Men’s water polo finish their season with a win

The Eagles compete in the 2021 WWPA Championship.

Natalie Hernandez, Sports Editor • November 21, 2021

Men’s water polo finish their season with a win

Photo courtesy of Courtesy of Biola Athletics

On Friday morning the men’s water polo team headed to Davis, California to compete against Fresno Pacific University, University of California at Davis and Concordia University Irvine at the Western Water Polo Association Championship. The Eagles split day one of competition with a victory against FPU, 10-9 and a loss against UC Davis, 21-5. On day two Biola faced off against CUI, unfortunately losing by one point, 10-9.

VICTORIOUS IN THE POOL

The Eagles started off the morning facing Fresno Pacific, who the Eagles lost to earlier in the season, 16-6. Junior center Matthew Vinson fired off the first goal of the match. The Sunbirds quickly responded with a four-point run. Sophomore utility player Dominic Hidalgo-Valecillo scored another goal for the Eagles at the start of the second quarter. At the end of the second quarter Biola was down by seven points. Biola shot more goals than FPU in the third and fourth quarter, ultimately winning 10-9.

For their second match of the day the Eagles faced UC Davis. The Aggies had a six-point run in the first quarter and blocked all attempts, leaving Biola scoreless going into the second quarter. The Aggies completely dominated the entire match, leaving little room for Biola to score. The Eagles were defeated, 21-5.

DAY TWO DEFEAT

On day two of the competition Biola competed against Concordia. Both teams started off the first quarter exchanging goals. Biola finished the first quarter with a one-point advantage. The Eagles extended their lead by two goals, but CUI responded with two goals of their own, decreasing the point deficit to one. The third quarter ended with a tie and the Golden Eagles defeated Biola, 10-9. This loss placed the inaugural men’s water polo team at the No.9 seed of the WWPA.

Men’s water polo concluded their inaugural season 3-22 overall and 0-8 conference. Official stats from today’s match is located on the 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.