CMS Women's Water Polo Extends Postseason Journey with SCIAC Semifinal Win over Chapman

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The second-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's water polo team clinched both a spot in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament finals and a bid to the USA Water Polo Division III Championship with a 22-5 win over Chapman in the SCIAC semifinals on Friday evening at Axelrood Pool.

With the win, CMS improves to 19-9 and will advance to play Pomona-Pitzer on Sunday at 11 a.m. in the SCIAC Championship game, with the winner of that contest earning the right to host next weekend's USA Water Polo Championship. 

Cooper McKenna led a balanced CMS attack with four goals, while Grace Clark had a team-high six points on three goals and three assists. Valerie Wraith had a hat trick and added an assist, while Olivia Cairns, Mia Adsen, Isabel Del Villar and Lily Pashman all had two goals and an assist and Dara Schoolcraft had a goal and three assists. 

Chapman was within 6-3 early in the second quarter after the third goal from Alyssa Fricker, but CMS then broke it open with the next five goals to pull ahead 11-3. McKenna had two goals in the run, sandwiched around a goal from Power, and Del Villar and Adsen capped off the run with 1:22 left in the half. 

Fricker scored her fourth to make it 13-5 early in the second half, but CMS closed out with a 9-0 run to end the game with a 22-5 lead, as Cassandra Ruedy, Pashman, Schoolcraft and Caitlin Muñoz joined the goal-scoring column.

CMS will face Pomona-Pitzer for the third time this season in the SCIAC Championship on Sunday, after falling in overtime 12-9 in the first meeting in March, after leading 9-7 in the fourth quarter, and then dropping the rematch at Pomona-Pitzer last week 12-5. A year ago, the Sagehens won the Division III title over CMS in overtime 14-13 after McKenna tied it in the closing seconds of regulation.