The University of Redlands men's water polo team capped off the 2012 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship Tournament with back-to-back, large-margin victories, earning fifth place in the three-day event. Seeded fifth, the Bulldogs suffered a first-round 9-11 loss to Whittier College but then exploded for impressive wins over Occidental College and the University of La Verne.
On Sunday, the Maroon and Gray prevailed over the Leopards of La Verne by a score of 11-4, finishing the regular season on a high note. The squad used an early 3-0 advantage to cruise to victory, with junior driver Clint Freeman (Brentwood, CA) leading the effort with his five-goal outburst during the Bulldogs' final conference game of the season.
In addition to Freeman, sophomore driver Michael Robinson (Corona, CA) unleashed a hat trick, while junior center-defender Christian Ogawa (Mira Mesa, CA) and senior driver Patrick Roth (Cottonwood Heights, UT) each notched one netter in the triumph.
Saturday's game pitted the Bulldogs against the Occidental Tigers, who also put up little resistance to Redlands' offensive prowess. Firing off the most goals of its season, the Maroon and Gray notched a 21-6 decision, as 13 Bulldogs found the back of the net at least once. Robinson recorded a four-goal effort and junior driver Quinn Curl (San Mateo, CA) chipped in a hat trick on the day.
Redlands faced the fourth-seeded Poets of Whittier College in its opening match on Friday. After the opponents nabbed an early 3-1 lead, the Bulldogs rallied back to even the score at three apiece. Again, the Poets surged ahead, this time taking a 7-4 advantage into halftime. Although the Maroon and Gray continued to fight, it never fully recovered the deficit, leading to the tough 9-11 defeat.
The dynamic duo of Robinson and Freeman joined forces with Curl to account for all but one of the Bulldogs' scores. Robinson netted four in the loss.
Goalkeeper saves were not available at the time of posting. Based on past games, junior Tyler Abbott (Alta Loma, CA) likely patrolled the Bulldog cage throughout the tournament.
The Bulldogs finished out the SCIAC season with a 6-5 record and land in a tie for fifth in the standings, based on the dual-meet and tournament points.
