Men’s polo tips Oxy during weekend bonanza

Joseph Marlitt, Kevin Sun, Men's Water Polo, Occidental, Sports - By Joseph Marlitt on Thursday, September 15, 2011 - 01:56

The Poet’s men’s water polo team started Sunday, Sept. 11 in poor spirits with an 11-4 loss to No. 9 ranked Long Beach State, but ended with a win over bitter rivals Occidental 9-7.
The Whittier College men’s water polo team kept competitive with some Division-I teams, as they traveled to Redlands and La Verne to compete in the weekend long Inland Empire Classic that showcases a variety of teams from different levels. The Poets ended the weekend with a 2-3 record with wins against Occidental and Caltech and losses against Concordia, Long Beach State and UC Davis.

The Poets rallied against Occidental after being shut out during the first half of the game, scoring 9 goals in the second half. The Poets benefited from 2 goal performances from first-year attacker Carlos Panfilo, sophomore attacker Erick Gonzalez and senior center Wes Paulson.
The Poets sputtered the first half, challenging the Occidental goalkeeper only four times. But a flurry out of the gate during the second half saw 5 straight goals for the Poets. A four goal fourth quarter and some stellar goalkeeping from sophomore goalie Ryan Brunansky saw the Poets hold on for a 9-7 victory.

The Poets lost their first match against No. 11 ranked UC Davis after coming out strong in the first half. The Poets came out with a purpose in the first quarter scoring four times against the Division-I school, but the Aggies flexed their muscles in the second half and the game ended 15-7 in favor of UC Davis.

A dominating 21-5 win against Caltech could not be continued in their third and final match of the day, as the Poets fell in their final match 17-5 to No. 13 ranked Concordia.

Whittier’s schedule doesn’t get any easier as they visit No. 9 ranked UC San Diego Friday, Sept. 16 at 10 a.m. The Tritons are 5-1 so far this season with their only loss coming against No. 8 ranked Loyola Marymount.