The University of Redlands men's water polo team took on top opponents at the 2010 UC Davis Aggie Shoot-Out on Saturday and Sunday, gaining high-caliber experience. The Bulldogs came up short against third-ranked University of California and No. 15 Santa Clara University, before suffering a tight loss to 11th-ranked Davis.

On Saturday, the Bulldogs faced an early five-goal deficit against Cal and never recovered, leading to the 5-15 final. Junior center-defender Andrew Smith-Jones (Annapolis, MD) and junior center Blake vanHartesvelt (Mercer Island, WA) recorded two goals apiece, while senior driver Drew Fischer (Highland, CA) netted one. Sophomore goalkeeper Jessie Gunther (Perris, CA) and freshman goalkeeper Tyler Abbott (Alta Loma, CA) split time between the posts, registering four and two saves, respectively.

Redlands returned to action later that day, taking on the Broncos of Santa Clara. The Maroon and Gray gave up eight goals in the first half to go down 2-8, but the Bulldogs matched the Broncos score-for-score in the final two periods en route to the 6-12 loss. Sophomore driver Zac Chierici (Millbrae, CA) led the Redlands offense with two goals, with Smith-Jones, vanHartesvelt, freshman driver Quinn Curl (San Mateo, CA) and freshman center-defender Spencer Peugh (Alamo, CA) notching one score each.

The final match of the weekend pitted the Aggies of Davis against the Bulldogs of Redlands. After giving up five goals while only scoring one in the opening stanza, Redlands rallied back in the final two periods by recording nine goals to Davis' six. Unfortunately, it was not enough to nab the win, forcing the Bulldogs to settle for the 12-14 defeat. Curl fired off two goals as the only multi-point scorer, while 10 other Bulldogs found the back of the net on one occasions each.

Redlands (5-7) heads to another challenging tournament on Oct. 2-3, when it competes at the 2010 SoCal Tournament at UCLA. The Bulldogs are slated to play top-ranked University of Southern California at 8 a.m., with the winner playing at 2:40 p.m. and the loser returning to action at 1:20 p.m. on Saturday. For a complete schedule and results, please visit the tournament page at http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/m-wpolo/spec-rel/10-socal-open.html.