Stags garner second place finish at SCIAC Championships

ORANGE, Calif. – Two wins in three days at the SCIAC Men's Water Polo Championships earned the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's water polo team a second place finish. CMS defeated La Verne and Redlands over the first two days of the Championships, before losing 10-9 to Whittier in the SCIAC championship match in sudden death overtime on Sunday, Nov. 24 at the Allred Aquatics Center. The loss dropped CMS to 16-11, the team's most wins since 2011.

Whittier led by as many as three scores, at 7-4 with 43 seconds left in the third quarter and at 8-5 with 5:05 left in the fourth. CMS scored three goals in the final 3:18 to tie the game and send it into overtime with the final goal scored by senior attacker John Holland with one second remaining in regulation.

CMS took its first lead since the second quarter on a goal by senior Maarten Lefor with 1:41 left in the first overtime to give CMS a 9-8 lead. With 53 seconds remaining in first overtime, Whittier's Marko Zuric scored to tie the match.  Neither team scored in the second overtime and the match went into sudden-death overtime where Wedge Molthen scored the game-winner for Whittier.

CMS led 4-3 at halftime, but the third quarter proved to be a decisive quarter in the match as Whittier outscored CMS 4-0.

Holland had four scores to lead CMS. Junior goalie James Kelly has 14 saves for CMS.