Whittier College Men's Water Polo finished their season with a strong showing at the 2008 SCIAC Championships hosted by Cal Lutheran on November 14-16.  The Poets entered as the sixth seed and finished fourth in the tournament.  They wrapped up the season fifth in the overall standings.

In the opening game of the tournament, the Poets took on #3 seed Occidental College.  In a defensive battle, the Poets went up 1-0 at the end of the first quarter on a goal from senior captain Chris Villanueva.  The Poets would go up 2-0 in the second quarter on a Cameron Lew '12 goal.  That was the only offense for either team as Whittier held a two-goal advantage at halftime.

In the second half, the Poets extended their lead to 4-0 midway through the third quarter.  Whittier goalie Casey Regehr '12 made nine saves through the first three quarters of action. 

Occidental made their comeback attempt, finally getting on the scoreboard with six seconds left in the third.  Midway through the fourth quarter, they scored two goals within a minute to cut the Poet lead to 4-3.  Regehr and the defense held strong for the remainder of the game, and the Poets finished the upset with the final score 4-3.

Villanueva led the offense with two goals, both five-meter strikes.  Lew finished with a goal and an assist.  Wes Paulson '12 was credited with the Poets' other goal.  Regehr began what would be a terrific weekend with 11 saves.

The Poets took on #2 Pomona-Pitzer in round two.  During the regular season, Whittier battled closely with the Sagehens, ultimately losing 11-8.  Their semifinal matchup on November 15 was also a highly competitive encounter. 

The Sagehens scored the lone goal of the first quarter two minutes into the contest.  The Poets found their answer at the start of the second stanza with a goal from Paulson with 7:38 remaining in the half.  In the final four minutes of the half, the teams traded goals until the halftime whistle blew with the score tied at three. 

The Poets took their first lead of the game at the 3:29 mark of the third quarter, when Lew found the back of the net.  Pomona responded with two goals in the final three minutes of the quarter to take a 5-4 lead.  They scored their third unanswered goal just 16 seconds into the fourth quarter to extend the lead to two goals.  Lincoln Haley '12 pulled the Poets within one goal halfway through the final frame.  The Poets fought for the equalizer for the remaining four minutes, but to no avail.  Pomona added an insurance goal with 32 seconds left to take the 7-5 victory.

Regehr was a major reason the game was so close, as he was credited with 16 saves in the match.  Haley, Lew and Alex Hernandez '12 each finished with a goal and an assist.  Paulson and Tyler Aisner '12 also scored goals for the Poets, while Will Jackson '11 had a pair of assists.

The Poets went on to the third place game, where they squared off with NCAA Division III and SCIAC #1 Redlands, who lost to Cal Lutheran in the other semifinal game.  After giving up the first two goals to the Bulldogs, the Poets got on the board late in the opening quarter with a goal from Chris Hartman '12.  Redlands extended their lead to two goals early in the second quarter, but once again the Poets pulled within one this time on a Lincoln Haley goal.  Redlands tacked on one more before halftime to take a 4-2 lead at the break.

The third quarter was the difference in the game for the Poets.  After scoring in the opening minute, the Poet offense was unable to respond to a five-goal run by Redlands that extended into the fourth quarter.  With the score 9-3, the Poets scored twice more, but wouldn't get any closer.  The Bulldogs added two more goals to take the 11-5 win.

Once again, Regehr was stellar between the pipes, making 17 saves against one of the nation's most potent offenses.  Offensively for the Poets, Haley led the way with two goals and an assist.  Villanueva, Paulson and Hartman each had a goal while Jackson, Lew and Hernandez were credited with assists.

Pomona went on to win the tournament for the second straight season.  They also captured the overall title with 14 points.  Redlands was second overall with 13 points and the Poets finished tied for fifth with Claremont at 7 points.