Men’s water polo debut in San Diego

Biola’s newest team has their first tournament of the season.

Natalie Hernandez, Sports Editor • September 5, 2021

Photo courtesy of Courtesy of Biola Athletics

Men’s water polo competed for the first time in Biola history. The Eagles headed down south to La Jolla, California for the University of California San Diego Triton Invitational on Sept. 4-5. Men’s water polo competed against No. 1 National Champions UCLA, Westcliff University, Pepperdine University and Pomona College.

DAY ONE DEBUT

Although the Eagles lost all four matches they put up a good fight and held their own against No. 1 reigning champions the Bruins. The Eagles managed to get the first stop over UCLA. The Bruins made five goals before the Eagles responded with a goal of their own. The first goal in program history was made by sophomore utility player Dominic Hidalgo-Vallecilo. The Eagles were defeated, 21-2.

On Saturday afternoon the Eagles faced off against the Westcliff Warriors. Biola used their loss as motivation and were able to keep the point deficit low. Freshman goalkeeper Mitchell Carpenter had a total of 10 saves in this match. In the third and fourth quarter the Eagles matched points with the Warriors but lost, 10-7.

DAY TWO DETERMINATION

Similar to their first day of competition the Eagles were challenged by a strong competitor. Biola went up against No. 5 in the nation the Pepperdine Waves. Biola remained scoreless until the second quarter when freshman utility player Josiah Brimmage scored a goal over the Waves. Carpenter continued the fight, totaling 10 saves for the match. The Eagles were unfortunately crushed by the Waves, 19-4.

The last opponent of the Triton Invitational for the Eagles were the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens. Biola was able to match the score for the first quarter. The Eagles logged their highest score in program history with 10 goals. They had seven players score goals for the match. Freshman center Luke Franklin and center defenders Nolan Rapp and Will Tibbetts all scored 2 goals each for the match. The Eagles showed improvement but it still was not enough as they were defeated, 18-10.

Men’s water polo (0-4) will return home to Splash Aquatic Center on Sept. 15 at 2 p.m. to go against the Westcliff Warriors. Footage from this weekend’s tournament is located on Biola Athletics’ website.

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About the Contributor

Natalie Hernandez, Sports Editor

Natalie Hernandez is a junior journalism major who loves cooking with her boyfriend, enjoys photo adventures, and new experiences. [email protected] I was born and raised in California, but I have always moved around. Although I have always lived here I have never missed the opportunity to get out of LA. My father is an immigrant and my mother is first-generation Mexican. I am the first in my family to attend college and I am proud of that. School does not come easy to me and I am glad I have pushed myself. I went to college in Seattle, WA but moved back due to my mother getting sick. When I got back to LA, I hit the ground running. I enrolled in community college and started working. I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I took one photography class and I knew this is what I want to do. My love for journalism, photography, and sports started on the sidelines of my high school football field. Every single game junior-senior year you could find me on the sidelines taking photos or getting a quote from a coach. I have never been athletic but I enjoy watching and learning about all different sports. I love telling stories. This is just my first year at Biola as a transfer student and first semester at The Chimes but I can’t wait to see what the future holds.