WHITTIER — Nina Wheeler, Lizzy Kosin and Carly Zurcher each scored a pair of goals as the Occidental women's water polo team fell at Whittier in its SCIAC opener, 13-6 on Wednesday.

Season Impact: The Tigers fall to 0-3 on the season and 0-1 in SCIAC play.

Whittier goes to 5-1 and 1-0.

Oxy played Whittier to a much closer score than its 19-4 loss against the Poets earlier in the year.

"We improved a lot from our first two games, especially with being more aggressive and getting our shots off," Wheeler said. "But we still need to get stronger and utilize our skills in all four quarters."

The Tigers continue to improve under first-year head coach Chris Lee.

"I'm proud of all the work this team has put in these last few weeks," Lee said. "The team and I are still learning each other and that showed at times. At the same time, there are a lot of great moments and adjustments this group was able to make that the team wasn't ready for when we played Whitter 2 1/2 weeks ago. We made big steps and there is still lots of room to grow."

Anna De Groot had four saves, two assists and three steals for the Tigers.

Next Game: The Tigers begin competition at the Claremont Convergence on March 4, starting with UC Irvine at Pomona-Pitzer at 10 a.m.