ROCK ISLAND, IL. – The No. 1 ranked Pomona-Pitzer Women's Water Polo team advanced to the USA Water Polo Division III National Championship game after their 20-4 win over Austin College in the Semifinals on Saturday afternoon at the Anne Greve Lund Natatorium.
With the win, the stage is set for National Championship Sixth Street Rivalry as the No. 1 Sagehens will face off against the No. 2 Athenas on Sunday afternoon.
The Sagehens had three players net hat-tricks in the national semifinal led by Abigail Wiesenthal who scored four in the win. Alexandra Szczerba and Ayva Magna also earned hat-tricks with three each while Sydney Bianchi and Namlhun Jachung had two and Kaylee Stigar, Madison Lewis, Mia Amberger, Brienz Lang, Paulina Correa, and Lauren Valentin had one.
Pomona-Pitzer overpowered Austin College in the first half with the defense shutting out the Roos for the first two quarter of the game. The Sagehens' offense came out firing with six goals in the first quarter. Szczerba got the Sagehens on top first followed by a hat-trick from Wiesenthal before Szczerba found the back of the net again for the 5-0 lead. Szczerba completed her hat-trick in the final seconds of the first quarter to give the Sagehens two players with hat-tricks in the first eight minutes and a 6-0 lead heading into the second.
Jachung and Wiesenthal opened the scoring for Pomona-Pitzer in the second quarter while Bianchi found herself in front of the cage for her first score of the game to extend the lead to 9-0. Correa and Magna joined the scorers in the second quarter while Austin scored their first goal of the game off of a powerplay to make it 11-1 heading into halftime.
The Sagehens kept the offense rolling in the third quarter after they outscored the Roos 6-0. Stigar, Jachung and Lang started the scoring while Lewis, Amberger and Magna netted goals in the second part of the third to give the Sagehens a big 17-1 lead heading into the fourth.
Austin College matched the Sagehens on goals in the fourth as both teams netted three each. Valentin got the first goal of the fourth while Magna and Bianchi followed with goals late in the quarter as the Sagehens breezed through the semifinals with a 16-point victory.
Up Next: The Sagehens will meet CMS for the Division III Title on Sunday, May 7th at 12:00 p.m. (CDT)
