Second place finish in SCIAC

Ginny Traster, Issue 11, Water Polo, Sports - By Ginny Traster on Thursday, November 18, 2010 - 04:48

After defeating teams in both the first round and the semifinals, the men’s water polo team was upset by Claremont Mudd Scripps in the SCIAC Championship on Sunday, Nov. 14, falling 6-4. Although Whittier and Claremont Mudd Scripps were tied 4-4 heading into the final quarter, it was the Stags who came out on top shutting the Poets down while scoring two goals of their own for the win. Junior utility Lincoln Haley led the team with two goals along with junior goalie Chad Evenrud who had 12 saves.

Junior center Wes Paulson scored two goals in overtime for the Poets 9-8 win against No. 2 seed Cal Lutheran in the first round of the SCIAC Tournament on Friday, Nov. 12. Whittier took a quick lead by the end of the first quarter, 4-1 and only widened their lead 6-1 by two goals by the time intermission came around. However, outscoring the Poets 2-0 in the third quarter and 4-1 in the fourth the Kingsmen rallied to a 7-7 tie. Evenrud made a total 19 saves for Whittier.

Outscoring the No. 1 seed Pomona-Pitzer 5-1 in the second half, Whittier came back from a 4-3 deficit at half-time to go onto a 8-5 victory putting them in the Championships the next day. Senior attacker Rilesh Desai led the Poets with 3 goals and two assists followed by sophomore utility Cameron Rehm with 2 goals.
These games concluded SCIAC play for the men’s waterpolo team. They ended the regular season with a 13-18 overall record and a 4-6 conference record. The team will travel to Santa Clara Friday, Nov. 19 for the first round of WWPA Tournament in where they took forth last year.