Whitstone Leads Lancers Past Pacific in WCC Tournament Semifinals

Saturday, November 23

Stockton, CA (University of the Pacific)

1:00 PM

California Baptist University

One Seeded University of the Pacific

California Baptist

Pacific

Photo by: Ella DuPree

Whitstone Leads Lancers Past Pacific in WCC Tournament Semifinals

11/23/2024 3:00:00 PM | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

By: Mariah Rodriguez, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications and Digital Media

STOCKTON, CA--- The California Baptist men's water polo team stunned the top-seed Pacific Tigers on Saturday afternoon, upsetting the host school 10-9 during the semifinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament. The four-seeded Lancers are set to face three-seeded San Jose State in a rematch of the 2023 championship on Sunday.

It was a competitive semifinal from the start, with both teams ending the first frame with a trio of goals. California Baptist's defense stepped up during the second quarter and limited the Tigers to a single goal, giving the CBU offense time to put away a pair of goals to secure a 5-4 lead heading into halftime. The third quarter was another high-scoring affair for the Lancers after Andrea Nuzzo, Luca Imbriolo, and Bodhi Bowden dented the twine to push their lead to three. The fourth frame was all defense for CBU, weathering several offensive attacks from the Tigers, who scored four during the final eight minutes. A pair of goals on the transition for California Baptist ultimately gave them the edge to secure the win by one possession, booking their ticket to the WCC Tournament Championship for the second year in a row.

MARCUS PASS✅
BODHI GOAL✅
LANCERS LEAD✅#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/Wu43AnPs60
— CBU Men's Water Polo (@lancersmwp) November 23, 2024

Bodhi Bowden led the Lancers with three impressive goals, demonstrating his scoring abilities throughout the game, while Logan Puhl came up with a pair of goals. William Whitstone was exceptional yet again between the posts for the Lancers, tallying eight saves, including a five-meter penalty.

Whitstone says NOT TODAY!#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/5lzLJI8D9n
— CBU Men's Water Polo (@lancersmwp) November 23, 2024

The Championship match is set to begin in Stockton at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon and can be streamed on ESPN+. The winner of the WCC Tournament will advance to the 2024 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship in Stanford, California, from December 6th through December 8th.