CLAREMONT, Calif. – Caltech Women's Water Polo squared off against the nationally top-ranked Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens Saturday morning. It was the Beavers' second contest of their Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) campaign, facing the top-ranked team in Division III in the strongest water polo conference in the country.

The Beavers got on the scoreboard about halfway through the first quarter by the hand of first-year Maya Dickson, who buried a five-meter penalty shot drawn by junior Emma Gurcan. It was the first of Gurcan's game-high five exclusions drawn.

Then in the second quarter, rookie center Mia Mutadich netted back-to-back goals, both during even-strength situations and separated by just 38 seconds. Gurcan followed just over a minute later, making the Sagehens pay for an exclusion foul. Senior Amanda Piyapanee struck last for Caltech, scoring her 16th goal of the season in the second minute of the fourth quarter.

Dickson, sophomore Lana Lubecke and first-year Madelyn Gilbert each earned an assist in the contest, and Piyapanee was perfect on the opening sprints.

"It was tough to play the number one team in the country, but I was proud of our performance," Head Coach Jon Bonafede said. "Everyone got playing time, and we are taking what we learned into our two games next week."

The Beavers host a rematch against Macalester College on Monday, Mar. 13 before hosting Connecticut College on Tuesday, Mar. 14. Both games are set to start at 5 p.m. at Braun Pool. Watch live at https://sciacnetwork.com/caltech.