Tigers Kick off Season in Two High-Profile Tournaments, Earn a Pair of Wins
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ottowa University (1-0, 0-0) | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 19 |
|
Riverside (1-1, 0-0) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 10 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cal Tech (0-2, 0-0) | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 15 |
|
Riverside (2-1, 0-0) | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 21 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Riverside (2-4, 0-0) | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
|
University of Redlands (1-0, 0-0) | 1 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 13 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Concordia University - Irvine (1-0, 0-0) | 9 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 24 |
|
Riverside (2-3, 0-0) | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 12 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Riverside (2-2, 0-0) | 7 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 21 |
|
University of La Verne (1-0, 0-0) | 4 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 23 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Riverside (1-0, 0-0) | 4 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 16 |
|
Mt. San Antonio (0-6, 0-0) | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
Good things come with patience. For the Riverside City College men's water polo team, patience was definitely a virtue.
After an entire season was scrapped due to COVID-19, the Tigers finally hopped back into the pond for competition in the RCC Mini Tournament and the 2021 Inland Empire Classic. Riverside went 2-4 over the weekend, but featured a season-opening victory over the Mt. San Antonio College Mounties and the NCAA Division III Caltech Beavers.
After both the tournaments concluded, a number of offensive threats rose to the surface. Freshman Reese Starkey was the premiere weapon as he netted 22 goals over the six games. He scored at least one goal in every contest highlighted by an eight-goal affair in a two score loss to the University of La Verne. Additionally, he has recorded 22 steals by recording five or more swipes in three games.
Freshman Tommy Dempsey followed with 16 goals highlighted by a five goal showing in the win over Mt. SAC. Freshman Louis Grandi trails with 15 goals, while freshman Sebastian De La Pena-Kenley has netted 14 total. Grandi leads the team in assists with 10.
Freshman Relja Mitic impressed with a well-rounded showing through the opening week by scoring 13 goals, pocketing 10 steals and drawing 5 ejections. Additionally, he leads the team in field blocks with four.
All four goalies saw time in the cage with freshman Seth Zarn getting the bulk of the action. He played in 11 quarters and currently leads the team in saves with 32 despite going 0-3 for the week. Freshman Pavle Ristic earned the two wins by allowing 22 goals and earning 26 saves. Freshman Ben Betty recorded 10 saves in to quarters of action.
Riverside (2-4) will kick off Orange Empire Conference (OEC) action tomorrow against Fullerton College on the road at 3 p.m.