ERIE, Pa. - The women's water polo team split in their time at the annual WWPA Erie Classic with a commanding win against Gannon University and a close setback to Salem University in Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) action on Saturday, April 5th at the Hallman Aquatics Center in Erie, Pennsylvania. 

With the team's win versus the Golden Knights, they locked in the 1-seed in the east region for the upcoming WWPA Championship tournament. It is the third straight time they earned the top spot in the conference. 

MATCH ONE vs. Gannon

BOX SCORE 

Score: McKendree University 15, Gannon University 8 

Record: Bearcats 19-6, 3-0 WWPA | Golden Knights 6-11, 1-2 WWPA 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

It was quite an eventful start to the WWPA Erie Classic after both McKendree and Gannon had a break in the season. The Golden Knights had things their way early in the first quarter by holding a 4-2 lead a little over five minutes in. The Bearcats would respond competitively with two more goals on their end to finish the period knotted at four a-piece after sophomore center Bella Morquecho (Chicago, Ill.) dropped in her second score of the match thus far. 

Momentum would continue its way into the second period of play for the Bearcats where they converted on the next five goals to make it a huge 7-0 run behind Morquecho's third goal and two goals each for junior attacker Joey Rebelo (Montreal, Québec) and sophomore attacker Shanelle Márquez (Madrid, Spain). 

The spurt would end eventually in the middle of the third quarter as Gannon got a shot in to cut their deficit to four, but McKendree responded well again this time with a 5-1 run which was capped off by a pair from junior attacker Dylan Murphy (Carlsbad, Calif.) to give her first hat-trick of the season. 

With the match essentially decided, the Golden Knights tacked on two more final goals for their squad, as Rebelo gave herself a hat-trick to finalize the conference game, winning handily 15-8. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Morquecho, Rebelo, Murphy, and Márquez each finished with a hat-trick of three goals each while Murphy collected a trio of steals while Morquecho drawn four exclusions. 

• Junior attacker Jazmine Sandoval (Westminster, Calif.) and sophomore utility Hailey Munoz (Murrieta, Calif.) rounded out the Bearcat Scoring with two goals and one goal respectively. 

• Senior goalkeeper Sydney Kane (Kankakee, Ill.) had an ecstatic all-around game with 14 saves and four steals on the defensive end plus a pair of assists on the offensive side in all 32:00 minutes of play. 

• Gannon outshot McKendree 35-30. 

• The Golden Knights were +2 in drawn exclusions. 

• Gannon was +1 in total team steals. 

• The Bearcats' 13 steals in the win tied a season-high, which had happened twice prior, both coming against Carthage College. 

MATCH TWO vs. Salem

BOX SCORE 

Score: McKendree University 8, Salem University 9 

Record: Bearcats 19-7, 3-1 WWPA | Tigers 6-17, 1-2 WWPA 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

It was another bit of a slow start for McKendree as Salem opened the match on a 3-1 run in the first quarter of play as Morquecho kept her momentum going into game two of the day. 

The Bearcats would have the game in their grasp throughout the second period of play by opening up with the first three goals and five of the six total goals in the entire quarter. Three of such scoring possessions by McKendree came via fifth-year attacker Jasmin Guzman (Cicero, Ill.) to help take a two-point lead. 

Coming into the second half of action, it was all Tigers, who enabled a beneficial 5-1 that lasted its way into the midst of the fourth quarter. 

Down by just a pair with over two minutes remaining in regulation, Murphy fired one inside the cage to be within one. The Bearcats held solid on their defensive end of the spectrum, but could not overcome the disruptive presence on Salem's side in hopes for overtime and would end a six-game winning streak by losing a close one, 8-9. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Guzman led all McKendree scorers with three goals on four shot attempts. 

• Morquecho racked up two more scoring possessions in this match to put her at five total on the day as she earned a steal and a drawn exclusion in the process. 

• Márquez, Sandoval, and Murphy each rounded out with a goal while Márquez grabbed two steals as Sandoval helped share the wealth with a pair of assists. 

• Kane was in the cage for all 32:00 minutes of action once more, where she tallied eight saves and also tied a career-high with five steals. 

• McKendree outshot Salem 31-22. 

• The Tigers were +11 in drawn exclusions. 

• The Bearcats were +8 in total team steals. 

• For a second straight match, McKendree came away with their season-high in team steals with 13. 

UP NEXT

McKendree – who clinched the 1-seed in the east region – will take a well-earned 19-day break and will be back in action when they face the University of California, Merced in an exhibition match in the WWPA Championships tournament, which will be held at Peak Health Aquatic Center at Mylan Park (hosted by Salem) from April 25th to 27th.  

The exhibition versus the Bobcats will be on Friday, April 25th at 8:00 AM CT. Then on Saturday, April 26th, McKendree will face either Gannon, Fresno Pacific University, or California State University, Monterey Bay in the semifinal round at 10:00 AM CT. 

If the Bearcats win the semifinals, they will play for the WWPA championship at 12:00 PM CT on Sunday, April 27th. However, if they falter, they will play earlier in the day at 10:00 AM CT for third place. 

The winner of the 2025 WWPA Championship will earn an auto-bid into the upcoming National Collegiate Water Polo Championships, which will be held from May 9th to 11th in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

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