YUCAIPA, Calif. – The Caltech men's water polo team sprinted into the 2026 season with a hard-fought 15-13 win at Crafton Hills College.
Justin Hong opened up the scoring for the game in the first minute of play, then struck again just over a minute later on a power play to make it 2-0. The Roadrunners answered with three straight goals to close the quarter, and Caltech trailed 3-2 after one.
Carl Crum and Alexander Alexandrov each scored to put Caltech back in front, with Alexandrov adding a second goal later in the period. The opposition kept pace with a pair of goals of their own, but Crum closed out the first half with another tally, tying the score at 6-6 at the break.
Crum opened the second half with a goal, and Alexandrov and Dane Torgerson followed to give Caltech some breathing room. Crafton Hills answered with goals of their own to stay within one, but Crum capped the quarter with his fourth goal of the day, pulling the Beavers ahead 10-9.
A back-and-forth fourth quarter saw Alexandrov and Crum burying goals to extend the Caltech lead, the Beavers always managing to find an answer for the Roadrunners' attacks. The opposition cut the deficit to one, but Alexandrov answered with back-to-back goals of his own. The opposition scored twice more to keep it close, but Torgerson sealed the win with a power-play goal late in the quarter, and Caltech held on for the 15-13 victory.
Head Coach Jon Bonafede and the Beavers will play four games in two days at Cypress College.
Follow the team on Instagram at @caltechwaterpolo, and catch live action of all home games and SCIAC contests on FloSports.tv
