Lancers Take Timeout for Seniors in Win

Saturday, November 12

Riverside, Calif.

12:00 PM

California Baptist University

Concordia

Photo by: Jacob Gonzalez

Lancers Take Timeout for Seniors in Win

11/12/2016 2:47:00 PM | Men's Water Polo

By: Andrew Shortall, Asst. Sports Information Director

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Ironically enough, the highlight of Senior Day between California Baptist University and Concordia came during a timeout on Saturday afternoon.

Up 12 with four minutes to play, Coach Kevin Rosa took an opportunity to take out his four seniors: utility Elad Gunya, attacker Teddy Forte, driver Brent Teraoka and goalie Joseph Moorman, which allowed the packed stands at the Lancer Aquatics Center to give them a standing ovation on their Senior Day.

"I'm a big believer in that," Rosa said. "It's a chance for them to be honored by the team and the crowd, and a chance for their parents to see that.

"It's a pretty solid core of seniors. It was great to honor them, have a good experience and give them a good sendoff."

CBU capped off its regular season with a 17-6 win over Concordia, which is on track to become a fully-fledged WWPA member next year. The Lancers extend their NCAA-era record for wins in a season to 21, as they are 21-9 at the end of the regular season and the Eagles are 4-15. All four seniors put on an impressive display in the game. Forte tallied two assists and Gunya scored four goals and added an assist and two steals. Teraoka also scored four goals, chipped in two assists and a steal, while Moorman made 16 saves and forced two turnovers.

The quartet of seniors all came out on the pool deck together once CBU called its last timeout with 4:08 remaining. They waved to the fans in attendance and then huddled together to bask in the moment as the reality of what was happening set in on them.

"I didn't expect that to happen. It was the greatest feeling every athlete wants to feel," Teraoka said. "Senior Day was honestly the most surreal thing I've ever done. It didn't feel like it was happening until that standing ovation. It was so much fun, I immediately focused on all the great times I've had at CBU."

With all the emotion, the Lancers got out to a bit of a slow start but more than made up for it down the stretch. Gunya kept his team in the game in the first quarter, as he notched his hat trick in the first eight minutes to give CBU a 4-2 lead heading into the second.

"We were just doing a good job of getting up on the counter," Gunya said of his early goals. "This was a great experience, I felt all the emotions possible – happy, sad – all at once."

The 15^th-ranked Lancers went on a 5-0 run in the second frame to take a 9-2 advantage by halftime. Jonathan Lotero (four goals) scored twice in that run, while Teraoka, Caleb Rogers and Ryan Sargis (two goals, two steals) also added to the charge. Tanner Shore added to the onslaught with three assists, three steals and two drawn ejections.

Overall, the Lancers scored eight-straight goals from late in the first period to early in the third. Concordia broke that run with a goal, but another 5-0 charge over a five-minute span put CBU up 15-3 with 6:26 to play and allowed Rosa to call that timeout to recognize his seniors.

"I was holding back some tears, it was one of those moments where it hit me that it's over here at CBU," said Moorman, who had 10 of his saves in the first half. "Then, I switched over my focus to next week and Santa Clara."

With the regular season complete, the Lancers take on the WWPA Championships next where they have earned the fourth seed. They will take on fifth-seeded and tournament host Santa Clara Friday at 2 p.m. CBU defeated the Broncos 13-8 back in Riverside on Oct. 28^th.

"The mindset and focus is all on Santa Clara, we obviously want to win that game and move on," Rosa said. "We know we have to work hard and improve and get better to hit our peak. We are feeling good, so we just have to put it all together."

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