Washington, Pennsylvania – The Wittenberg University Women's Water Polo Team made a statement over the weekend against some of their CWPA Div. III foes as the Tigers posted a 3-1 record at the W&J Invitational. The Tigers' lone loss on the weekend came against Div. II Gannon on Saturday morning.
After falling to Gannon in the opening match on Saturday, Wittenberg proceeded to reel off three-straight wins in the Henry Natatorium against Grove City, 19-16, host W&J, 15-12, and PSU-Behrend 23-7.
The wins now push the Tigers record to an even 3-3 (.500) on the year, with their only setbacks coming against Div. II opponents.
Who Stood Out
Wittenberg utilized a balanced offensive attack over the two days of action as four different players posted 10 or more goals on the weekend, led by senior Savanah Phillips with a team-leading 17 goals. Phillips paced the Tigers with six goals in the three-goal win over Grove City and also added five more scores in Sunday morning's 15-12 win over the host Presidents. Phillips also handed out five assists on the weekend, which included three helpers in the loss against Gannon. Sophomore's Tatum Bruno and Emma Menjivar both finished the weekend with 11 total goals, with Bruno scoring four times against Gannon and Menjivar posting a pair of four-goal games against Grove City and PSU-Behrend. Fellow sophomore Calista Spring, who entered the final match of the weekend with four total goals in the first three matches, exploded for six goals and two assists in the Tigers' convincing 23-7 win over the Lions.
Sophomore Caroline Coleman once again held sturdy in the Wittenberg goal as she accounted for 22 total saves on the weekend, highlighted by a pair of seven-save performances on Sunday in the wins over W&J and PSU-Behrend. In addition to Coleman, Bruno was also a factor in the defensive unit with eight steals on the weekend, which included a team-high four takeaways in the win over Grove City on Saturday.
Up Next
Wittenberg will return to the state of Pennsylvania next Saturday, February 29th, for the Grove City Invitational in the Northwest portion of the state. In the one-day event the Tigers will square off against host Grove City (9:15 a.m.), Mercyhurst (11:45 a.m.) and Gannon (3:30 p.m.). Wittenberg then entertains Div. I Virginia Military Institute (VMI) on Sunday March 1st at 12:00 p.m. in Springfield.