The third-seeded University of Redlands men's water polo opened the 2015 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship Tournament on Friday by defeating the sixth-seeded Pomona-Pitzer Colleges Sagehens in a hard-fought 6-3 decision at Las Flores Park in La Verne. Despite a slow start, the Bulldogs remained relentless and poised to eventually grab a 3-1 lead and hold on for the important victory, moving them onto Saturday's semifinal against second-seeded Whittier College.
Throughout a scoreless first period, the teams battled against each other's stingy defenses, with junior goalkeeper Chris Sekula (LaGrange, IL) providing five saves to keep the Sagehens off the board.
During the second period, Pomona-Pitzer struck first but Redlands' sophomore center Matt Shippen (Santa Maria, CA) quickly answered to even the count at one apiece.
After an inspirational halftime meeting, the Maroon and Gray scored back-to-back goals to take a 3-1 lead into the fourth. Senior driver John Koning (Poway, CA) and junior driver Zac Polmanteer (Long Beach, CA) provided the key scores for the Bulldogs.
Although the Sagehens cut the deficit to one early in the fourth frame, Redlands stayed in front through the final whistle, as junior center-defender Mark Zikov (La Quint, CA), Polmanteer, and Shippen converted netters for the Bulldogs.
Sekula provided 19 saves in the impressive performance.
With the win, Redlands advances to tomorrow's 9:45 a.m. semifinal contest against Whittier, which eked out a 12-11 victory over the University of La Verne earlier today.
