The University of Redlands men's water polo team finished out the Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament with split results on Saturday, October 3, to go 3-1 on the weekend. The Bulldogs blasted Washington & Jefferson College (PA) in their first match of the day, 12-6, before stumbling to Cal Baptist University, 10-13, in a tight competition.
Against the Jeffs, Redlands built a 5-2 advantage through the midway point of the game, before uncorking five goals in the third for an comfortable lead. During the scoring spree, the Bulldogs gained netters from sophomore center Matthew Shippen (Santa Maria, CA), junior center-defender Mark Zikov (La Quinta, CA), junior driver Kevin Tunney (Palos Park, IL), senior center John Koning (Poway, CA), and freshman driver Collin See (Orange, CA) for a well-balanced attack.
Overall, Zikov paced the Maroon and Gray with his hat-trick performance.
Junior goalkeeper Chris Sekula (LaGrange, IL) registered eight saves in three periods of work, before giving way to sophomore goalkeeper Teddy Best (Vista, CA), who tallied two stops in the final frame.
Against the Lancers, Redlands gave up an uncharacteristic six goals in the opening period, providing too much of a deficit to overcome.
Despite trailing 3-6, the Bulldogs responded by battling against CBU in an incredibly even remainder of the contest, as both squads scored seven goals.
Freshman driver Billy Clifford (Redlands, CA) and Koning provided three netters apiece, while Shippen added two goals.
Best patrolled the Bulldog cage for eight saves during the first three periods, with Sekula closing out the match in the final frame with one stop.
Redlands (8-9) heads to Riverside on Saturday, October 10, for a pair of contests, beginning with Chapman University in non-conference action at 11:30 a.m. and followed by a 2 p.m. showdown against Citrus College.
