Facing off against four top-20 teams at the SoCal Water Polo
Tournament at Pepperdine University from Oct. 11-12, the
16th-ranked University of Redlands men's water polo squad put
up a tough test, coming out of the invitational 1-3.
Game No. 1 pitted the Bulldogs against a No. 4 Pepperdine team that
held Redlands to its lowest goal tally yet this season. All three
goalkeepers saw action in the game for the Bulldogs as the Waves
handled the maroon and gray to a 14-2 score.
Redlands rebounded in the second game, upending the 14th-ranked St.
Francis College (NY) 11-8. Sophomore defender Andrew Smith-Jones
(Annapolis, MD) racked up five goals, leading the Bulldogs to
victory.
On the second day, the Bulldogs faced a tough draw in having to
face No. 8 UC Irvine and picked up their second loss of the
invitational following a 16-6 loss.
The team's final game provided the most exciting tilt of the
invitational as the Bulldogs got edged 12-11 by No. 15 Princeton
University (NJ) in a sudden-death overtime period.
Leading the team offensively was Smith-Jones who netted nine goals
while junior center Brendan Meaney (Palm Desert, CA) put away
seven. Also contributing scoring for the Bulldogs were senior
driver Andrew Becskehazy (Miami, FL) with four, senior utility
player Buddy Olds (Murrieta, CA) with three and sophomore driver
Tim Hendrickson (Los Altos, CA), freshman driver Tyler Harp (San
Bernardino, CA), junior utility player Ryan Floersch (San Jose,
CA), junior defender John Floersch (San Jose, CA), junior utility
player Jim Kehrig (Danville, CA), freshman driver Mark Yerkes
(Orlando, FL) and sophomore center Miran Terzic (Palm Desert, CA)
with one apiece.
In goal, senior goalkeeper Teddy Trowbridge (Mercer Island, WA) saw
the most action, saving 27 shots and competing in all four games.
Junior goalkeeper Jack Amaral (Porterville, CA) recorded four saves
while freshman driver Ben Ballard (Riverside, CA) notched three
stops.
Redlands (15-7) starts up Southern California Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play on Saturday, Oct. 18 against the
Kingsmen from Cal Lutheran University at the Thompson Aquatic
Center. Game time is set for 11 a.m.
