LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Mar. 5, 2022) – On a chilly Saturday morning, the Caltech Women's Water Polo team took the pool at Occidental College's De Mandel Aquatics Center to face the Firebirds of Carthage College (Kenosha, Wisc.) in the second day of the 2022 Convergence Tournament.

After conceding the opening goal, the Beavers responded with goals by sophomores Emma Gurcan (Portland, Ore. / Lincoln) and Tyler Fox (Cos Cob, Conn. / Greenwich).  Carthage picked another goal but Fox answered it to give Caltech a 3-2 lead.

Caltech's offense surged in the second quarter, with Gurcan scoring in the first minute, freshman Lana Lubecke (Honolulu, Hawaii / Kalani) scoring just over a minute later with an assist from Gurcan, and another goal by Gurcan just 17 seconds later gave the Beavers a commanding 6-2 advantage.  Carthage would fight back, but Fox netted two more including a dagger right at the buzzer to send Caltech into halftime ahead by an 8-5 score.

Carthage opened up the third quarter scoring but Gurcan responded, and then junior Amanda Piyapanee (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) buried two in a row. Fox picked up one more goal in the fourth quarter, as did senior Yuying Lin (Scarborough, Ontario / Victoria Park C.I.) to put a bow on top of the Beavers' first victory of the 2022 season.

Senior goalie Zoe Rock (Chappaqua, N.Y. / Horace Greeley) kept the Beavers in the contest with nine saves for a .529 save percentage, additionally picking up two assists and a steal. Fox finished with five goals and an assist, while Gurcan scored four times, assisted on a goal, and drew a game-high two exclusions against the Firebirds.

Caltech also faced the McKendree Bearcats (Lebanon, Ill.) as the day grew colder in the afternoon. Piyapanee picked up a goal with an assist by sophomore Riya Shirvastava (Saratoga, Calif. / Lynbrook). Piyapanee additionally picked up a game highs of five assists and three drawn exclusions.  Rock made another eight saves in the contest.

Head Coach Jon Bonafede and the Beavers will be back home at the Braun Pool to host Penn State Behrend on Tuesday, Mar. 8.