Alyssa Woodward ’15 racked up seven goals in two matches as the Women’s Water Polo team opened the 2013 season.
Claremont, CA (January 28, 2013) – It may have been a tough week in terms of wins and losses, but several strong performances gave the Sagehens optimism for a promising future.
Highlighting the week was the near-upset that the Women’s Swimming and Diving team pulled off at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The Sagehens have not won a dual with CMS in over 10 years, and were one year removed from being dominated by the Athenas. This year, the meet came right down to the wire, with CMS barely coming away with a 152-146 win.
Dawn Barlow ’16 continued her strong rookie campaign by earning a win in the one-meter diving competition and coming in a close second in the three-meter, while Avery Barron ’15 came in third. Margaret (Mari) Pettibone ’15 had a narrow defeat in the 100-yard breaststroke, falling by just .05 to Michelle Kee, the defending SCIAC Swimmer of the Year, and also came in the second in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Men’s Basketball also had a rough week on paper, falling at CMS 65-58 in the first half of the Sixth Street Rivalry (the rematch at Voelkel Gymnasium is Feb. 13) and then losing at home in overtime to first-place Redlands on Saturday. However, the Sagehens got a lift against Redlands from Joseph Knight ’16, who played in his first game of the season after missing the first 17 games with injury/illness, and provided another post presence (five points and two rebounds in seven minutes) to give the team another weapon coming down the homestretch of the season. James Xavyr Moss ’13 also had a strong effort against Redlands with 15 points.
Women’s Water Polo got its season started as it looks to defend its SCIAC title and to go back to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row and fifth time in the last eight years. The Sagehens started off with tough competition, facing two ranked Division I teams at the UC Santa Barbara Winter Invite, falling 19-7 to No. 17 Cal State Northridge and 15-7 to No. 15 University of California, Santa Barbara. Alyssa Woodward ’15 had a big weekend with seven goals in the two matches, and Katya (Katy) Schaefer ’16 had a pair of goals against Northridge in her college debut.
Another spring sport gets underway this weekend, as the Softball team opens at home against Vanguard on Saturday at noon. The Sagehens are coming off a school-record 22-win season and have a talented nucleus returning, led by outfielders Ashley Morello ’15 and Shannon Julius ’14. The Baseball team, meanwhile, will host its annual Alumni Day game on Saturday at 1 pm, before opening the season next weekend.
