The University of Redlands men's water polo program opened the 2011 campaign with five games over the weekend by participating in the UCSD Triton Invitational on Sept. 3 and the UC Irvine Invitational on Sept. 4. The Bulldogs faced off against top opponents from the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA), including No. 3 UC San Diego and No. 1 Loyola Marymount on Saturday, and then took on talented squad from UC Irvine, Long Beach State University and Fresno Pacific University on Sunday.
The Bulldogs enjoyed their lone victory of the weekend against NAIA opponent Fresno Pacific University, which came as an 8-7 decision in their last contest at the UC Irvine Invitational. Senior center Blake vanHartesvelt (Mercer Island, WA) and senior driver Jeff Parsons (Newark, CA) led the UR scoring attack by accounting for five netters. The combination of sophomore Tyler Abbott (Alta Loma, CA) and senior Jessie Gunther (Perris, CA) recorded 12 total saves en route to the squad's win.
Earlier in the day, the U of R suffered back-to-back losses to NCAA Division I opponents, the UC Irvine Anteaters and the Long Beach State University 49ers. Senior driver Danny Boessenecker (Clayton, CA) found the back of the net on three occasions over the two-game span.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs officially opened up the season at the UCSC Triton Invitational by dropping games to UC San Diego and Loyola Marymount University. Senior driver Cabot Ferrill (Poway, CA) and Boessenecker each recorded a two-goal outing in one of the challenging match-ups.
The University of Redlands (1-4) looks forward to hosting the Inland Empire Classic on Sept. 10-11.
