CLAREMONT — The Occidental women's water polo team went 2-2 at the SCIAC Championship tournament, taking sixth place. Oxy beat Caltech in the play-in game, lost to top-seeded Pomona-Pitzer in the First Round, and then beat Redlands in overtime and lost its final game to La Verne on the consolation side of the bracket.

Oxy, which came into the tournament in eighth place, jumps Redlands to finish seventh overall in the SCIAC standings based on the point system. 

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Game 1: Occidental 17, Caltech 3

Katie Gibbs and Zulema Iboa-Garcia each recorded a hat-trick with three goals as the Occidental women's water polo team beat Caltech 17-3 in the SCIAC Play-in game at Pomona College on Friday.

Lizzy Kosin, Mirei Yasuda and Nina Wheeler all had a pair of goals. Amanda Akiyama, Kyla Houck, Savannah D'Orazio, Carly Zurcher and Hi'ipoi Lee each had one.

Monica Enlow, Soumya Kanna and Alexandra Illic were the goal scorers for Caltech.

The Tigers led 6-0 after the first quarter and 9-1 at half, cruising to it's second easy victory over the Beavers in less than two weeks (Oxy defeated the Beavers 17-2 on its senior day on April 15). 

Wheeler had five steals and the Tigers had 23 as a unit, putting on a dominant defensive display. 

Game 2: Pomona-Pitzer 18, Occidental 4

Kosin, Gibbs, Iboa-Garcia and Zurcher all had a goal, but it wasn't enough as the top-seeded Sagehens went a 9-0 run that lasted from the middle of the first quarter, into the third, squashing Oxy's hopes of an upset.

Wheeler had three steals and Oxy goalkeeper Anna De Groot made four saves.

From the Coach: "We played really well in the first quarter, only trailing 3-1 after the first," Oxy head coach Jon Bonafede said. "But Pomona is too strong and too deep. They have seven seniors with great experience and they used that and their depth to beat us."

Game 3: Occidental 12, Redlands 11 (OT)

Katie Gibbs gave the Tigers the go-ahead goal in the second 3-minute period of overtime with 47 seconds to play, giving Oxy a dramatic win 12-11 win. 

From the Coach: "We didn't play perfect water polo, but I don't think we have played much better than that," Oxy head coach Jon Bonafeded said. "It's a huge win, but we're definitely not finished here in the tournament."

Gibbs got position at set and ripped a step-out shot over the goalie's head for the score. She also made a huge contribution on the defensive side of the pool, defending well at two-meter, snatching five steals with two field blocks.

Carly Zurcher led the Tigers with four goals, Lizzy Kosin and Nina Wheeler each had three, and Gibbs finished with.

Anna De Groot was solid for Oxy with 12 saves.

Oxy led 6-2 at the half before the Bulldogs came back to tie it at the end of regulation. Kosin scored in the first overtime period before Gibbs came through with the game winner.

Game 4: La Verne 11, Occidental 6

Kosin and Gibbs each had a pair of goals, but the Tigers went cold during the second and third quarters, managing just one goal during the 16-minute stretch, falling to La Verne in the fifth-place game.

After the first quarter ended with the score tied at 2-2, La Verne went on a 5-1 run. Oxy added three goals in the fourth, but it was too late.

Akiyama and Zurcher were Oxy's other two goal scorers.