CMS Women's Water Polo Splits; Defeats Redlands 11-6, Falls to CSU East Bay 10-4

CMS Women's Water Polo Splits; Defeats Redlands 11-6, Falls to CSU East Bay 10-4

REDLANDS, Calif. - The CMS women's water polo team participated in a one-day tournament at Redlands on Saturday, defeating the host Bulldogs in a non-league match 11-6 before falling to CSU East Bay 10-4 in the nightcap.

The Athenas move to 1-3 on the season with the split, with their first two losses coming against No. 1 USC and No. 24 Cal Baptist on its opening weekend on Jan. 26. 

Chandlyr Denaro, who primarily played goalie last year for the Athenas before moving back into the field this year, had a major impact on the CMS offense in her new role, scoring four times to lead the way for the Athenas against Redlands. Freshman Addi Duvall led the way against CSU East Bay with two goals. 

In the Redlands contest, CMS used a 6-0 run spanning both halves to turn a close 4-3 game into a 10-3 lead before settling for an 11-6 victory. The Athenas trailed 2-1 late in the first quarter, before freshman Maddie Menard scored two straight goals in the final 1:18 to give CMS a 3-2 lead after the first eight minutes. 

Duvall opened the scoring in the second quarter for CMS, before Redlands answered back to close to within 4-3. However, the Athenas would score the last three goals of the second quarter and the first three goals of the third quarter to push the lead to 10-3. 

Sophomore Anna Fry started the run off a Menard feed, before freshman Alex Szymczak found the net twice in the final 1:11 of the half, with her second goal coming with 13 seconds left to make it 7-3. Denaro then started the second half with two straight goals, before junior Aracelia Aldrete capped off the run with 2:27 left in the third. Denaro added her fourth goal in the final quarter to account for the last CMS tally. 

Freshmen Jessica Salaz and Ruth Efe split the match in goal, with Salaz making three saves in the first half to get the win. 

In the nightcap, CMS was held scoreless in the first half as East Bay took a 5-0 lead into intermission. Duvall broke the ice 1:45 into the second half for CMS, but they were unable to close the margin closer than four. Fry and freshman Emily McElroy added goals for the Athenas, while Salaz had seven saves. 

CMS will be back in action on Wednesday for its home opener, entertaining Toronto at 7 p.m. at Axelrood Pool.