LA VERNE, Calif. (Sept. 11, 2021) – After a long-awaited start to the 2021 season, Caltech men's water polo was able to get in some competition with a doubleheader at the Inland Empire Tourney at Las Flores Park this Saturday. The Beavers first matched up against the Riverside Community College Tigers at 10:20 a.m. and then returned to the pool against Ottawa University (Ariz.) in the mid-afternoon.

Caltech 15, RCC 21

In the first match, the Beavers quickly found themselves down by three goals before junior Max Bricken (Portland, Ore. / Westview) opened the scoring with 4:30 left in the quarter. Sophomores Eric Han (Cerritos, Calif. / Gretchen Whitney) and Perry Samimy (Miami, Fla. / Ransom Everglades) also each notched a goal in the quarter as the period ended 6-3 in favor of the Tigers, who came out strong in the second quarter as well and were able to open up several counter attacks for high-probability scoring opportunities. The Beavers rallied briefly as both Bricken and Han found the back of the net again but ended the half down by seven.

Caltech would claw one goal back from that deficit over a high-scoring second half, with six different Beavers finding the back of the net a combined 15 times. Bricken led the way with five while Samimy tallied an efficient three on just five shots and led the defense with three steals. Juniors James Bowden (Los Angeles, Calif. / Granada Hills Charter), Matthew Hajjar (San Jose, Calif. / Harker School) and Juan Arvelo (Miami, Fla. / Riviera Prep) and Han each had two goals apiece while junior Wei Foo (Hacienda Heights, Calif. / Troy) had a strong opening performance in goal, making 13 saves and collecting two steals and an assist. Rookie Sean Zheng (San Marino, Calif. / Polytechnic School) and Bowden distributed well with three and four assists, respectively, as Zheng also found success by winning both sprints in the second half and drawing three exclusions.

Caltech 12, OUAZ 22

In the second game of the day, the Beavers matched up against the NAIA Spirit of OUAZ, which took an early one-goal lead before Samimy answered quickly on the second possession of the game. The Spirit would then go on a scoring run later in the first and second quarters, outswimming the Beavers for a span of five minutes to about put the game out of reach by halftimep. Down the stretch, the Beavers fought back and scored some goals to remain proud of, with the attack led by Hajjar, who turned in a very strong performance out of the hole set with five goals on 11 shots. Once again, six different Beavers netted during the match with Bricken, Samimy and Zheng each notching a brace, while Arvelo and Eric Han tallied once apiece. Bricken led the team defensively with four steals, while Bowden and Zheng connected on five combined assists.

"I was very happy with the team's performance on our first day of games," Head Coach Jon Bonafede said.  "We know we have a lot to work on, however I can't help but be excited and confident about the potential I saw in the team. Most of all, I was very impressed with our effort and our sportsmanship. We also had three players competing in their first college water polo games, and that's a very special event."

Bonafede and the Beavers will prepare to play Citrus College this Wednesday in Glendora, Calif.