
Haney led the offense with four goals, while Christie added three scores.
Redlands (5-16, 1-2 SCIAC) strives to keep today's momentum going on Wednesday, March 30, when it travels to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges for a 7 p.m. conference showdown against the Athenas.
