The University of Redlands men's water polo program fell to Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) foe Pomona-Pitzer Colleges by a score of 8-11 on Sunday in the seventh-place game of the 2011 Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Championships.
Behind senior Blake vanHartesvelt (Mercer Island, WA) and sophomore Clint Freeman's (Brentwood, CA) multi-goal showing, Redlands got off to a hot start that culminated in a 6-5 halftime lead.
However, the Sagehens rattled off six unanswered scores to create a lead they would not relinquish. Although the U of R tried to battle back, it managed only two scores in the final frame, resulting in the three-goal loss.
Senior driver Jeff Parsons (Newark, CA), sophomore center Christian Ogawa (Mira Mesa, CA), along with sophomore drivers Quinn Curl (San Mateo, CA) and Keaton Lynn (Oakley, CA), all registered one score each for the Bulldogs.
Sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Abbott (Alta Loma, CA) tallied nine saves for the Maroon and Gray.
Parsons headlined the Maroon and Gray's weekend by notching All-WWPA Second-Team honors. The veteran collected three goals throughout the tournament, including a multi-goal effort against the Air Force Academy on Saturday.
With the loss, the Bulldogs conclude the 2011 campaign with an overall record of 17-20 and a 7-3 mark in conference action.
