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Men’s water polo breaks even in tournament

Eagles go 2-2, but finally beat Chapman this season.
Freshman attacker Gavin Oliver turns to pass the ball.
Freshman attacker Gavin Oliver turns to pass the ball.
Photo courtesy of Courtesy of Biola Athletics

Over the course of this Friday and Saturday, the Biola’s men’s water polo team participated in the Gary Troyer tournament. During the tournament, the Eagles faced four teams: the McKendree University Bearcats, Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers, Whittier Poets and the growing rival Chapman University’s Panthers

EAGLES OPEN TOURNEY 1-2

Biola began the tournament strong and crushed the Bearcats 19-11. In this match, they scored the second most goals in school history, with every player chipping in: ten different Eagles scored goals in this game. This dominant performance came at a nice time, as Biola was able to avenge a 10-8 defeat to this Bearcats team in the same tournament a year ago. While the Eagles controlled game one, they were unable to continue this momentum in the following two games. Biola proceeded to drop the next game against the Mountaineers 11-9. They followed that with a loss against the Poets 9-7. 

REVENGE AGAINST CHAPMAN

Despite the sluggish record going into the finale of the tourney, Biola still finished the weekend on a great note. The Eagles had already played the Panthers two times in this early season. Both games, though nail biters, ultimately went Chapman’s way. However, this time Biola was finally able to come out on top 16-13, but once again the game came down to the very end. After three quarters, the game was deadlocked at eleven a piece. It was a big fourth quarter effort by center defender and sophomore business major John Grasso that separated the Eagles from their rival. Grasso scored three of Biola’s five fourth quarter goals and shot 100% on the game. It was his clutch late game heroics that propelled Biola to victory. 

Up next, Biola will face the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds on Thursday, Oct. 6 at 1p.m. Stats from the match can be found on the Biola Athletics website.

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About the Contributor
Ryan Wingert
Ryan Wingert, Staff Writer
Ryan Wingert is a senior political science major who loves sports, writing and being with friends. I was born in Sioux City, Iowa and lived there until I was five years old. Then in 2005, my dad’s job took my family out here to southern California. After I graduated high school in 2018, I went to community college. I then transferred here to Biola in the midst of the COVID pandemic in 2020.  I love sports, both playing and watching. Basketball, baseball and American football are my favorite sports. I am so excited to be with the Chimes where I get to watch Biola sporting events and write about them! My teams are the Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Broncos, and the Anaheim Angels. They haven’t been great lately, but my love for the games have pushed me to continue watching them in their abysmal years!  Growing up, I have always loved writing. It was always my favorite part of school through primary school. My future is very unknown, but while I am looking into becoming a lawyer one day, becoming a writer would be an amazing job as well!
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