The University of Redlands men's water polo team continued its challenging slate of nationally ranked opponents this weekend, competing at the SoCal Tournament at UCLA. The Bulldogs lost all four matches against top-20 opponents, narrowly falling to No. 16 Princeton University (NJ) in their final contest on Sunday.

Against the Tigers, Redlands suffered a tough 8-10 loss to wrap up the two-day event at the Speiker Aquatics Center. With the game knotted at four-all after the first two periods, Princeton pulled away with a five-goal outburst in the third frame to take the lead at 9-6. The Maroon and Gray recorded two more goals to the Tigers' single score in the final stanza, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit.

Junior center-defender Andrew Smith-Jones (Annapolis, MD) and senior center Brendan Meaney (Palm Desert, CA) each added two goals for Redlands. Freshman driver Quinn Curl (San Mateo, CA), freshman center John Nietzel (Old Greenwich, CT), junior driver Shane Anderson (Riverside, CA) and freshman driver Tucker Creevy (Crofton, MD) recorded one apiece. Sophomore goalkeeper Jessie Gunther (Perris, CA) provided his best output of the season, making 10 stops against the Tigers.

Earlier that day, Redlands faced No. 17 Concordia University - Irvine and trailed by three goals after the first two periods. The Bulldogs struggled in the third frame, scoring just once compared to the Eagles' hat trick for that period. Both teams netted three goals in the final stanza, resulting in an 11-17 defeat for Redlands.

Smith-Jones exploded for a team-leading five goals, while Meaney recorded three. Junior center-defender Ben Ballard (Riverside, CA), sophomore driver Zac Chierici (Millbrae, CA) and Creevy notched one score each. Gunther earned five saves from the cage.

On Saturday, Redlands faced the No. 1 team in the nation, University of Southern California, to open the tournament and fell by a score of 5-22. Meaney netted two goals against the Trojans, while junior center Blake vanHartesvelt (Mercer Island, WA), Smith-Jones, and Nietzel found the back of the net once each. Gunther recorded eight saves against the savvy USC attack.

In their second match on Saturday, the Bulldogs took on No. 9 Pepperdine University, suffering a 4-12 loss to the Waves. Meaney, Bo Sidhu, Nietzel, and Creevy found the back of the net for the Maroon and Gray, while Gunther made seven stops.

Redlands (5-11) heads to the Claremont Convergence on Friday and Saturday for a variety of games against all levels of competition. The schedule will be posted on www.goredlands.com as it becomes available.