WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Presidents clinched their first Collegiate Water Polo Association Southern Division, West Region title with a pair of victories on Senior Day.
The Washington & Jefferson men's water polo team opened up the day with a 16-12 victory over Penn State-Behrend before posting a 21-13 win against Salem International during the senior recognition night cap.
The wins move the Presidents, ranked 10th in the latest CWPA Division III poll and tied for 10th in the CWPA Varsity Top 10, to 10-9 on the season.
In the opener, W&J opened up a 5-0 lead just past the mid-way point of the first quarter as five different players recorded a goal during the run.
Kevin Dunigan's second goal of the period made it 6-1 W&J and two scores 12 seconds apart with under 30 seconds remaining by
Patrick Fredrick pushed the Presidents lead to 8-1 through eight minutes.
W&J built its lead to 10-2 at halftime and 13-5 after three quarters before the Lions out-scored the hosts 7-3 in the fourth quarter to make the final 16-12.
Fredrick led all players with five goals in the game, with Dunigan and
Nick Willison each tallying three scores.
Chris DeNunzio made six saves against the Lions.
W&J fell behind Salem International, 1-0, 2:30 into the game, but scored eight unanswered goals over a 4:14 stretch to take an 8-1 lead with 5:28 to play in the second quarter. Willison had three of the goals during the span.
The Presidents pushed the margin to 12-4 at halftime, thanks to a pair of scores by Fredrick down the stretch.
A 6-2 total in the third quarter led W&J to an 18-6 lead after 24 minutes. Dunigan scored a natural hat trick during the stretch,
Sam Taylor added a goal on a five-meter shot and
Mitch Fountain recorded two goals 27 seconds apart.
DeNunzio yielded the goal to
Anthony Squeglia for the fourth quarter and scored a goal 45 seconds into the frame.
Ben Mancini posted the other two goals in the fourth for W&J.
Dunigan's four goals were tied for a game-best, with Willison and Fredrick adding three scores apiece. Fountain,
Mike Magdic and Mancini each added a pair of tallies.
DeNunzio made 11 saves against the Tigers with Squeglia adding six stops.
W&J is back in action on Sat.-Sun Oct. 18-19 when it hosts the CWPA Division III Eastern Championship. The Presidents first game is on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Monmouth (Ill.) before playing the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 4:40 p.m.
