California Baptist University
Pomona-Pitzer
Lancers Lose Their Mojo
10/6/2012 7:42:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
CLAREMONT, Calif. --- No. 19 California Baptist University men's water polo had a disappointing night at the opener of the 2012 Gary Troyer tournament.
"We hit a couple of bumps in the road tonight," said head coach Rick Rowland. "We had some tough games."
The Lancers saw their eight game winning streak come to a halt after two tough losses to George Washington University and Pomona-Pitzer College.
In the first game, against Pomona-Pitzer, CBU lost by a score of 10-8. This was the Lancers first loss since falling to UC Davis on Sept. 21.
"It was tough to lose such a close one to Pomona," said Rowland. "We were just a little off of our game."
Despite the loss, the Lancers were still able to put up some modest offensive numbers, getting goals from six different players. Matt Puig and Scott Butler scored twice, Chris Vanjoff, Eric Carnohan, Jake Jizmejian and Keith Jizmejian all put one ball in the back of the cage.
The game was decided in the fourth quarter, as Pomona-Pitzer came out and outscored CBU 3-1 to wrap up the two-goal victory.
Game two, against George Washington, was another close match. This time the game was decided in the first quarter, when George Washington outscored CBU 4-2. The Lancers fought back the rest of the game, but still lost 12-11, despite outscoring the Colonials in the fourth quarter.
"We lost a very close game to a much improved George Washington team," said Rowland. "They picked up some good international talent."
This time seven Lancers got in on the scoring, including Scott Gleason who led the team with four goals.
Freshman David Ring also tallied a score against the Colonials, as did Kellan Falconieri.
These contributions were not enough to get CBU over the hump, and the second loss of the night moves their record to 10-6 on the season.
"Austen Ramer has been playing awfully well lately, which has been great. He just had a tough time tonight," said Rowland.
The Lancers are back in the pool tomorrow as they take on Occidental College and No. 10 Long Beach State.
CBU defeated Occidenal 21-9 when the teams last met on Sept. 28. Their game will begin at 10 a.m. at the La Verne Aquatic Center.
The Lancers have not faced No. 10 Long Beach State yet this season, but Rowland looks forward to the challenge, and says that it is a big opportunity.
The Long Beach State 49ers enter the game with a 14-3 record, following two wins on Friday night.
CBU looks to make history by beating the 49ers for the first time in program history, the Lancers are currently 0-6 when facing Long Beach State.
The game will begin at 7:20 p.m. at the Pomona-Pitzer Haldeman Pool.
