SportsWater Polo

Leopards claw to second in tourney

The men's water polo team competed for the SCIAC championship throughout the past weekend at Pomona-Pitzer. Junior Alex La does a defensive block as Redlands' Scott Torosian makes an effort to pass the ball. On Saturday, ULV beat Occidental and Whittier, but lost to Redlands, 9-5, on Sunday. The Leopards placed second overall. / photo by Amelia Tabullo
The men’s water polo team competed for the SCIAC championship throughout the past weekend at Pomona-Pitzer. Junior Alex La does a defensive block as Redlands’ Scott Torosian makes an effort to pass the ball. On Saturday, ULV beat Occidental and Whittier, but lost to Redlands, 9-5, on Sunday. The Leopards placed second overall. / photo by Amelia Tabullo

by Amanda Egan
Staff Writer

Men’s water polo competed in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships last weekend, capturing two wins and one loss.

The team will now advance to Western Water Polo Association championships at Loyola Marymount University today.

La Verne faced conference opponent Occidental in the first round of play last Saturday at Pomona-Pitzer.

The Leopards came out strong and defeated the Tigers, 15-3. Eight players contributed with goals. Jason Kidwell and Owen Barrett each had three apiece.

La Verne goalkeepers, John Steifling and Kidwell, each had eight saves. The win advanced the Leopards to round two, and they were faced against the Whittier Poets for the second match of the day.

The Poets competed respectably against the Leopards, but could not manage to pull out the win, giving the Leopard’s a second victory of 6-4.

Barrett and Sean Smith each had a pair of goals, while Steifling contributed 10 saves.

The two wins advanced La Verne to the championship game on Sunday against conference rival Redlands.

The Bulldogs, however, beat the Leopards, 9-5 and earned the conference title. La Verne finished second in the conference. Smith scored three goals in the championship match, while Steifling contributed with 13 saves. The focus of the team is now on WWPA championships.

“This weekend is going to be tough. We are going to face a lot of division one schools,” assistant coach Mike Miles said. “We hope to put up a good fight.”

Amanda Egan
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Amelia Tabullo
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