Stiff competition from UC programs at Convergence
CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's water polo team went 1-3 over the weekend in the annual Convergence tournament co-hosted by CMS and Pomona-Pitzer. The Athenas bested Concordia from Irvine, CA 8-4 and lost to Whittier (12-8), UC San Diego (15-1) and UC Santa Barbara (19-1).
On Friday, CMS held their opponents to three or less goals in each quarter except one. Against Whittier, sophomore Roxy Kiessling (CMC) scored five goals, the highest of any player in the game. Four of her goals came in the fourth quarter as CMS closed in on Whittier's 11-4 lead from the beginning of the quarter.
Also scoring in the quarter was sophomore Claire Baxter (CMC) for her second goal in the game. Playing most of the minutes of the tournament in goal, sophomore Mariah Mastrodimos (SCR) successfully managed the Athenas' defense for three of the four quarters. Ultimately the Poets' big seven-goal second quarter created too much separation for CMS to recover from.
The Athenas' win on the weekend came against Concordia during which CMS consistently scored throughout the game and had goals from six players. Sophomore Christine Hu (CMC) scored her second goal of the season to give the Athenas the 3-2 advantage in the second quarter. Junior Ellen Perfect (CMC) scored the final goal of the game to seal the 8-4 victory. Kiessling and Baxter each had a two-goal game.
Head coach Greg Lonzo felt that, "we maintained possession better on Friday and we were more successful at finishing when given opportunities."
Turnovers plagued CMS in their Saturday's games against UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara and the Athenas only managed one goal in each game. The contrast of the UC programs' depth with the youth of the CMS team led to the stark score differential.
Next up for CMS (2-8) is SCIAC play as the Athenas open with hosting La Verne (7-2) tomorrow, Wednesday, March 9.
Whittier Box Score | Concordia Box Score | UC San Diego Box Score | UC Santa Barbara Box Score
By Emily Nordhoff
Sports Information Director
Sign up for CMS Email Updates
Become a fan of CMS Athletics on Facebook: AthleticsCMS
Follow CMS Athletics on Twitter: @AthleticsCMS
CMS Athletics on Instagram: cmsathletics
Watch CMS Athletics videos on YouTube: ClaremontMuddScripps
#goathenas #gostags
