Men’s Water Polo Pulls Away Down the Stretch, Advances to SoCal Semifinals

The seventh-seeded Riverside City College men's water polo team found themselves in a dogfight in the first round of the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern Regional Championships. After being locked at two-all leading into the second quarter, Riverside doubled the offensive output of the 10^th seeded Grossmont College Griffiths leading to a 12-8 win.

Riverside snaps a two-game skid after placing fourth in the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) Championships last week. In what looked to be shaping into an interesting game after the conclusion of the opening eight minutes, Riverside turned on the burners and outscored the Griffiths in each of the ensuing quarter.

They rebounded nicely by leaning on the anchor of their team in the form of sophomore Louis Grandi.

Grandi finished the night with five goals with one steal. Sophomore tandem Reese Starkey and Relja Mitic followed with two, while a freshman trio Kyle Lambeth, Connor Lyton and Nicolas Sadowski each located the back of the net one time.

Sophomore Seth Zarn had one of his better games in recent memory after earning 11 saves in his ninth win of the season.

The Tigers will face off against second-seeded Cuesta on Friday, November 11 at 4:30 p.m. in hopes of advancing to championship Saturday. The two teams faced off in late September and the Cougars routed the Tigers, 21-10, handing them their 11^th consecutive loss at the time.