REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Men's Water Polo team took home a share of the 2024 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Regular Season Championship Title, the tenth in program history along with winning the SCIAC Tournament Title earning the right to host the USA Water Polo Division III National Championship this Saturday-Sunday, December 7-8 inside the Thompson Aquatic Center (TAC).

No. 1 University of Redlands hosts No. 4 Augustana College (Illinois) at 11:30 a.m. Saturday in the first Semi-Final with No. 2 Chapman University taking on No. 3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at 1:30 p.m.

The losers of the Semi-Finals will play in the third place game at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday and the two winning teams from Saturday will play in the National Championship at 12:30 p.m.  
 

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University of Redlands

The Bulldogs are 16-12 this season and seeking their second national title in the last three years. They scored 12.5 goals per game (GPP) and allowed 11.6 GPP. Their powerplay offense converted 35.9 percent of their opportunities, while their defense allowed conversions at a 28.1 percent rate. They took 42 penalty shots, scoring 28 of them (66.7 percent). Opponents took 44 penalties and made 36 of them (81.8 percent).

Max Wagener (Piedmont, CA) is the top scorer for the Maroon and Grey with 69 goals and 84 points. He was selected the SCIAC Offensive Athlete of the Year and 1st Team All-SCIAC.  Dean Moody (Camarillo, CA), a 2nd Team All-SCIAC selection is second on the team with 48 goals and 78 points. Nicolas Fedotov (Miami Beach, FL) and Ron Gvishi (Kiryat Tivon, Israel) are the third and fourth players with 60 plus points as Fedotov finished with 37 goals and 31 assists for 68 points and Gvishi scored 33 times and had a team-high 32 assists for 65 points.

Defensively Gvishi has 41 steals and two field blocks, Moody has 33 steals, Fedotov with 25 steals, Wagener has 23 steals and four field blocks, and Spencer Clinton (Cypress, CA), who was voted 1st Team All-SCIAC has 20 steals and three field blocks. Brody Nielsen (Capitola, CA) led the Bulldogs with seven field blocks.

In goal Roberto Barrera (Guanajuato, Mexico), a 1st Team All-SCIAC selection played 773 of 909 minutes on the season. He made 165 saves for a 36.9 save percentage. He added 27 steals, third most on the team. Barrera did a great job of helping the Bulldogs get out on the break as he finished with five assists.  

Augustana College

The Vikings who are in their fourth year of existence and are 48-32 under Head Coach Ryan Pryor are 15-6 this season coming off it's third straight MPSF East Title this season.  Since joining the MPSF, the Vikings are 25-0 against East division opponents.   They average 14.2 GPP and allow 8.8 GPP. On the powerplay they score 35 percent of the time and defensively they allow their opponent to score 27.3 percent of the time. Augustana is very efficient on penalty attempts, converting at an 88 percent clip. Opponents scored 76.2 percent of the time against them.

Oskar Bannister, who was the MPSF East Tournament MVP has a team-high 85 points thanks to 37 goals and 48 assists. Stevan Rasic, who was named to the MPSF All-Tournament team and was 1st Team All-MPSF and the East's Player of the Year led the Vikings in goals with 76. Rhys Lomax and Mark Addison who were also named MPSF All-Conference both had 40 plus points with 46 and 43 respectively.

Bannister took possession 33 times. Addison and Tyler Leslie both had 27 steals. Bannister added 10 field blocks and Lomax had a team-high 13.

In goal Declan Hutton played 428 of 716 minutes and made 11 starts, while also being named to the MPSF All-Tournament Team this year. Hutton, who is also a 2x ACWPC All-American made 186 saves for a 59.2 save percentage. He had nine assists and a team-high 56 steals.

Chapman University

The Panthers are 15-14 this year qualifying for their first Collegiate National Championship.  The 15 victories mark just the fourth time in program history the Panthers have achieved this benchmark.  This past weekend they also earned a spot in the SCIAC Tournament Championship game for the first time in program history. They have won eight of their last ten games, which included a seven game winning streak.  Their two losses during this stretch came by a total of two goals.  They average 14.0 GPP and allow 13.7 GPP. They score 40.4 percent of their powerplay opportunities and allow their opponents to score 33.7 percent of the time. Chapman converted 68.8 percent of their penalties and opponents scored 70.8 percent of the time.

Everett Prussak, was a 1st Team All-SCIAC selection has 97 goals, which is the fourth highest season total in program history and leads the way amongst Division III schools and 48 assists on the season.  With three more goals he will become just the second Panther ever to score triple digit goals in a single season.  Alex Mule achieved this feat three times, topping out at 104 goals to set the record.  This season Prussak scored seven goals against Occidental and 10 points against Mt. St. Mary's.  Davin Castillo, another 1st Team All-SCIAC performer has 63 goals and 76 assists, leading the nation and setting a single season school record in assists.  He also leads the team in steals.  Nate Randolph made history when he was recognized for the fourth year in a row as an All-SCIAC player, marking the first time any player has earned that feat in program history.  This year he was a 2nd Team All-SCIAC selection with 63 goals and 15 assists.  Dylan Gallegos 31 goals and 43 assists, and Christian Gotterup is the fifth Panther with 60 plus points thanks to 43 goals and 23 assists.

Castillo has 55 steals and three field blocks, Prussak 51 steals and seven field blocks, and Gallegos 46 steals and seven field blocks.

The Panthers are led by Jackson Sanders in goal who has played 746 of 959 minutes. He has 250 saves for a 44.3 save percentage and recorded 33 steals. He also assisted on six goals.  He led SCIAC in saves and recorded a season high 21 stops against Biola University.  He is a transfer from Long Beach State and ranked 6th in Save Percentage and had 15 games where he totaled double digit stops.  Head Coach Eric Ploessel is in his 16th season and achieved his 200th Career Victory following the win against Pomona-Pitzer in the SCIAC Tournament Semi-Final.  He has a combined 421 wins leading both the men's and women's programs at Chapman for nearly two decades.        

MIT

The Engineers went 9-16 this season and are making their fifth appearance at the Collegiate National Championships.They have finished in 3rd Place three times and fourth place on another trip. Against the field they are 5-5 (1-0 Chapman | 2-0 Augustana | 2-5 Redlands).  First Year Head Coach Alyssa Diacono took over the program in August and was the first ever Head Coach for the Men's and Women's Water Polo programs at Mount St. Mary's (MD).  She was a 2x Honorable Mention All-American at San Diego State and played professionally overseas at University of Western Austrailia and then Exiles Sports Club in Malta. They average 13.3 GPP and allow 14.4. On powerplays they score 38 percent of the time and allow 40 percent to be converted by their opponents. 45 times they have put a penalty shot in the back of the net and 56 times opponents have done the same.

Adam Ivatorov scored 95 times this season, a team-high. Their primary facilitator is Kieran Kearns who has 67 assists, he also scored 22 times. Rick Lundh joins Kearns as one of their most balanced offensive players with 60 goals and 25 assists.

Kearns leads MIT with 52 steals and 14 field blocks, Lundh has 32 steals and 13 field blocks, William Ewald 30 steals and nine field blocks, Kunal Rajadhyax has 23 steals and seven field blocks, and Ivatorov has 22 steals.

In goal Josh Woren and Armaan Gill split their 992 minutes with each playing 496. Woren made 116 saves for a 41.0% save percentage and Gill saved 98 shots for a 36.0% save percentage.