Photo by samsphotoservices.com

By Kendrick Mooney

LOS ANGELES – Anna De Groot had an outstanding day in the Occidental women's water polo team's 16-9 loss to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at Taylor Pool on Saturday.

De Groot played one of her best games of the season, blocking several well-placed shots and, keeping the Tigers in the game. She finished with nine saves.

Carly Zurcher gave Oxy a quick lead scoring within the first minute. CMS's Jessica Gaffney responded within seconds with a goal of her own, starting a 3-0 run for the Athenas that gave them a 3-1 lead.

After being down 5-2 midway through the first quarter, the Tigers called a timeout. The defense tightened up and the Tigers started to slow the Athenas' offense down.

The Tigers only trailed 8-6 at the end of the half.

Both teams went scoreless for the first 5 minutes of the second half. Oxy's Kyla Houck scored off a 6-on-5 advantage play to break the ice. But CMS responded on the next play to increase their lead and took command of the game from there.

Zurcher led the way for the Tigers with four goals. Haack and Lori Berberian each had two goals.

Roxy Kiessling and Aracelia Aldrete both scored five goals for the Athenas.

Season Impact: The Tigers fall to 5-17 and 0-5 in conference. The Athenas improve to 7-13 and 1-3 in conference.

Next Game: The Tigers play at La Verne on April 8^th at 11:00 AM.