California Lutheran University women’s water polo celebrated senior day on Saturday with a 17-9 victory over The California Institute of Technology Beavers.
Before the game, the Regals honored the five seniors on the team: utility Abby Lanier, goalkeeper Izzy de Souza, 2-meter offender Katie Knight, driver Jacsen Donohue, and driver Megan Findlay who could not be at the game due to another commitment, according to Head Regals Water Polo Coach Tim Settem.
โItโs sad for sure, but I know that I’ll always be around water polo, whether itโs coaching or reffing or playing in masters teams. Itโs definitely sad playing last home gamesโฆbut itโs always fun,โ graduate student driver Bethany Metcalfe said.
The Regals started the game off strong, scoring seven points and only allowing two in the first quarter, and kept their lead throughout the rest of the entire match.
In the second quarter, both teams scored three points making it 10-5 at halftime.
The Regals continued to increase its lead in the second half by out-scoring the Beavers 3-2 in the third quarter and 4-2 in the fourth quarter.
The Regals won the game with a final score of 17-9. This was the team’s fourth win in a row in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
โItโs super awesome, having the four wins definitely motivatesโฆcoming in today, we were like, extend the streak, so when we go in our game Wednesday itโs extend the streak not starting one,โ Knight said.
Settem said he and the team are feeling more confident in their abilities to compete as a top team in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
โWeโre finally playing complete games and really playing our game and knowing our system and knowing what we do, our communication is way better, so I think weโre definitely more prepared now in more of a mental aspect than we were previously,โ Settem said.
Knight said both she and her team have grown from her first-year season to her senior season.
โIt’s been really awesome, the team is super welcoming. When I was a freshman, the team was super close, which a lot of times I feel like there’s a big disparity between seniors and freshmen but that was never a problem, and like every year just keep getting closer and closer and closer,โ Knight said.
The Regals are currently ranked 4th in the SCIAC and have three games left until the postseason begins.
โThey’ve accepted me as a new coach, they’ve accepted the system. They’ve bought into it, and they’ve been tremendous leaders in that context of setting the stage, setting the example and by buying in it encouraged everyone else to buy in,โ Settem said.
The Regals have upcoming games against Chapman and La Verne, both of whom the Regals have previously endured one-point losses to this season. The Regals are looking to show that the team have what it takes to be a top team in the SCIAC.
โI think our confidence is now at a point whereโฆweโre hoping for a different outcome, I think we out-played both teams in certain sections of each of the previous games,โ Settem said.
The Regals share this perspective with Settem and are confident that they can improve their rankings even more to make it into the postseason.
โIf we win two of our next three games weโll be in the tournament. And if weโre in the tournament I think weโll do really well, itโs just because we had a slow start like losing games that we should have won,โ Knight said.
The Regals’ next game is against Pomona-Pitzer, which is currently the top-ranked team in the SCIAC. The game is on Wednesday, April 10, at 4 p.m. and is the last home game of the season for the Regals.
