ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Emma Luna (Jr., Wahiawa, Hawaii/Punahou School) won a scramble with Grove City College goalie Lea Steen (Jr., Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) in front of the cage by batting a ball inside the left post with five seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to cap off a seven-goal final eight minutes for Connecticut College as the Camels stunned the Wolverines, 12-11, in the 2025 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship Seventh Place game.
Competing at Augustana College’s Anne Greve Lund Natatorium, the Camels rallied back from a 10-5 deficit at the conclusion of the third quarter to shock Grove City and return home to the Constitution State with a unlikely come-from-behind win.
The only four-time CWPA Division III Champion (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016), Connecticut (5-11, 1-7 CWPA Division III) achieves the program’s inaugural seventh place finish at the CWPA Division III Championship after previously claiming first (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016), second (2018), third (2012), fourth (2017, 2019, 2023), fifth (2010, 2024), sixth (2011) and ninth (2022).
For the 2010, 2011, 2012 CWPA Division III Champion Wolverines (5-15, 2-6 CWPA Division III), the team notches its second consecutive eighth place mark as Grove City has finished first (2010, 2011, 2012), second (2013), third (2021), fourth (2015), fifth (2014, 2016, 2019, 2022), sixth (2017, 2018), seventh (2023) and eighth (2024, 2025) at the CWPA Division III Championship.
Down by five goals to open the fourth quarter, Connecticut attempted to chip away at its deficit as Melia Lorch (Jr, Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) moved the Camels to within four at 10-6 by denting the twine with 6:55 on the clock.
Shastyn Tihansky (So., Hazleton, Pa./Hazleton) returned the spread to five by pumping a ball into the cage 20 seconds later (6:35) to close out the Wolverines’ scoring in the contest in a then 11-6 game.
From there, the game was the domain of Connecticut as Ainsley Cornwall (Jr., San Mateo, Calif./Aragon) (6:18; 2:36), Maddie Baybeck (So, Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) (3:51) and Luna (2:00; 43 seconds; five seconds) combined for a six score outburst to the final horn to complete an improbable rally to victory.
Connecticut – which led once in the game prior to Luna’s deciding marker to prevent overtime with five seconds left in regulation – fell behind 53 seconds into the game as Kiley Sill (Jr., Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) broke the ice for the Wolverines at the 7:07 mark to stake Grove City to a 1-0 lead.
Luna turned the tables on the Wolverines by lining in shots with 6:44 and 5:34 left in the opening eight minutes of competition to move the Camels ahead 2-1. Tihansky (5:11, penalty shot) and Emma Strahorn (Fr., Harleysvile, Pa./North Penn) (3:39) put Grove City ahead at 3-2, Cornwall balanced the scoreboard (3:24) for the Camels at three-all and Frances Baksa (Fr., Longwood, Fla./Lake Mary) delivered another go-ahead strike for the Wolverines by converting a man-up chance at the 1:46 mark to make it a 4-3 game through eight minutes.
Luna retied the game at four-all with 3:08 left in the second quarter, but Tihansky teed off for back-to-back tallies at 2:53 and 48 seconds to allow Grove City to enter the break clutching a 6-4 scoreboard advantage.
The lead grew to 8-4 in the first 2:11 of the third quarter as Zoe Luttrell (Fr., Naperville, Ill./Metea Valley) (6:29) and Sill (5:49) stuffed balls into the cage to double-up Connecticut. Carley Schneider (Fr., Barrington, Ill./Barrington) trimmed the Camels’ deficit to 8-5 with a man-up marker a the 3:33 mark, but Luttrell (3:11) and Tihansky (2:25) netted back-to-back scores to once again double-up Connecticut at 10-5 and set the stage for the Camels’ dramatic comeback.
For Grove City, Tihansky (five goals), Sill (two goals), Luttrell (two goals-one assist), Strahorn (one goal-one assist), Baksa (one goal) and Riley McCullough (Sr., Spring, Texas/Oak Ridge) (one assist) provided the offense in support of an eight save effort by Steen.
Luna (six goals-one assist), Cornwall (three goals), Lorch (one goal-two assists), Schneider (one goal-one assist), Baybeck (one goal), Kamryn Kerr (Sr., East Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) (one assist) and Grace Isola (So., San Matteo, Calif./Aragon) (one assist) provided the offense for Connecticut with Baybeck (six goals allowed, four saves, 16 minutes) and Isola (five goals allowed, seven saves, 16 minutes) splitting time in cage.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Connecticut College (4-12, 1-7 CWPA Division III) |
3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | – | 12 |
| Grove City College (6-14, 2-6 CWPA Division III) | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | – | 11 |
| Grove City Goals: | Shastyn Tihansky (5); Kiley Sill (2); Zoe Luttrell (2); Frances Baksa; Emma Strahorn | |||||
| Connecticut Goals: | Emma Luna (6); Ainsley Cornwall (3); Carly Schneider; Melia Lorch; Maddie Baybeck | |||||
| Saves: | Grove City – Lea Steen (8 saves) ; Connecticut – Maddie Baybeck (16 minutes, 6 goals allowed, 4 saves), Grace Isola (16 minutes, 5 goals allowed, seven saves) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Grove City – 10 ; Connecticut – 5 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Grove City – 2-for-5 ; Connecticut – 1-for-10 | |||||
| Sprints: | Grove City – 1-for-4 (2nd) ; Connecticut – 3-for-4 (1st, 3rd, 4th) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | YC – Connecticut (Head coach Matt Anderson, 3:39 left in 1st Q) | |||||
| Officials: | Andy Mattson; Tiffany Ruiz-Urbanski | |||||
Grove City College’s Kamryn Kerr (#2) & Connecticut College’s Maddie Baybeck (#15)
Connecticut College’s Maddie Baybeck (#15) & Grove City College’s Carly Schneider (#8)
