The University of Redlands men's water polo team hosted the 2014 Inland Empire Classic this past weekend at the Thompson Aquatic Center. The Bulldogs faced off against multiple top-ranked teams and recorded a victory over familiar foe Occidental College Tigers in non-conference action.
The Bulldogs began the tournament against fellow Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) competitor, Chapman University, in the opening match on Saturday. The U of R jumped out to a significant lead in the first period but was stumped late in an 8-9 loss to the Panthers. Despite the opening defeat, the Bulldogs responded with a 13-6 victory over Occidental. Statistics were not available for these matches.
The Maroon and Gray continued play on Sunday, as it faced a rival opponent in No. 18 United States Air Force Academy. After a tight, back-and-forth first half, the Air Force pulled away during the final two periods, resulting in a hard-fought 11-16 loss for the Bulldogs. The U of R had an abundance of offensive options throughout the competition with eight different goal-scorers finding the back of the net. Junior center John Koning (Poway, CA) and freshman center Matthew Shippen (Santa Maria, CA) fired off two goals each, while senior driver Michael Robinson (Corona, CA), senior center Alex Keith (Bellevue, WA), senior center David Sekula (LaGrange, IL), junior center-driver Nelson Glendinning (Philadelphia, PA), sophomore center-driver Mark Zikov (La Quinta, CA), and freshman driver Kevin Chapa (Carlsbad, CA) provided one score apiece in the match.
Redlands faced off against No. 1 Stanford University for the second match on Sunday. The Bulldogs struggled to gain any momentum in the contest, as they fell by a score of 4-22 to the high-caliber opponent. However, Shippen's play remained consistent for the Maroon and Gray, as he registered two goals in the contest. D. Sekula and Robinson matched their game-one scoring mark by logging one goal each.
The Bulldogs (1-7, 0-0 SCIAC) look forward to competing in the NorCal Invitational in Stockton, CA, on Saturday, Sept. 20, and Sunday, Sept. 21. All games will be played at the University of Pacific and Delta College Pools.
