REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Men's Water Polo team (18-12) took home the 2024 USA Water Polo Division III Collegiate National Championship Title following another one-goal victory, 14-13, over Chapman University on Saturday afternoon inside the Thompson Aquatic Center (TAC).
It was a really good first quarter for the Panthers, scoring five of the first eight goals and holding a 5-3 lead. The three Bulldog goals came from Spencer Clinton (Cypress, CA) off an Adam Lambert (St. Louis, MO) assist, Ron Gvishi (Kiryat Tivon, Israel), and Callum Norman (Johannesburg, South Africa) on a powerplay off a Nicolas Fedotov (Miami Beach, FL) assist.
The big moment for Redlands came at the end of the first when Roberto Barrera (Guanajuato, Mexico) found Dean Moody (Camarillo, CA) for a fastbreak goal with :17 seconds remaining. That goal was built upon in the second when Max Wagener (Piedmont, CA) tied the game at five with a five-meter penalty followed by Tanner Whitson (St. Louis, MO) giving the U of R the lead with 4:09 to play.
At the end of the first half the Panthers responded with three of the final four tallies taking an 8-7 lead into the break.
The Bulldog defense continued to play well, conceding only one goal in the first seven minutes of the third. That extended their defensive run to only two goals in 10 minutes after allowing eight in the first 14.
During the 5-1 Bulldog surge to begin the third quarter Fedotov scored three times with Whitson and Norman finding the back of the net as well putting the Maroon and Grey on top 12-9, with less than a minute and a half to play.
Chapman, like they did in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Tournament Final, came right back and pulled within one, 13-12, after a 3-1 run across the first five minutes of the fourth.
The decisive, game-winning goal came from Fedotov with 1:03 on the clock after Redlands had just forced a shot clock violation. Norman found Fedotov for the look-off finish to make it a two-goal advantage, 14-12.
Despite that goal, Chapman again found the back of the net quickly, this time on a powerplay after drawing an exclusion with :48 seconds left. Following the goal Bulldog Head Coach Ryan Hall called a timeout and the Bulldogs received a late shot clock look that got blocked. They used a full :30 seconds, giving the Panthers just :17 seconds to try and force extra time. Chapman then took their final timeout to draw up a play to try and tie the game like they did a couple of weeks ago.
With their goalkeeper out of the pool and a field player in to play seven-on-six, CU got a shot that would be saved by Barrera with only a couple of seconds left. The save, though, deflected out of play for a corner.
On the ensuing look Chapman threw it into the middle of the pool where it was knocked away and time expired with the University of Redlands securing their second national championship in the last three seasons.
Fedotov had himself a big afternoon with five goals and two assists offensively and added two draw exclusions and two steals on the other end. Norman, Moody, and Whitson also had multi-goal performances. Clinton found the back of the net once, while he battled inside and drew a pair of exclusions and took possession away once.
In goal Barrera made the game-winning save and finished with eight overall and added two steals and an assist.
Whitson and Fedotov finished the championships with five goals, the third most, Fedotov and Moody each had four assists, the second most, Fedotov had a tournament-high nine points, and Barrera led all keepers with a .516 save percentage and an 8.57 goals allowed average.
The Bulldogs finished the 2024 season above .500 for the third-straight season for the first time since doing so 10 consecutive seasons stretching from 1999-2008 under former Head Coach and Bulldog Hall of Famer Tom Whittemore.
Wagener finishes his career with 147 goals, 10th most in program history, Gvishi finishes with 105 assists (tied for sixth), Clinton drew 138 exclusions (ninth), and Barrera finishes his two years with 400 saves (10th), 61 goalkeeper steals (9th), and 16 keeper assists (sixth).
In single-season history, Wagener moves into third place all-time with 73 goals, Clinton is third with 65 drawn exclusions, and Barrera's 33 steals are ninth most for keepers.
The Bulldogs will now look to replace 16 seniors, including 24 of the 25 goal contributions in this championship game, in 2025.
