BALTIMORE, Md. – The MIT water polo team defeated Connecticut College, 16-7 on Sunday afternoon on the campus of Johns Hopkins to conclude the Division III Eastern Championships with a 2-0 record and capture the DIII Eastern Championship for the second straight year. It's the program's 11th DIII Eastern Title overall.
MIT now earns a bid to the USA Water Polo National Championship which will be held from December 7-8 in California.
THE BASICS:
- Scores: MIT 16, Connecticut College 7
- Records: MIT (6-11 Overall), Conn. College (5-10 Overall)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Engineers jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but the Camels got to within one goal at the end of the first.
- Junior Adam Ivatorov (Rockaway, N.Y.) and sophomore William Ewald (Greenwich, Conn.) found the back of the net to put MIT up 5-2. Sophomore Rick Lundh (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) made it a 6-3 match, and sophomore Andras Beleznay (Delray Beach, Fla.) put the Engineers up by four with a goal with 57 seconds left. Conn. got a goal with 25 seconds left to make it a 7-4 match at half.
- The Camels scored at 6:37 in the third to make it a two-goal game, but the Engineers went on five-goal run to pull ahead 12-5, but Conn got one back at the end of the third to make it a 12-6 game.
- Sophomore Kunal Rajadhyax (Vernon Hills, Ill.) opened the scoring for MIT in the fourth as the Engineers outscored the Camels 4-1 in the final quarter.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Lundh led the way with five goals and Ivatorov netted four. Rajadhyax finished with two scores.
- Sophomore Kieran Kearns (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) led MIT with three assists and three steals.
- First year Joshua Woren (Aurora, Calif.) made five saves in the first half while classmate Armaan Gill (Long Grove, Ill.) made two stops in the second half.
UP NEXT:
- The Engineers will take a week off before returning to the pool on Saturday, November 2 when they welcome Harvard to the Zesiger Center for a 10:00 AM match.
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