Regehr, defense, lead Poets past Pomona-Pitzer

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Whittier College men's water polo team rebounded from its loss in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals with an 8-3 win over Pomona-Pitzer in the third place game on Sunday afternoon.

The Poets (19-12, 9-1 SCIAC) jumped out to a 2-1 at the end of the first quarter and went into the intermission with a one-goal lead at 3-2. WC outscored the Sagehens 5-1 in the second half en route to the five-goal win.

Casey Regehr and the defense limited Pomona to one goal in the first quarter, one in the second quarter and one in the fourth. The All-American goalie finished with 20 saves which includes three stops in man down situations.

Wes Paulson led the defensive effort with three steals while Jordan Van Norman, Rilesh Desai, Alex Perry, Lincoln Haley and Michael Eachus all had one take away.

Perry led the offensive effort with three goals and one assist and Desai chipped in with a pair of goals and an assist. Uriel Villa finished with a goal and assist, Will Jackson had one score and Van Norman scored once.

The Poets finished the tournament in second place and earned a second place finish in the SCIAC. Whittier will now wait for official announcement to see if it advances to next weekend's Western Water Polo Association Tournament.