CMS Men's Water Polo Heads to Whittier for Inaugural Division III Championship Saturday and Sunday
Live Video
Live Stats
CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's water polo team, which came up just short in its bid for a SCIAC title with a 13-12 loss to top-seeded Whittier in the finals, will continue on with its season this weekend when it faces Johns Hopkins on Saturday in the semifinal round of the inaugural USA Water Polo Division III Championship, which Whittier earned the right to host with its SCIAC title.
Whittier and MIT will face each other in the first semifinal at 4:30 p.m. at Whittier's Slade Aquatics Center, which will be followed by the second meeting this season between CMS and Johns Hopkins at 6:30 p.m., after the Blue Jays edged the Stags 9-8 on Oct. 4 at the Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament. The two semifinal winners will meet for the first-ever Division III Championship on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. (following the third-place match at 10:30 a.m.).
The bid to nationals for the Stags came down to the semifinal round of the SCIAC Tournament, when CMS trailed 9-4 at the half to Pomona-Pitzer, but came all the way back to win 12-11 on a goal from senior Ethan Lewis in the final minute, taking the bid away from the Sagehens with their second-half rally. The Stags advanced to the SCIAC finals at Whittier, but came up a goal short 13-12, as the Poets built a three-goal lead in the second half and held on down the stretch.
The debut of the USA Water Polo Division III Championship will continue the careers of Lewis and fellow seniors Zack Rossman and Harrison Miller. It is an especially rewarding second chance for Lewis, who was limited to less than a quarter's worth of playing time due to three exclusions in the SCIAC finals and didn't get the chance to duplicate his late heroics from the Pomona-Pitzer semifinal. Sophomore Will Clark is among the underclassmen who are thrilled to see the Class of 2020 extend their collegiate playing careers a little longer.
"We're really excited," said Clark. "We're so glad that they get an extra two weeks of season. They're such great leaders on our team, and we have so much fun in the pool and out of the pool with them, so we're really glad our season got to be extended longer and we get to play with them longer."
Clark comes into the USA Water Polo Championships as the leading scorer for the Stags with 95 points on 44 goals and 51 assists, giving him a chance to earn a 100-point season with a strong showing this weekend. Lewis is the top goal-scorer for CMS with 49, while Rossman has added 34 goals and 28 assists. Junior Christian Thornton has come on strong in the second half of the season and has added 35 goals and 12 assists to rank fourth on the team in points.
CMS (17-11 overall) also boasts great depth as eight other players have reached double figures in points. Junior Nick Britt (23 goals, 20 assists, 43 points) is close behind Thornton in fifth place on the team in scoring, while first-year Kyle Ballack (14-21-35), sophomore Eric Warmoth (11-17-28), junior CJ Box (19-2-21) and junior Koss Klobucher (9-12-21) are all over 20 points as well. Sophomore Sam Harrison (14-5-19) needs one point to join the 20-point club, while first-year Ben Weldon (7-9-16) and sophomore Andrew Wraith (7-6-13) are also regular members of the CMS rotation.
In goal, sophomore Noah Smith has had a standout season as a second-team All-SCIAC selection, tallying a 9.31 goals against average and a .503 save percentage. Sophomore Matt Tran has missed substantial time with an injury this year, but split time with Smith last season and would be ready if needed.
CMS and Johns Hopkins played a tight contest in early October with the Blue Jays eventually prevailing 9-8 in a game where neither team ever had more than a one-goal lead. Clark and Rossman each had two goals for the Stags, while Finn Banks had three for Johns Hopkins and Nico Ivanov scored the game-winner for the Blue Jays with 1:12 left.
Banks comes into the weekend as the leading scorer for the Blue Jays with 67 goals and 66 assists for 133 points, while Jayden Kunwar is the top goal-scorer with 84. Max Fleming has played every minute in goal for Johns Hopkins (10-19) and has a .308 save percentage and a 15.24 goals against average, while playing in a league mostly comprised of Division I programs.
If CMS and Whittier face each other in the championship match or the third-place match on Sunday, it will be the fourth meeting between the two teams this season, with the home team winning each time. The Poets came back from a three-goal second-half deficit to win the first meeting 12-9, while CMS won the rematch in its home pool 10-9, before the Poets won the SCIAC finals 13-12.
Clark feels that even though the Stags finished as the runner-up, the team still heads into this weekend on a high note and is excited for the chance to play again.
"i think we'll still be able to carry some of the momentum from the Pomona game into national championship weekend," said Clark. "and it's exciting to be a part of the first national championship tournament for DIII."
And for the seniors, who get to be a part of the inaugural tournament in their final seasons, the goal is simple.
"We'd love to have a trophy up in the athletic office and leave a legacy here," said Rossman.