Men's Water Polo Splits with Wheaton and Augustana

SHERMAN, Texas - The Austin College men's water polo team split its final two regular season games of the season on Sunday in Hannah Natarorium, cruising past Wheaton 25-4 before falling 14-9 to Augustana. The 'Roos are now 10-7 overall and head into the MPSF Championships as the No. 2-seed out of the MPSF East Division.

Austin College led 6-2 after the opening quarter in game one on Sunday against Wheaton before dialing the offense up and putting eight goals in the cage to take a 14-3 halftime lead, and that margin grew to 20-4 heading into the final frame. Austin College out-scored Wheaton 5-0 in the fourth to make it a 25-4 final. The 'Roos saw 13 different players tally at least once in the game, led by five goals from Josh Nelms and three apiece from Sebastian Scheier and Andrew Galt. Preston Fiala, Aidan Wade, Carlos Camarena, and Charlie Howe each notched a pair of goals, and Jacob Johnson, Gabriel Daniels, Nick Bates, Nic Ruggiero, Anthony Sury, and Grayson Gaworecki each scored once. 

Bates, Wade, Sury, Victor Buscemi, Adrian Halberg, and Caleb Maddox each had two assists and Ruggiero and Daniels had two steals apiece, while Maddox and Liam Roberts had seven and five blocks, respectively, while tending the cage.

Against Augustana, the 'Roos found themselves in a 5-1 hole after the opening frame and trailed 9-2 at halftime before getting the offense going after the break, putting four goals in the back of the net to trim the margin to 11-6 heading into the fourth. Austin College pulled to within four goals twice in the final quarter, but were unable to close the gap down the stretch. Fiala, Halberg, and Gaworecki each scored twice to lead the 'Roos and Sury, Scheier, and Daniels each tallied once. Sury led Austin College with a pair of assists and matched Daniels for the team lead with three steals.