BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The Division III Men’s Collegiate Water Polo National Championship Tournament will be held at Augustana College’s Linberg Center in Rock Island, Ill., on Saturday-Sunday, December 2-3, with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, the University of Redlands, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the host Vikings of Augustana.
- Claremont-Mudd-Scripps heads to the Division III National Championship Tournament after winning the program’s 27th Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship. Four Stags earned All-SCIAC awards leading up to the championship tournament, including freshman Nick Kennedy being named the SCIAC Newcomer of the Year. accompanying Kennedy on the All-SCIAC first team list are senior Cristian Pang, senior Aidan Nettekoven, and sophomore Luke Weigle. Head Coach Greg Lonzo and assistant coach Dave Merryman were also recognized and awarded the SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year.
- Host Augustana won the program’s second straight Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) East title. Sophomore goalkeeper was awarded Most Valuable Player of the MPSF East tournament. He was accompanied on the All-Tournament team by three fellow Vikings. Sophomore Oskar Bannister, freshman Rhys Lomax and junior Joseph Addison earned All-Tournament Team nods.
- For Redlands, senior Andrew Higginson was recently awarded the SCIAC Offensive Athlete of the Year accompanied by his counterpart in the pool, Roberto Barrera, who was honored with the SCIAC Defensive Athlete of the Year Award.
- After winning the Division III Eastern Championship via a 12-8 defeat of Johns Hopkins University, MIT will aim to become the first East Coast program to claim a Division III Championship. Senior goalkeeper Colin Weaver received the Most Valuable Player honor and freshman Rick Lundh garnered Rookie of the Tournament status. Additionally, Head Coach Austin Ringheim was named the Coach of the Year.
Release by Abigail Shelby
