PASADENA, Calif. – The Caltech women's water polo team hosted the Whittier College Poets Wednesday night in the two teams' first game of the 2023 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) campaign.

Great defense on both sides kept the first quarter a low-scoring affair, but the Beavers broke the deadlock in the fourth minute of play as Riya Shrivastava found an opening and fired it home. The Poets responded with a goal about a minute later, but Maya Dickson capitalized on a five-meter penalty shot and then Mia Mutadich scored in the last minute of the period to send Caltech into the break with a 3-1 lead. 

Amanda Piyapanee then struck quickly in the second quarter, winning her second sprint en route to a perfect 4-for-4 night and quickly burying the Beavers' fourth goal. It was the first time Caltech Women's Water Polo ever racked up a three-goal lead against a SCIAC rival. While Whittier fought back to take a one-goal lead, Tyler Fox made the Poets pay for an exclusion with a powerplay goal at the 4:38 mark of the quarter, tying the game at 5-5.

The Beavers strung together another three-goal run spanning from the third quarter into the fourth, with Mutadich sparking the rally, Madelyn Gilbert notching another Caltech powerplay goal, and Piyapanee netting her third of the game, all while holding Whittier scoreless for more than a five-minute span.

Piyapanee and Emma Gurcan each contributed three assists on offense, Gurcan drawing four exclusions to create extra-attacker opportunities. Dickson, Gilbert and Lana Lubecke each tallied an assist as well. Shrivastava and Piyapanee led both teams in field blocks with two apiece.

Head Coach Jon Bonafede and the Beavers are back in action at Braun Pool on Monday, Mar. 13 at 5 p.m. in a rematch with Macalester University.