Men’s Water Polo Places Fourth in OEC Championships, Qualifies for Regionals

The Tigers were shorthanded on Saturday as they entered into the third place game on the final day of the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) Championships. The Tigers brought a tie score into the second quarter against third-seeded Orange Coast, but the Pirates' strong second quarter put them at a disadvantage lead to a 12-10 defeat.

Riverside leaned on sophomore duo Louis Grandi and Tommy Dempsey early as they each netted first quarter goals. Dempsey struck again in the second quarter with sophomore Rylan Cummings joining him on the attack, but four goals from the Pirates put a damper on the Tiger's consistent offense.

Riverside hung tough going blow for blow in the second half, but they could never overcome the two-goal hump.

Grandi finished with three goals to extend his scoring streak to nine-consecutive games. He assisted on four scores to go along with two steals.

Sophomore Reljia Mitic netted two goals in his second game back from injury, while Dempsey joined him with two scores.

Sophomore goalkeeper Seth Zarn finished with 10 saves in four quarters of action.

The Tigers will enter into the Southern California Regional Championships as the seventh seed and square off against the 10^th-seeded Grossmont College Griffins on Thursday, November 10 at 3:15 pm. The tournament will be hosted by Long Beach City College.