Photo: Tony Leon/D3WestPhotography

CLAREMONT, Calif. (Apr. 23, 2022) – It may have taken four meetings this season, but the third-seeded Whittier College women's water polo team finally beat second-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, and did so on the most important stage: The SCIAC Postseason Tournament Semifinals.

A complete performance from all involved allowed the Poets to start fast and power through the Athenas, 9-5, earning the largest margin of victory in the two teams' quadrilogy this season. Whittier's start to the game drew upon similar feelings as to the last time the team played the Athenas at Axelrood Pool. The Poets took a two-goal lead into the second quarter back in March, and Saturday's game proved to be no different, with early goals from seniors Amelia Bennett (Calgary, Alberta, Canada / Riverside City College) and Emily Flores (Newbury Park, Calif. / Newbury Park) staking the visitors to a first-quarter advantage. Saturday's game differed in that the Poets were able to find their defensive rhythm quicker and maintain it long enough to create considerable distance between the two teams. Freshman goalie Alexys Puche (Whittier, Calif. / Rosary), who held her own in net for the entire game, made a pair of key stops during the first eight minutes that helped serve to cast doubt in the minds of the home team.

Though the Athenas would eventually break through in the second period, the Purple & Gold showed substantial improvement on the penalty kill, limiting the Athenas to just two goals on 12 powerplay attempts compared to five on Wednesday night. The Poets, meanwhile, scored twice on the powerplay themselves on four fewer attempts. Both of those goals came in the second quarter courtesy of Flores along with senior Bryanna Santis (Commerce, Calif. / Fullerton College), who were later joined by Bennett as Poets with multiple goals on Saturday afternoon. All three players also registered an assist, as the Poets moved the ball with poise and precision throughout and picked up assists on seven out of nine goals. Though they only had a collective two steals as a team by game's end, the Poets were as effective as ever this season at taking away shooting lanes for CMS, with the Athenas shooting a meager 5-for-22 on the game.

Additional scoring from senior Natasha Velez (La Habra, Calif. / Cypress College), senior Teresa Marchetti (Messina, Italy / Liceo La Farina) and junior Grace Arnsparger (Long Beach, Calif. / Long Beach Millikan) allowed the Poets to cruise to a four-goal win, bringing an end to what became a four-game series with the Athenas. They will now turn their attention to top-seeded Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, also the top-ranked Division III team in the nation. The Sagehens are yet to lose to a Division III opponent this season and are riding an 18-game winning streak against SCIAC teams, however the Poets came closest to upending them season earlier this month at the Slade Aquatics Center. The Poets fell to the Sagehens 7-6, but will come into Sunday's game with the confidence of knowing they can reverse their fortunes and have sealed their fate in the upcoming Division III Tournament as well. This year will be the inaugural Division III Women's Water Polo Tournament since the new format was established prior to the COVID-19-shortended 2020 season. The field will feature the SCIAC Postseason Tournament champion, runner-up, and top two at-large teams in the ACWPC Polls. 

Sunday's championship game will be hosted at Haldemann Pool on the campus of Pomona-Pitzer at 11 a.m. Tickets can be found at this link.

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