Claremont, Calif. - The Pomona-Pitzer Men's Water Polo team knocked off No. 14 Santa Clara 10-5 on Saturday afternoon at Haldeman Pool to pick up its first win over a nationally ranked team this season.
The Sagehens also defeated Caltech 16-9 earlier in the day as part of the program's Senior Day celebration. With the wins, the Sagehens improve to 7-19 overall (1-15 against nationally ranked teams) and 3-1 in the SCIAC.
Junior Stephen Vint and freshman James Baker each had three goals in the win over Santa Clara, while senior Jarrod Gaut added two. Senior Tyler Hill (pictured) had six saves in the first half, and freshman Caleb Prater-Fahey was on fire in the second half, tallying 10 saves and allowing only one goal.
The score was tied 3-3 late in the second quarter, when Baker scored with 45 seconds left and Vint added another with nine second on the clock. Tucker Carlson answered back for Santa Clara with just two seconds left.
However, the Sagehens scored the first four goals of the second half to pull away, with Baker scoring on a penalty shot, and junior Travis Larsen scoring from in front of the cage with 3:34 left in the third. Vint then had the last goal of the third quarter and the first goal of the fourth to make the score 9-4, and the Sagehens were able to hold on from there behind the hot goaltending of Prater-Fahey.
The last time Pomona-Pitzer defeated a ranked team was coincidentally also against Santa Clara in the 2012 season finale, a 13-12 win in the fifth-place match at the WWPA Championships.
In the morning game against Caltech, senior Robert Chew got the Sagehens started on a 5-0 run, with five different goal scorers, to take a big lead early. After Caltech stopped the run, freshman Tommy Turner added a pair of goals late in the first quarter to make the score 7-1.
The Beavers hung around and got the score within 9-5 early in the third, but the Sagehens responded with a 4-1 run to put the game away, capped off by a goal from junior Kyle Van der Linde.
Van der Linde led the Sagehens with three goals, while Turner, Chew, sophomore Phillip Clayman each had two. A total of 11 different players had goals for Pomona-Pitzer in the contest.
Pomona-Pitzer will be back in action on Wednesday when it hosts Chapman for a 4 p.m. contest.
