BRONX, N.Y. – The McKendree University men's water polo team concluded its 2022 season here Sunday with a seventh-place finish overall at the 2022 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Championships following a 13-8 win over 10th-seeded Johns Hopkins University at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center on the Fordham University campus.
 
With the victory, the eighth-seeded Bearcats finish the season with an 8-19 record and ended the season winning six of its last nine games, including going 2-2 at the MAWPC Conference Championships. JHU concludes its season with an 11-25 record.
 
In Sunday's seventh-place game, McKendee jumped out to a 5-1 lead after the opening period and led 9-2 at half against the Division III Blue Jays. JHU would outscore the Bearcats, 6-4 in the second half.
 
Junior center/utility player Breno Tebet (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Golden West College) led the way offensively with three goals, while graduate student attacker Josh Carlson (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West), sophomore attacker Jespyn Bishop (Brighton, Colo./Brighton), fifth-year senior attacker Tony Sunagawa (Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills) and fifth-year senior attacker Nico Rodriguez (Bogota, Colombia/Oviedo) each had two goals in the season finale.
 
The Bearcats jumped out to a 5-0 lead in Sunday's game thanks to three goals from Tebet and single goals from Bishop and freshman center/utility player Cale Koester (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central). JHU would score a goal with 2:54 left in the opening period to cut McKendree's lead to 5-1.
 
Rodriguez got the scoring started in the second period with a goal just 33 seconds into the period to give the Bearcats a 6-1 lead. After JHU used a goal by Emerson Sullivan to cut McKendree's lead to 6-2, the Bearcats used goals from Carlson, Bishop and Sunagawa to take a 9-2 lead at the half.
 
The 'Jays would score three straight goals to open the third period to cut the Bearcats lead to 9-5, but Sunagawa would stop the run with a goal at the 3:26 mark to give McK a 10-5 lead. Following a goal by Ian Raley, Carlson capped the scoring the third period to give McKendree an 11-6 lead heading into the final period.
 
Rodriguez and junior center defender Adam Serrano (Riverside, Calif./Poly) opened the fourth period with goals to give the Bearcats a 13-6 advantage with 3:11 left in the period. The 'Jays would get goals in the final two minutes from Raley and Kami Eslami to cap the scoring.
 
Sunagawa and Rodriguez each had three assists in the game, whlile Carlson, Bishop, Serrano and sophomore attacker Schuyler Cramer (Thornton, Colo./Horizon) each added an assist in the win.
 
Defensively, Carlson had two steals, while Bishop, Sunagawa and Tebet each had a steal.
McKendree won three of the four sprints with Carlson earning two of those three wins, while Bishop had the other win.
 
Raley had three goals to pace Johns Hopkins.
 
Junior goalie Jimmy Cronin (Naperville, Ill./Metea Valley) collected 11 saves and had an assist in the win for the Bearcats.
 
JHU goalie Kyle Pearson had seven saves in goal for the Blue Jays.