Katya Schaefer ’16 scored a miraculous goal on this buzzer-beater from mid-pool at the end of the third quarter to help the Women’s Water Polo team defeat CMS in a pivotal SCIAC match on Saturday.
Claremont, CA (April 22, 2013) This week several Sagehens teams picked up huge wins, as Women’s Tennis knocked off No. 9 Redlands, Women’s Water Polo kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive with a 12-7 win over No. 1 CMS, and Baseball took two of three from Occidental to clinch a SCIAC Tournament bid.
Women’s Water Polo hosted its final home match against CMS realistically needing a win to give itself a chance at defending its SCIAC Championship and returning to the NCAA Tournament. The Athenas came in undefeated in the SCIAC, and a loss would have put the Sagehens three games behind going into the SCIAC Tournament (the conference champion is determined by a combination of regular season results and tournament finish).
However, the Sagehens used a 6-0 run in the second half to break open a close game and take a pivotal 12-7 win, keeping their NCAA hopes alive. Alyssa Woodward ’15 had a pair of first-half goals, and Katya Schaefer ’16 helped break the game open with two goals in the third quarter to make the score 9-6, including a desperation shot from mid-pool as the third-quarter buzzer sounded. Woodward also had four goals and Schaefer added three in a 12-4 win over Chapman on Wednesday.
Women’s Tennis also had a battle for the second seed in the upcoming SCIAC Tournament when it hosted Redlands on Friday. The two teams entered the day tied in the SCIAC at 6-1, with Redlands ranked ninth in the nation and the Sagehens ranked 14th. After taking a 2-1 lead after doubles, Jamie Solomon ’13 picked up a big win at No. 1 singles, defeating nationally-ranked Jessica Ly 6-4, 7-6, taking the tiebreaker 7-3 to win her final home match of her career and help her team clinch a 6-3 victory. The Sagehens will travel to the Ojai Tournament this weekend before the SCIAC Championships on May 3-4 at La Verne. The Men’s Tennis team fell at Redlands 7-2, but Christopher Wiechert ’14 picked up a singles win as he keeps returning to form after a wrist injury slowed him earlier this spring.
Baseball earned a pair of 2-1 wins over Occidental to clinch a spot in the SCIAC Tournament. In the Friday game at home, Erik Munzer ’13 and E.J. Lopez ’15 had back-to-back RBI doubles in the fourth to provide the offense, and Samuel Fox ’15 threw to Jackson Badger ’14 to get the tying run at the plate for the final out of the game. On Saturday, Stuart Gano PI ’13 threw five solid innings to get the win on the mound. The Sagehens baseball team has four regular season games left, but can finish no lower than fourth (the top four teams qualify for the SCIAC Tournament May 3-5).
Women’s Lacrosse capped off its regular season with a 9-7 win at Whittier, setting up an opening round SCIAC Tournament game on Wednesday against CMS. Both regular season meetings with the Athenas saw dramatic endings, as the Sagehens won 11-9 in overtime back in February, and CMS came back for a 7-6 win on Wednesday, scoring the winning goal in the final minute. Sarah Markowitz ’16 led the way against Whittier with four goals, while Jana London ’14 had three against CMS and Aubrey Douglass ’16 had two.
The postseason gets rolling full steam this weekend, as in addition to Women’s Lacrosse and Women’s Water Polo, the Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams will be in the SCIAC Championships at Occidental on Friday and Saturday, and the Men’s and Women’s Golf teams will be in the SCIAC Championships at Oak Valley Country Club from Saturday-Monday in a three-day, 54-hole event.
