CLAREMONT, Calif. (Oct. 5, 2024) – The Whittier College men's water polo team, keyed by big games from several individuals over the weekend, pulled off three wins at this year's Gary Troyer Tournament, hosted by Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. The wins added up to a five-win week for the Poets, who now sit 11-2 on the year with the highest winning percentage in the SCIAC to date.
Friday Game 1: Whittier 13, Augustana 10
Whittier took on one of the top Division III programs not located in Southern California in the first game of the Tournament on Friday. Whittier had actually fallen behind at 4-3 in the second half, but picked things up with a monstrous third quarter where they outscored Augustana, 4-0, and took a stranglehold of the game. Two of those goals came on the powerplay courtesy of sophomore
Brody Haney (Tustin, Calif. / Beckman / Mt. Saint Mary's University), who came up big for the Poets all week long with big plays the games prior to and during the Troyer Tournament. This time, he contributed heavily to Whittier's most important eight minutes of the game.
From there, the Poets were able to hold off the Vikings over the final eight. Four different Poets picked up at least two goals, while freshman
Loronzo Angelucci (Pescara, Italy / Serie B) had another nice game in net with nine saves.
Friday Game 2: No. 10 Long Beach State 29, Whittier 10
In the late game on Friday, Whittier got to see a different level in the form of 10th-ranked Long Beach State. The Poets did, however, manage to hit double-digit goals against the Beach, three of which came in the final period. Freshman center
Marton Thuroczy (Budapest, Hungary / SAS Budapest) led with a hat trick and two drawn exclusions, having converted on three of five shots.
Saturday Game 1: Whittier 13, Connecticut College 11
In a very similar game to the one they played against Augustana just 24 hours prior, the Poets turned in a near-repeat performance against the Camels, another tough out-of-SCIAC Division III foe. This time, the Poets started fast with four goals in the game's first six minutes while holding Connecticut scoreless. However, it took a powerplay goal from freshman
Zander Montoya (La Verne, Calif. / Damien) in the second quarter to break up a great counter run from the Camels and help the Poets re-establish dominance.
The game was a game of a runs, to be sure. The two teams entered the second half in a 7-7 stalemate, which would eventually be broken up by another four-goal Whittier run keyed by two goals from Haney. The sophomore finished the game with three goals and one assist, matching an impressive line shared by freshman
Ethan Klerck (Cape Town, South Africa / South African First Division). Additionally, five different players had multiple goals, while the six assists represented a tournament best for the Poets through three games. Senior goalkeeper
Kenshiro Matsuzawa (Chiba, Japan / Yachiyo / St. Francis Brooklyn) came up big with eight saves over the full 32 minutes of action.
Saturday Game 2: Whittier 18, Penn State-Behrend 7
Whittier handled PSU Behrend in the final game of the weekend and the sixth in three days for the Poets. Thuroczy opened scoring for the Purple & Gold and after a quick answer from the Lions, Whittier went on to score nine of the next 10. All nine goals came at even strength with Klerck, along with freshman
Evan Borunda (Whittier, Calif. / La Serna) the particularly dominant players over this stretch.
This time, the Poets assisted on 15 of 18 goals and showed how lethal they can be if given a chance to run their offensive sets in space. Montoya, Klerck, Borunda, and freshman
Noah Bigara (Cape Town, South Africa / Pinnacle Schools) all hit the three-goal mark, while freshman
Zander Huynh (Irvine, Calif. / Beckman) logged five assists, the highest single-game total for any Poet this year. Meanwhile, Matsuzawa dominated in net with 15 saves.
Head Coach
Preslav Djippov and the Poets will look to continue their ascent on Wednesday, Oct. 9 when they travel to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges for a 7 p.m. game. The Stags have received votes at the national level this year, and could serve as a sign of things to come in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament next month.
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