Tigers Take Two to Open Season at Merced
MERCED -- The Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers men's water polo team opened its 2015 season with a pair of lopsided victories on Thursday (Sept. 10).
RCC (2-0 overall) downed the host Merced College Blue Devils, 23-11, in its final action of the day after defeating the American River College (ARC) Beavers, 17-6. in a non-conference game at Merced College's pool.
Against Merced, the Tigers posted leads of 6-4 after the first quarter, 12-10 at halftime, and 18-12 after three quarters.
Freshman utility player Kyle Christian (Riverside / M.L. King HS '15) and freshman center Jonah Saenz (Riverside / Poly HS '15) each tallied four goals and two assists to pace the Tigers' scoring against the host Blue Devils. Sophomore utility player Justin Rohn (San Bernardino / San Gorgonio '14), who is pictured, added three goals and three assists against Merced.
Freshman goalie Dustin Shaw (Riverside / M.L. King HS '15) had five saves and fellow freshman goalie Andres Mendoza (Perris / Perris HS '15) logged four saves against Merced.
In the season opener against ARC, Christian and freshman driver Lazar Raca (Belgrade, SERBIA) each tallied three goals and one assist to pace RCC's scoring. Saenz chipped in with two goals and four steals. GK Shaw had two saves and fellow freshman goalkie Blake Vazmendez (Yucaipa / Yucaipa '15) had three saves.
After Thursday's games, the Tigers will continue their trek to the Silicon Valley area where they will participate in the West Valley Tournament which is being hosted by West Valley College in Saratoga.
On Friday, Sept. 11, RCC will face the San Joaquin Delta College Mustangs at 12:15 p.m. in game to be played at De Anza College in Cupertino. Following that, the Tigers will face Cabrillo College Seahawks at 2:45 p.m. Tournament action will continue on Saturday, Sept. 12.
RCC head coach Jason Northcott (CS San Bernardino '09) is in his third year at the Tigers' helm. Northcott has an overall won-lost record of 17-26 for the two previous seasons.
After this weekend, the Tigers will continue action on Friday-Saturday, Sept. 18-19, when they participate in the annual Cuesta College Tournament in San Luis Obispo.
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