CMS Men's Water Polo Opens With Wins Over Ottawa, Johns Hopkins

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's water polo team opened up the 2023 season with a pair of wins, defeating Ottawa (Ariz.) 18-12 and adding a statement 20-8 win over Division III rival Johns Hopkins, at the Rare Air Challenge hosted by Air Force on Saturday.

CMS had remarkable balance on the day, as no player had more than two goals in the 18-12 win over Ottawa, with 13 different Stags finding the net. Cristian Pang was the only player to end with a hat trick against Johns Hopkins, meanwhile, as 12 different players found the net. 

The Johns Hopkins game was tied 2-2 before CMS rattled off six goals in a row. Nick Kennedy gave CMS the lead for good with 3:49 left in the first quarter, and Jeffrey Koretz, Len Korol, Hassen Hove, and Gavin Nehterton closed out the first quarter with tallies to give CMS a 7-2 lead. 

Auggie Aliaga opened up the second quarter with a goal to put the Stags up 8-2, with eight different scorers after Luke (Bear) Weigle and Pang had the first two goals of the day. After Johns Hopkins broke the 7-0 run, Korol became the first two-goal scorer, with Aliaga and Kyle Ballack closing out the half to give CMS an 11-3 lead at the break. 

Kennedy, Hove, Weigle, Aliaga, Korol and William Thomas all finished with two goals, while Ashwin Rhodes and Gavin Rosser had tallies as well. 

In the Ottawa game, Rosser, Weigle, Kennedy, Ballack and Stryker Scales all had two goals, while Thomas, Aliaga, Korol, Netherton, Pang, Koretz, Hove and Donovan Davidson each had one. A total of 15 players accounted for the 38 CMS goals, with Pang, Weigle and Kennedy leading with four goals apiece. 

CMS will be back in action on Saturday and Sunday when it hosts the Inland Empire Classic at Axelrood Pool.