LEBANON, Ill. - The men's water polo team will get an early start to the weekend, as they travel west to face off against Westcliff University and then participate in the Gary Troyer Tournament (hosted by Pomona-Pitzer Colleges) for the next two days. The tournament will be from Friday, October 4th to Saturday, October 5th. The first two matches for McKendree will be at the Axelrood Pool in Claremount, California (hosted by Claremount McKenna-Mudd-Scripps Colleges), with the latter two being played at the De Mandel Aquatics Center in Los Angeles, California (hosted by Occidental College). 

This will be the seventh time the Bearcats have competed in the Gary Troyer Tournament in the past nine years, with most recently going 1-3 last year in the event by capturing a 16-15 win over Fresno Pacific University (Cali.). The tournament is in memoriam to long-time Pomona-Pitzer Swimming and Water Polo Coach, Gary Troyer, who passed away on December 10, 2011. This tournament is named in his honor for he is best remembered as an individual who loved Pomona College, coaching, and teaching. He is remembered for his loyalty, warmth, and willingness to give of himself. 

BEARCATS CURRENTLY

McKendree is coming off a bye weekend, giving players and coaches a chance to catch their breath and work more on their craft for the rest of the season. Before the break, they competed in the Bucknell Invitational, which started off with two shortcoming losses to Long Island University and Bucknell University. They rounded things out in Pennsylvania with an exhibition win over Saddleback College, where junior James Ramey (St. Louis, Mo.) put in nine goals, which would have tied the most in a game if it were to officially count. 

For the season, sophomore Yannick Robertson (Trinidad and Tobago) leads the team in scoring with 17 goals, along with five dishes. Fifth-year Jimmy Cronin (Naperville, Ill.) has been the only one in the cage for the six official matchups for the Bearcats, saving the ball 62 times and allowing 98 goals (38.8 save percentage).  

McKendree is currently 0-6 on the year but does have an exhibition win. 

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

Westcliff University | Thursday, October 3rd, 10:30 AM PDT 

Before McKendree takes part in the Gary Troyer Tournament, they first have to face the Warriors of Westcliff University at the Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine, California. Westcliff is currently 3-9 on the season as an NAIA program. They recently came off a win over Cal Lutheran last Saturday after taking a tumble to UC Santa Barbara earlier the same day. The Warriors went 2-1 in matchups before the weekend, after opening up the season 0-7. 

Westcliff won the 2022 NAIA National Championship after beating UC Merced and Ottawa Arizona. 

Watch: Click HERE (Free – PrestoStream) 

Live Stats: There will be no live stats for this match; box score will be publicized soon after. 

History: Click HERE 

Loyola Marymount University | Friday, October 4th, 12:20 PM PDT 

The Bearcats will begin the Gary Troyer Tournament with a matchup against Loyola Marymount University. A member of the West Coast Conference (WCC), LMU is 3-6 on the season, losing their last six games. They got dominated in their last match at the number one nationally ranked UCLA, losing 21-9. The season is far from over for the Lions as they have a chance with this tournament to turn things around. 

Senior Tommaso Baldineti (Recco, Italy) leads the WCC in goals-per-game with 5.5, and second in assists with 2.3. Senior Stelios Dalmaras (Athens, Greece) is ninth in the conference in total saves with 36. 

Watch: There will be no stream for this matchup

Live Stats: Click HERE 

History: Click HERE 

Concordia University Irvine | Friday, October 4th, 4:20 PM PDT 

The second game of the day will be against Concordia-Irvine in an official non-conference match albeit both teams competing in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). Concordia-Irvine is having a tough start to the season, standing 3-12 overall. They are coming off of back-to-back day matchups against Cal Baptist and UC San Diego respectively, with both being losses. The Golden Eagles won their last game on September 21st, against La Verne 23-11. 

Concordia-Irvine runs a two-man rotation in the net with senior Griffin Beth (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and freshman Hale Durbiano (Santa Ynez, Calif.). Beth is second in the WWPA in total saves with 78 and fourth in saves-per-game with 5.2. Durbiano is first in the conference in save percentage with 48.5% and sixth is save-per-game with 2.0. 

Watch: There will be no stream for this matchup 

Live Stats: Click HERE 

History: Click HERE 

Fresno Pacific University (Calif.) | Saturday, October 5th, 8:00 AM PDT 

The second day will kick off with a bright and early start with a swim against Fresno Pacific. The Sunbirds have only played seven games in the season but are 1-6 up to this point. They snatched their first victory in their most recent game on Saturday, September 28th against UC Merced 15-11. 

Senior Pietro Cattano (Houston, Texas) leads the charge for Fresno Pacific, being fifth in goals per game with 2.7, while freshman Chris Sandino (Fresno, Calif.) leads the conference in steals-per-games with 2.1. The man in the cage is sophomore Chase Hammes (Sanger, Calif.), who leads in saves-per-game with 10.6, third in totals saves with 74, and fourth in save percentage with 40.0%. 

Watch: There will be no stream for this matchup 

Live Stats: Click HERE 

History: Click HERE 

California Lutheran University | Saturday, October 5th, 4:00 PM PDT 

McKendree closes out the tournament and weekend with a showdown against Cal Lutheran, who are 3-8 overall on the season. The Kingsmen have lost five straight including in an overtime thriller in their last matchup against Westcliff 20-19. Their last win(s) was when they won three straight against Air Force, Biola, and Augustana College in that order. 

Cal Lutheran has two top 10 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) scorers in senior Cormac Flanders (Los Angeles, Calif.) and senior Lincoln Hall (Camarillo, Calif.), with Flanders placing third (26 total goals) and Hall being seventh (22 total goals). Junior Bo DuBois (Oceanside, Calif.) is the main goalkeeper for the Kingsmen, placing third in the conference in save percentage 43.0% and is fifth in total saves with 43 and saves-per-game with 5.4. 

Watch: There will be no stream for this matchup 

Live Stats: Click HERE 

History: Click HERE 

ALL GARY TROYER TOURNAMENT PARTICIPANTS

California Lutheran University 

California Institute of Technology 

Chapman University 

Claremont-Mudd-Scripts Colleges 

University of La Verne 

Occidental College 

Mount St. Mary's University 

Ottawa University Arizona 

University of Redlands 

Whittier College 

Augustana College 

Penn State Behrend 

University of California, Irvine 

Wagner College 

California State University, Fullerton 

University of California Merced 

University of California San Diego 

California Baptist University 

Connecticut College 

United States Air Force Academy 

Pepperdine University 

Biola University 

Fresno Pacific University (Calif.) 

McKendree University 

California State University Long Beach 

Westcliff University 

Johns Hopkins University 

Loyola Marymount University 

Concordia University Irvine 

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