Women's Water Polo Secures CWPA Regular Season Crown

GROVE CITY, Pa. - The Austin College women's water polo team wrapped up its weekend trip to Pennsyvlania with an 11-9 victory over Washington & Jefferson, keeping the No. 5-ranked 'Roos unbeaten in CWPA play at 8-0 and moving the team to 11-7 overall on the year with nine straight victories. With the win, the 'Roos clinched the conference's regular season title.

The 'Roos fell behind 3-0 early before rallying to even things up on a goal by Joslyn Dimitri with 1:48 left in the first quarter, but W&J tallied with 1:02 left to end the first frame with a 4-3 advantage. Austin College surged ahead in the second quarter, scoring the first three goals of the period to make it 6-4, and the 'Roos headed into the half holding a 6-5 edge. 

Austin College held Washington & Jefferson scoreless in the third quarter while putting a pair of goals in the back of the cage, pushing the margin to 8-5 with both goals in the period coming from Clara Koenig. The lead grew to 11-7 with 1:53 left to play before W&J attempted a last minute comeback, tallying twice in the final 95 seconds to cut it to 11-9, but that's as close as things got down the stretch. Koenig and Bianca Gallegos each scored three times to pace the 'Roos, and Ashley Chand added a pair of goals in the win. Ashlyn Thomas, McKenna Malone, and Dimitri each found the back of the net once in the victory, which secured the top seed for Austin College in the CWPA Tournament in April.