'Roos Take One of Two on Day One of MPSF Championships

PALO ALTO, Calif. - The Austin College men's water polo earned a 21-6 opening round victory over Wheaton College at the MPSF Championships on Friday morning, before falling 24-5 to the USC Trojans in the second round of competition. The 'Roos are now 8-9 overall this year, and will face off against Augustana on Saturday.

The 'Roos, who entered the tournament as the No. 7 seed, took on No. 10-seeded Wheaton in the opening round of competition and raced out to a 6-2 lead after the first quarter. The second frame was more closely contested with Wheaton tallying three times while Austin College put four shots in the back of the cage, making it 10-5 at halftime. A dominant third quarter for Austin College saw the 'Roos outscore Wheaton 5-0 to begin pulling away, and the second half momentum continued into the fourth, as the 'Roos outpaced Wheaton 6-1 in the frame to make it a 21-6 final.

It was a big morning in the pool for Carlos Camarena and Sebastian Scheier, who each scored four times in the win, while Owen Altermatt tallied three times. Preston Fiala and Aidan Wade each scored twice, while Greyson Gaworecki, Caleb Maddox, Matthew Leeworthy, Hudson Seavers-Reale, Joshua Nelms, and Nic Ruggiero all scored once. Gaworecki added four assists and Nelms had three, and Jack Stack had four steals. Jordan Pomier had five steals and four saves in goal for Austin College.

Austin College advanced to take on Division I power USC in the next round of action, trailing 8-1 after the first quarter and 13-2 at halftime, with the Trojans pushing the margin to 18-3 heading into the fourth. Austin College scored twice in the final quarter, while USC pumped six more goals into the net to make it a 24-5 final score. Five different players tallied for Austin College, including Scheier, Altermatt, Camarena, Leeworthy, and Wade, and Scheier added a pair of steals. Pomier and Maddox split time in goal, with Pomier making four saves while Maddox had three in the loss.

The 'Roos will now take on Augustana on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. PST.