Men's Water Polo Takes Third at Eastern Championships

NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Austin College men's water polo team earned third place at the Eastern Championships over the weekend, defeating Penn State-Behrend 20-6 before falling to Johns Hopkins in the semifinals, wrapping up the weekend with a win over Washington & Jefferson in the third place game.

After a tightly contested opening quarter against PSB in which Austin College took a 3-2 lead, the 'Roos exploded for eight unanswered goals in the second quarter to go into halftime leading 11-2. The teams were even at four goals apiece in the third to make it 15-6 heading into the final quarter, but Austin College scored the final five goals of the game to make it a 20-6 decision. Max Wade scored five goals to lead Austin College and Robert Griffin added four, while Nik Koelzer and Andrew Pope each chipped in a pair of tallies.

The 'Roos fell behind 3-1 after the first quarter against Johns Hopkins and trailed 9-6 at halftime, but a big third quarter for JHU made it 15-8 heading into the final frame. Johns Hopkins would keep the 'Roos scoreless in the fourth as they surged ahead 18-8 when things went final. Will Koelzer scored twice to lead Austin College, with Nik Koelzer, Pope, Griffin, Wade, Cade Griffith, and Tobias Ward each finding the net once in defeat. 

Austin College wrapped up the weekend with a 14-8 win over Washington & Jefferson, with Wade had scoring four goals in the win. The 'Roos came from behind after the opening quarter to take control over the final three frames, having trailed 4-2 heading into the second but quickly grabbing the lead and never looking back. Wade was named first team All-Tournament for his efforts, while Nik Koelzer was a second team All-Tournament selection.