Christina Ferrante/CSUMB Athletics

Two Strong Performances For Otters to Open Convergence

March 06, 2020 | By: By Kevin Gilmore (@OtterKevin)

CSUMB beats Redlands 11–7, falls to No. 12 LMU 12–7

CLAREMONT, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey Bay water polo team gave a pair of strong performances to split its first day of action Friday at the Claremont Convergence Tournament in Pomona–Pitzer's Haldeman Aquatics Center. No. 12 ranked Loyola Marymount pulled away in the fourth quarter to take a 12–7 decision in Friday's opener before the Otters defeated the University of Redlands 11–7 in their afternoon match.

Sophomore Cat Gillis (Portland, Ore./Sunset HS) and Kaitlin Rooney (Morgan Hill/Presentation HS) led the Otter offense. Gillis scored five times, including a hat trick in the win over Redlands. Rooney had a pair of goals in each game.

The Otters stayed tight with LMU through the first three quarters, trailing the Lions by two at the end of each. But the Lions opened the final period with four unanswered scores to gather some breathing room.

Gillis scored twice in the first quarter to stake the Otters to an early lead versus Redlands. Rooney scored both of her goals in the second quarter to give CSUMB the space needed to hold the Bulldogs at arm's length throughout the second half.

In addition to Gillis and Rooney, Angela Steele (Agoura HS), Daniella Spina (Long Beach Wilson HS) and Kaya Ortega (Fullerton HS) all scored in both Friday matches. Ortega and Spina each had two goals in the win over Redlands.

"We played two strong games today against two very different teams," said CSUMB Head Coach Emily Schmit. "We did a great job of learning from last weekend and applying to the games today."

CSUMB concludes play at the Claremont Convergence Tournament Saturday with games against Whittier College at Pomona–Pitzer and Occidental College at Las Flores Pool on the University of La Verne campus.

GO OTTERS!

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