HOME OF BULLDOG MEN'S WATER POLO - 1993, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009 SCIAC Champions

Facing off against four top-20 teams at the SoCal Water Polo Tournament at Pepperdine University from Oct. 11-12, the 16th-ranked University of Redlands men’s water polo squad put up a tough test, coming out of the invitational 1-3.

Game No. 1 pitted the Bulldogs against a No. 4 Pepperdine team that held Redlands to its lowest goal tally yet this season. All three goalkeepers saw action in the game for the Bulldogs as the Waves handled the maroon and gray to a 14-2 score.

Redlands rebounded in the second game, upending the 14th-ranked St. Francis College (NY) 11-8. Sophomore defender Andrew Smith-Jones (Annapolis, MD) racked up five goals, leading the Bulldogs to victory.

On the second day, the Bulldogs faced a tough draw in having to face No. 8 UC Irvine and picked up their second loss of the invitational following a 16-6 loss.

The team’s final game provided the most exciting tilt of the invitational as the Bulldogs got edged 12-11 by No. 15 Princeton University (NJ) in a sudden-death overtime period.

Leading the team offensively was Smith-Jones who netted nine goals while junior center Brendan Meaney (Palm Desert, CA) put away seven. Also contributing scoring for the Bulldogs were senior driver Andrew Becskehazy (Miami, FL) with four, senior utility player Buddy Olds (Murrieta, CA) with three and sophomore driver Tim Hendrickson (Los Altos, CA), freshman driver Tyler Harp (San Bernardino, CA), junior utility player Ryan Floersch (San Jose, CA), junior defender John Floersch (San Jose, CA), junior utility player Jim Kehrig (Danville, CA), freshman driver Mark Yerkes (Orlando, FL) and sophomore center Miran Terzic (Palm Desert, CA) with one apiece.

In goal, senior goalkeeper Teddy Trowbridge (Mercer Island, WA) saw the most action, saving 27 shots and competing in all four games. Junior goalkeeper Jack Amaral (Porterville, CA) recorded four saves while freshman driver Ben Ballard (Riverside, CA) notched three stops.

Redlands (15-7) starts up Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play on Saturday, Oct. 18 against the Kingsmen from Cal Lutheran University at the Thompson Aquatic Center. Game time is set for 11 a.m.