Men's Water Polo Falls to Hopkins, Tops Wheaton

ERIE, Pa. - The Austin College men's water polo team split its final two games of the season's first MPSF East regional, falling 25-11 to Johns Hopkins before bouncing back with a dominant 26-9 victory over Wheaton. The 'Roos are now 4-7 overall and 2-2 in conference play.

Johns Hopkins jumped on top of the 'Roos early, taking a 7-2 lead afer the opening quarter and expanding that margin to 15-5 at the half. The third quarter was even with both teams tallying three times to head into the fourth with JHU leading 18-8, but Hopkins put seven more shots into the cage in the fourth to make it a 25-11 final. 

Preston Fiala had a big game for Austin College, scoring four goals on five shot attempts, while Sebastian Scheier, Aidan Wade, and Owen Altermatt each found the back of the net twice. Greyson Gaworecki rounded out the scoring with a goal in the loss.

In the team's second game of the day against Wheaton, Austin College raced ahead to a big first quarter lead, pouring in eight goals in the game's first eight minutes to make it 8-2. The 'Roos were even more dominant in the second quarter, outscoring Wheaton 8-1 in the frame to take a 16-3 lead into the half. Austin College scored six more goals in the third to make it 22-7, and the 'Roos tallied four more times in the fourth to make it a 26-9 win.

Jack Stack was on fire in the game, scoring on all five of his shot attempts, while Scheier scored five more goals himself on seven shots. Wade, Altermatt, and Gaworecki were all three for three on shot attempts, and Fiala and Joshua Nelms chipped in two goals apiece. Carlos Camarena, Victor Buscemi, and Leeworthy each added a goal for Austin College in the big victory.