The University of Redlands men's water polo team settled for sixth place at the 2010 Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Championships, falling to the Air Force Academy in the season finale by a score of 6-13.
The teams battled to a 2-2 tie after the first frame, but then Air Force rattled off four goals to the Bulldogs' single score to garner a 6-3 lead.
The Maroon and Gray fought back in the third period to make it 5-9, but another four-goal explosion by the Falcons kept the Bulldogs at bay.
Redlands gained four scores from senior center Brendan Meaney (Palm Desert, CA), who garnered All-WWPA Second-Team honors late last week. Junior driver Jeff Parsons (Newark, CA) and sophomore driver Patrick Roth (Cottonwood Heights, UT) accounted for the Bulldogs' additional goals.
Freshman goalkeeper Tyler Abbott (Alta Loma, CA) posted two saves for the Maroon and Gray.
By defeating Whittier College for a fourth time this season while also avenging an earlier loss to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, the Bulldogs finished higher at the WWPA Championships than any other participating Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) team.
Redlands wraps up the 2010 campaign with a 20-16 record, marking the eighth time in the last 10 years that the team has garnered 20 or more wins. Earlier this season, Head Coach Tom Whittemore captured his 400th men's water polo victory and now owns 412 on his 23-year career.
