Photo by Michael Wong

PASADENA, Calif. (Apr. 2, 2016) – Freshman Elise Cutts (Portland, Ore. / Sunset) stepped up to make a career-high 15 saves while allowing only nine goals as Caltech women's water polo narrowly fell to Division III No. 6 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, 9-6, on Saturday morning.

CMS lit up the scoreboard first just over a minute into play, but freshman Katie Johnston (Livermore, Calif. / Livermore) equalized almost two minutes later.  The Athenas' quick counter attack led to three more goals for the 4-1 advantage after the first quarter, and both teams scored once each in the second for a halftime score of 5-2. 

Following another CMS goal after nearly three scoreless minutes to open the second half, Caltech rattled off back-to-back strikes via freshman Brittany Percin (Moraga, Calif. / Stanford Online) and senior Stephanie Wong (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. / Palos Verdes Peninsula) to force the CMS starters back into the game.  The Beavers continued to play fantastic defense throughout the matchup, but the Athenas' relentless counters overcame their set offense struggles.  The visitors would regain the four-goal edge after the third quarter and held on for the 9-6 win despite fourth-quarter tallies by junior Mary Boyajian (Sun Valley, Calif. / Valley Christian) and senior Soumya Kannan (Palo Alto, Calif. / Henry M Gunn), with the latter's marking the 100th goal of her career.

Boyajian added three steals, three blocks and one assist while Kannan made two assists and three steals.  Percin drew two exclusions and recorded a pair of steals along with Johnston.

Head Coach Jon Bonafede and the Beavers head to DIII No. 2 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (8-14, 3-1) on Wednesday, Apr. 6.

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