WHITTIER, Calif. (Sept. 21, 2024) – The Whittier College men's water polo team made it 2-for-2 against NCAA Division III opponents with wins over Caltech and Austin College over the weekend. The Caltech win is the program's first SCIAC win in nearly a full calendar year, while Austin College has historically been one of the better Division III programs not located in Southern California.
The Poets handled the Beavers 20-6, then put on a defensive clinic against the Kangaroos, 14-3.
Freshman
Ivan Cubelic (Split, Croatia / Solaris) asserted himself as a go-to scoring option for the Poets over the weekend, potting an incredible six goals against Caltech before delivering on three more against Austin. His final goal against the Kangaroos was particularly of note, as he picked the pocket of an Austin College player on the right side and proceeded to take it coast-to-coast to pick up an incredible highlight-reel worthy goal. Cubelic also opened scoring for the Poets against Caltech.
The new-look Poets had their dominance on full display against the Beavers, opening the game on a 17-0 run that saw the Poets take a 13-0 lead into the second half. Even as Caltech began to find its footing offensively late in the game, the Poets demonstrated excellent teamwork, communication and offensive efficiency well ahead of how long this group has been playing together. Six of Cubelic's nine goals came against the Beavers. Meanwhile, freshmen
Zander Montoya (La Verne, Calif. / Damien) and
Marton Thuroczy (Budapest, Hungary / SAS Budapest) had four and three goals apiece to lift the home team. Sophomore
Brody Haney (Tustin, Calif. / Beckman) teed his teammates up beautifully with four assists over the 32-minute game.
As for the Austin College game, the Poets delivered offensively as they did against Caltech, but overcame a sluggish start to give freshman goalkeeper
Loronzo Angolucci (Pescara, Italy / Serie B) plenty of support. Angolucci had a huge game playing all 32 minutes between the pipes, stopping 10 shots while allowing just three goals and securing two steals. While Angolucci's big game would have been more than enough to secure a Whittier victory, the Poets still managed to score 14 goals. Cubelic had three to bring his total for the day to nine to go with an assist, however, freshman
Evan Borunda (Whittier, Calif./ La Serna) logged some meaningful minutes and led the Purple & Gold with four goals. Meanwhile, Montoya maintained a heavy offensive presence with two goals and three assists in a game where his side found themselves in no immediate danger.
Head Coach Preslav Djippov and the Poets will look forward to this weekend where they will again host a home doubleheader, this time against the likes of the University of La Verne and Grossmont College, with the latter game kicking off the annual Whittier College Fall Sports Crawl.
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