NORTON, Mass. – The Washington & Jefferson College women's water polo team (8-8) was upended in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championships opener hosted at Wheaton (Mass.) College against the Grove City Wolverines (5-15), 16-13.
Hallie Ratcliff (Friendswood, Texas/Friendswood) led the Presidents in scoring with four goals, along with contributing one assist and two steals.
Emmie Ratcliff (Friendswood, Texas/Friendswood) and
Mackenzie Caron (Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin) each had hat tricks during the match as well with three goals each. Caron also contributed six of the 11 W&J steals and two assists.
Despite being outscored 4-2 in the opening quarter, H. Ratcliff and Caron got the Presidents on the board.
W&J bounced back in the second quarter, outscoring the Wolverines 7-5 to knot the score at nine heading into the half. E. Ratcliff, Caron and H. Ratcliff scored consecutive goals to tie the match at 5-5 with 4:56 remaining in the first half. Surrendering the lead for a brief period, E. Ratcliff and
Riley Gutierrez (Deer Park, Texas/Deer Park) kept the Presidents within striking distance with goals, down 8-7. W&J scored two goals under the one-minute mark of the second to take the 9-9 draw into the half.
Grove City came out of the break productive offensively, scoring two goals to W&J's one goal. H. Ratcliff scored her fourth goal of the game in the third.
Heading into the final quarter down 11-10, E. Ratcliff and
Autumn Woollcott (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) added goals to keep W&J close. The Wolverine offense managed to outscore the Presidents in the final period of play by a 5-3 margin to take the 16-13 victory.
Lani Weaver (Conroe, Texas/Conroe) completed all 32 minutes in goal with a game-high nine saves.
The Presidents now look to take on the Connecticut College Camels on Saturday (April 11) on day two of the CWPA Championships. Action in Norton is scheduled for a 10:00 a.m. start.
