Top-Ranked CMS Men's Water Polo Cruises Past Chapman 16-5 in SCIAC Opener

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's water polo team, which moved into the top spot in the NCAA Division III rankings earlier in the day, opened SCIAC play with a convincing 16-5 win over Chapman on Wednesday evening.

With the win, CMS moves to 8-4 on the year, with all four losses coming against teams ranked in the top 12 in the Division I poll. Chapman, which is ranked No. 5 in Division III, falls to 6-4 on the year with the loss. 

Auggie Aliaga had four goals, and five other players had two-goal games for the Stags, with Kyle Ballack, Gavin Rosser, Luke (Bear) Weigle, Cristian Pang and Nick Kennedy each scoring twice. Senior goalie Aidan Nettekoven, the reigning SCIAC Defensive Player of the Week, had 13 saves, going the distance and allowing just five goals for a .722 save percentage.  

CMS never trailed, jumping out to a 4-0 lead before the Panthers finally scored with 29 seconds left in the first quarter. Four different players scored for CMS in the opening frame, with Ballack, Rosser, Kennedy and Aliaga finding the net. After the Panthers broke the ice, Weigle beat the clock at the end of the first quarter to become the fifth Stag to score in the opening eight minutes. 

Pang made it 6-1 CMS, as the sixth different goal scorer, to start the second quarter, before Kennedy became the first Stag to score twice to answer a Chapman goal and make it 7-2. Aliaga added his second, and Hassen Hove scored before intermission to give CMS a 9-4 lead heading into the break. 

Aliaga scored twice more after halftime, while William Thomas added one to become the eighth Stag to find the net on the evening. Rosser and Donovan Davidson each led CMS with two steals. 

CMS will be back in action this weekend for the Gary Troyer Invitational, hosting four matches on Friday and Saturday. The Stags will open against Pacific, ranked No. 10 in the Division I poll, on Friday at 1:40 before facing Wagner at 5:40. On Saturday. CMS will face Westcliff at 10:20 in its first game of the day (a late schedule change from the original tournament schedule), and will close out against No. 4 Pepperdine on Saturday at 3:40.