![Team huddle during a timeout](/sports/mwaterpolo/2023-24/photos/IMG_3504_rotatoralt.jpg)
CMS Men's Water Polo Hosts SCIAC Semifinal Match with Chapman Friday
CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's water polo team will be the top seed in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament and will open play on Friday night against Chapman at 7 p.m. in the semifinal round.
Tickets for the SCIAC Postseason Tournament are free for SCIAC students, faculty and staff with institutional ID, as well as children under 12. General admission tickets can be purchased in advance through TicketLeap or by paying $10 at the door.
Redlands and Pomona-Pitzer will play in the other SCIAC Semifinal round on Friday at Redlands, with the two winners moving on to Sunday's SCIAC Championship.
The semifinal round on Friday will also act as an automatic bid for nationals, as the two SCIAC finalists will earn bids to the USA Water Polo Division III Championship, which will be held at Augustana College in Illinois on Dec. 2-3.
CMS nearly went through the SCIAC regular season undefeated, but fell in sudden death overtime to Redlands on Saturday in the finale 12-11 to end the year 11-1 and as co-regular season champions with the Bulldogs. The Stags won the first meeting with Redlands 9-8, and CMS earned the tiebreaker for the top seed due to a greater goal differential against the third-place team (Pomona-Pitzer).
The Stags would host the SCIAC Championship on Sunday with a win over Chapman, while also earning its way back to the USA Water Polo Championship, where they finished as the runner-up in 2019 and 2021 in the first two years the tournament was held.