The California Lutheran University Regalsโ water polo team tallied another win in their books on Wednesday, April 11, beating the Chapman Panthers 7-5.ย
In the pool, sophomore center Victoria Rose Meek lead the way for the Regals, scoring a hat trick against the Panthers after finding the goal twice in the first quarter and once in the third.
โI thought overall as a team we did a really good job communicating on offense and even though we would go down on the score we would still march up to the line and then hit them again,โ Meek said.ย โI thought everything went well todayโwe flowed really nicely in the pool, which I think is what lead to a hat trick.โ
Another key component for the Regalsโ win against the Panthers was sophomore attacker, Mackenzie Thomas, who added two goals for Cal Lutheran.ย
โI felt pretty good in the pool today,โ Thomas said.ย โI had two goals and then we all just worked really hard to work the ball around on offense even when our sets sort of got shut down, but it was a team effort that really got us through it.โ
After starting off a bit shaky on defense, the Regals came together as a team to shut down Chapmanโs offense.
โI think we played really well,โ Thomas said.ย โOur defense was a little rough at the beginning, but we sort of figured that out and shut down their offense by quite a bit.โ
Head Coach of the Regals, Craig Rond, was also in good spirits on Wednesday after Cal Lutheran defeated Chapman, highlighting one of their keys to victory in their defense.
โWell, as usual our defense really shined today.ย We always talk about defense first and thatโs what they did. Weโre not surprised that they played great defense,โ Rond said.
Though the offensive side did their job, Rond said he is hoping to make some additional improvements before the Regals head into the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament.
โI think on offense we were a little hesitant to take some of the easier shots and that got us a little stagnant, but at the end of the day if the defense is going well then youโre going to be in the game,โ Rond said.
One of the keys to the Regalsโ defense is junior goalkeeper Bailey Meyer, who had 11 saves in the pool against the Panthers.
โThereโs nobody better in our conference at goalkeeping than Bailey.ย Sheโs averaging around 10 saves a game right now I think,โ Rond said.ย โShe is literally the foundation of our defense and our girls really feed off her blocksโsheโs a great goalie.โ
As for his team on offense, Rondsaid he prides Meek as one of his top competitors in the pool.
โShe (Meek) was three for seven shooting and sheโs a dominant force at center for us,โ Rond said.ย โShe does a great job of not only scoring but drawing exclusions for us and she plays really good defenseโsheโs an asset for us.โ
Heading towards the end of their regular season play, the Regals are looking forward to competing in the upcoming SCIAC tournament and tuning up their offensive pass work in the pool.
โWeโll be working a lot in practice on quicker passes to get more scoring opportunities,โ Meek said.ย โIโm very excited to see where we go as a team. I think we have not just potential but weโre doing really well overallโIโm excited to see how SCIAC goes.โ
Currently ranked second in the nation, Rond and the rest of the Regals are geared up and ready to take each day at a time on the road to SCIAC championships and potentially the national tournament.ย
โWeโre pretty honored to be considered at such high regard, but we still have a lot of work to do,โ Rond said.ย โToday we played well, but we need to take it day by day and keep working.โ
Alexa Barnes
Reporter