CLAREMONT, Calif. - On Friday and Saturday the Cal Lutheran women's water polo team played four games at the 16-team Claremont Convergence Tournament hosted between the the Axelrood and Haldeman pools on the campuses of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer, respectively. CLU went 3-1 with wins over conference foe Chapman, Division II Concordia and Division I St. Francis.
CLU def. CU 10-6 - box score unavailable
The weekend opened with a familiar foe in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Chapman. The Regals defeated the Panthers behind a two goals apiece from Kristi McGee and Nicole Roed and a trio of assists from both Amanda Jones and Lauren Shackelford. Jones and McGee each earned two drawn ejections as well. Defensively, Gina Merry recorded nine saves, five different players finished with two steals apiece including Jones, McGee, Roed, Tatiana McCuaig and Megan Seeman. Additionally, Roed and Logan Young each earned a field block.
CLU def. CONCORDIA 15-9- box score unavailable
Friday evening, CLU stormed past Concordia with a 3-1 first quarter lead and a five goal second stanza for an 8-5 halftime advantage. A solid defensive showing in the fourth helped shut down the Eagles and secure the win. Six different players scored twice apiece including Jones, Roed, McGee, Cindy Delic, Mardell Ramirez and Morgan Towner. Jones dished out three more assists and McCuaig matched that to share the team-lead. KC Brendel paced the group with three drawn ejections. Young tallied another field block and Merry turned away 12 shots while earning four steals to lead the way. Seeman added three steals in the victory.
CLU def. ST. FRANCIS 13-9- box score unavailable
Saturday morning started with the second win over STF in as many meetings. Cal Lutheran built a 5-3 lead in the first frame and never looked back. Jones and Ramirez each scored a hat-trick and Roed added two more. Jones handed out five assists and Sam Wulfestieg drew four ejections. Roed recorded a field block with Merry totaling five saves, two steals and an assist against the Terriers.
SONOMA STATE def. CLU 11-7- box score unavailable
The final game of the weekend was the toughest, facing the Division II Seawolves. An even first quarter turned in favor of Sonoma in the second as the Northern California squad took a 5-3 lead at the break and edged out the Regals in the final half of action. McCuaig scored three of the seven goals and Jones and Wulfestieg each supplied a pair of assists. McGee worked for three drawn ejections. Merry recorded 12 more saves and Young had three steals for the Violet and Gold.
Notables: This was the final tournament of the season for the Regals. CLU has won four of its last five games.
Up Next: Cal Lutheran (7-11) will be back at the Samuelson Aquatics Center on Tuesday, March 15 for two games, against Bucknell (Pa.) and Macalester (Minn.) at 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., respectively, for the final non-conference games of the spring.
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