'Roos Pick Up Pair of Victories

SHERMAN, Texas - The Austin College men's water polo team earned a pair of wins on day one of the MPSF East Divisional in Hannah Natatorium, topping Washington & Jefferson 16-7 before holding on for a 9-8 win over Penn State Behrend. The 'Roos are now 9-6 overall and 5-1 in conference play, and will continue to jockey for position in the MPSF Championships with two more games tomorrow.

The first game of the day for the 'Roos started out slowly offensively, with Austin College holding a 2-1 advantage after the opening quarter, but the 'Roos erupted for six tallies in the second frame to build an 8-4 halftime lead. The margin grew to 11-5 heading into the fourth, where the 'Roos once again used a big scoring quarter to put the game away. Nic Ruggiero found the back of the cage on all five of his shot attempts to lead Austin College, and Anthony Sury added four goals in the win. Grayson Gaworecki and Sebastian Scheier each scored twice, and Gabriel Daniels, Aidan Wade, and Carlos Camarena rounded out the scoring with a goal each. 

Daniels, Sury, and Adrian Halberg each had a pair of assists in the win, and Ruggiero led the way with four steals while Gaworecki and Caleb Maddox each had three. Maddox had a strong game in goal, coming up with 11 blocks to help earn the victory.

Austin College jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the second game of the day against PSB, and the 'Roos maintained that two goal lead heading into halftime with the score 5-3. Penn State Behrend trimmed it to a 7-6 game after three complete quarters, and they'd ultimately come back to square things up at 8-8 late in the fourth. However, Sury found the back of the cage in the game's closing minutes to put Austin College on top 9-8, and the 'Roos would hold on down the stretch to pick up the win.

Gaworecki led the 'Roos with three goals and added two assists, while Sury, Wade, Halberg, Scheier, Preston Fiala, and Andrew Galt each scored once. Christian Saravia had eight blocks in goal for the 'Roos, adding two steals and an assist in the game. Austin College is back in the pool at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday against Wheaton, and then wrap up the weekend against Augustana at 2:30 p.m.