The University of Redlands women's water polo team took on tough competition at the annual Claremont Convergence on Friday and Saturday, earning a solid 13-6 victory over the Virginia Military Institute while dropping games to ninth-ranked Long Beach State University, Concordia University – Irvine, and No. 11 Indiana University.
In their second game on Friday, which pitted them against VMI, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 3-2 lead by the end of the first period but rallied to make it a 10-3 advantage through three frames. Revealing its well-balanced offense, Redlands' first six goals came off of five different players. During the third stanza, junior center Jaci Cochrane (San Bernardino, CA) registered her second netter of the game, while freshman center Meg Claypool (Portland, OR) fired off back-to-back scores for the Bulldogs.
Although VMI played a tight final quarter, the Bulldogs' win was never in question.
Junior goalkeeper Julie Lupfer (San Diego, CA) recorded nine saves for the Maroon and Gray, while freshman Alma Lopez (Northridge, CA) finished out the game with one save in the final few minutes.
Against Long Beach State, the Bulldogs faced an early six-goal deficit and never recovered en route to the 4-16 loss. During two of the periods, however, Redlands was out-scored by a smaller 5-3 margin.
Senior driver Jill Stein (Palm Desert, CA) notched three of the Maroon and Gray's scores, while Lupfer came up with five saves.
Saturday's action kicked off with a tight contest against Concordia – Irvine. Despite a pair of big five-meter saves by Lupfer in the second period, the Bulldogs fell short against the Eagles by a score of 5-8.
After the teams traded scores in the first period, Redlands uncorked three consecutive goals to take a 4-1 lead into halftime. Freshman utility player Annie Kinney (Balboa, CA), senior driver Moana Tuipulotu (Lahaina, HI), and senior driver Stephanie Taylor (Sacramento, CA) each found the back of the net during this stretch.
However, Concordia answered back with five straight netters to take a 6-4 lead.
The Bulldogs' Stein pulled one back with a goal early in the fourth frame, but it was not enough, as the Eagles went on to win by an 8-5 tally.
Lupfer came up with 10 stops, including two critical ones in the second frame.
The busy weekend wrapped up with a challenging match against Indiana, which resulted in a 4-15 defeat. Taylor provided two scores for the Bulldogs and Lupfer racked up 12 saves in the loss.
The Bulldogs (4-8) return home to the Thompson Aquatic Center on Friday, March 15, and Saturday, March 16, for the Cal Baptist Tournament, which is co-hosted by Redlands. The Maroon and Gray competes in four games during the event, beginning with Wagner University (BY) on Friday at 1 p.m.
