FRESNO, Calif. – Caltech's women's water polo team opened the regular season at the Fresno State Bulldog Mini, holding on for a monumental victory over UC Merced in the Beavers' second game of the day.

After a warmup exhibition on Jan. 27 against UC Irvine's club team, Caltech opened the season against Fresno Pacific University. Sophomore Mia Mutadich (London, U.K. / Notting Hill and Earling) and senior Emma Gurcan (Istanbul, Turkey / Lincoln HS; Portland, Ore.) each netted a pair of goals against a tough Sunbirds team.

Mutadich struck first for the Beavers in the fifth minute of the battle against the UC Merced Bobcats, and then sophomore Maya Dickson (Atlanta / North Atlanta) scored a penalty goal to give Caltech a 2-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
Dickson struck again after the Beavers drew a quick penalty in the second, converting on the power play opportunity for a three-goal advantage. The Bobcats finally got on the scoreboard at the 5:44 mark, but then back-to-back goals by Dickson and Gurcan extended Caltech's lead to four goals.

UC Merced rallied with a three-goal run stretching into the third quarter before sophomore Madelyn Gilbert (Clovis, Calif. / Clovis East) broke their momentum with a clutch goal. Dickson, Mutadich and Gurcan combined for four more goals in a 61-second span to make it a 10-6 game.

At that point, the Beavers dug in on defense, holding off the Bobcats for the majority of the final quarter. Merced tallied three goals in the final three minutes, pulling within one in the last minute, but it was not enough as Caltech refused to let the lead slip away.

Sophomore goalkeeper Mahi Ravi played all 64 minutes in goal through Saturday's two games, tallying 16 saves in total.

Head Coach Jon Bonafede and the Beavers will return to action in the Convergence Tournament beginning on Friday, March 1. Follow the team on Instagram and at https://gocaltech.com/wwp