The University of Redlands men's water polo team competed in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Wednesday, October 22, against Chapman University, and Saturday, October 25, against Caltech. In a week's worth of action, the Bulldogs went 1-1, as highlighted by a dominating 17-6 victory over the Caltech Beavers.
In Saturday's match-up against the Beavers, the Maroon and Gray erupted for 17 goals while featuring scores by 12 different Bulldogs.
Redlands jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period with goals by freshman driver Kevin Chapa (Carlsbad, CA), freshman center Matthew Shippen (Santa Maria, CA), and sophomore driver Kevin Tunney (Palos Park, IL).
During the second period, the Bulldogs maintained their momentum by outscoring the Beavers, 4-2. Shippen took over the scoring duties by nailing three more goals to push his total to four. Senior center David Sekula (LaGrange, IL) notched a netter in the second period as well.
The U of R matched its second-period offensive total in the third period while also holding the Beavers to one goal. For Redlands, sophomore driver Zac Polmanteer (Long Beach, CA) joined the scoring action by netting a goal with 6:41 left on the clock. Sophomore center Taylor Althaus (Alta Loma, CA) located the back of the net at the three-minute mark, while freshman driver Michael Adami (Denton, TX) and senior driver Jake Melia (Henderson, NV) followed suit with one goal each.
In the final frame, the Bulldogs showed no mercy and utilized their scoring options from top to bottom, as six different players recorded goals. Freshman driver Tristan Wheeler (Wellington, FL) initiated a 5-1 run by the Maroon and Gray during a five-minute timeframe. Sophomore driver Jacob Kurtz (El Cajon, CA), freshman driver Spencer McMaster (Newberg, OR), Chapa, and Melia added to the scoring frenzy en route to the 17-6 victory.
The Maroon and Gray drew seven ejections in the contest, two coming from Althaus.
The Bulldogs' 17 goals mark the team's highest scoring mark thus far this season.
In Wednesday's matchup against the Panthers, the Bulldogs battled neck and neck with Chapman throughout the course of the first three periods, as they never trailed by more than two goals and forced three ties. While trailing 6-8 at the start of the fourth period, the Maroon and Gray hit a cold streak and ultimately fell by a 6-10 decision. Sekula led the team with a pair of goals.
No goalkeeper statistics were available at the time of posting.
Redlands (5-17, 1-2 SCIAC) plays host to the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges Stags in a SCIAC showdown on Wednesday, October 29, at 7 p.m. in the Thompson Aquatic Center.
