The University of Redlands women's water polo team garnered a couple of impressive wins over the weekend while competing against NCAA Division I and Division III foes in the Cal Baptist University Tournament, which was co-hosted by the Bulldogs. The Maroon and Gray opened with a tough 6-11 defeat to Wagner College (NY) before blowing past Macalester College (MN), 19-4 and George Washington University (DC), 10-5. Redlands, however, then dropped the final contest of the tournament to Iona College (NY), 10-13.
The Bulldogs grabbed an early 2-0 lead over Wagner in the first period of their opening contest at the Thompson Aquatic Center. Wagner responded with nine unanswered goals, however, and the Maroon and Gray could not recover, resulting in the five-score defeat. Senior driver Moana Tuipulotu (Lahaina, HI) paced the Bulldog attack, registering a team-best four goals.
Later on Friday, the U of R faced off against Macalester and uncorked 10-consecutive goals in the first two periods before allowing one. From there, the Bulldogs' offense kept rolling en route to tacking on nine more scores in the final two periods, resulting in the 15-goal triumph. Eleven different players recorded at least one goal for Redlands, with both freshman center Caitlyn Freeman (Brentwood, CA) and sophomore center-defender Deandra Van Houten (Huntington Beach, CA) notching a hat-trick each. Additionally, freshman center Meg Claypool (Portland, OR), junior center Jaci Cochrane (San Bernardino, CA), senior driver Jill Stein (Palm Desert, CA) and freshman driver Summer Parsons (El Cajon, CA) tallied two scores apiece.
The Bulldogs carried the momentum gained from that victory into Saturday's opener against George Washington. Senior driver Stephanie Taylor (Sacramento, CA) got things started for Redlands, finding the back of the net with 6:05 left in the first frame to give the Bulldogs the early advantage. The Colonials answered with two scores of their own and took a 2-1 lead into the second period. By halftime, the games was tied at 3-3, and the Bulldogs then took control of the game, outscoring George Washington 3-1 in the third quarter and 4-1 in the final period to secure the win. Tuipulotu provided Redlands with the go-ahead goal midway through the third frame and scored a team-best three goals in the victory.
In the final contest of the weekend for Redlands, the Bulldogs came up against a solid Iona squad. The two sides competed in a back-and-forth battle that saw the Gaels take a 6-5 lead into the halftime break. The teams continued to exchange scores, and the Bulldogs cut the deficit to just one at the beginning of the fourth period. Iona then rattled off two-straight scores, putting Redlands in a hole it could not climb out of. For the game, Tuipulotu was firing on all cylinders, notching five scores, while Stein contributed two goals.
The Maroon and Gray (6-10) returns to action when it hosts Washington and Jefferson College (PA) on Tuesday at the Thompson Aquatic Center at 4:30 p.m.
