IRVINE, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Women's Water Polo team ended the Barbara Kalbus Tournament with a big 11-8 win over No. 11 Indiana on Sunday afternoon at the Marian Bergeson Aquatics Center.
This win marks the first win for the Sagehens at the prestigious Barbara Kalbus Tournament and the program's best win against a ranked opponent with the Hoosiers sitting at the No. 11 spot in the latest NCAA rankings.
The Sagehens were led by Alexandra Szczerba and Namlhun Jachung who shared a game-high four goals in the win while Gabby Lewis, Kaylee Stigar and Ayva Magna had one apiece. Zosia Amberger got the win in goal for the Sagehens after she had 15 saves and a steal between the posts.
The Hoosiers got out to a two-goal lead to start with back-to-back goals inside the first two minutes of the first quarter until Magna scored the Sagehens' first goal to make it 2-1. Indiana answered with a goal to push the lead back up to two goals, but Jachung scored her first at the end of the quarter to cut the deficit to one heading into the second quarter.
Indiana netted the first goal of the second, but the Sagehens closed out the first half with the final two goals from Stigar and Lewis to go into halftime tied at 4-4.
A huge turning point in the game was coming out of halftime where the Sagehens sparked a 5-0 run in the third quarter. Jachung and Szczerba accounted for all five goals in the third while Indiana managed to get one back to end the third, but the Sagehens took over the lead at 9-5 heading into the fourth.
The Hoosiers netted the first two goals of the fourth to get back into range of a comeback with the Sagehens up two at 9-7 with 4:24 left in the fourth. Szczerba stopped the run with a goal around the four-minute mark and then added another with 30 seconds remaining to solidify the big win as the Sagehens ended the Barbara Kalbus Tournament on a high note.
Up Next: The Sagehens will return home to host the Claremont Convergence Tournament beginning on Friday, March 3rd against UC Santa Barbara.
