ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Joslyn Dimitri (So., Couer d’Alene, Idaho/Couer d’Alene) posted four goals to earn Player of the Game status as Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III regular season champion/Division III No. 6-ranked Austin College prevented a comeback try by Connecticut College to clinch a berth in the 2025 CWPA Division III Championship semifinals via a 13-8 dispatching of the Camels.
The Kangaroos (12-7, 8-0 CWPA Division III) earn a 2:30 p.m. Central date at Augustana College’s Anne Greve Lund Natatorium.with the Division III No. 10/two-time (2023, 2024) defending CWPA Division III Champion/host Vikings on Saturday, April 12, with a spot in the weekend tournament’s title game on the line. The match-up will be a familiar one for both teams as Austin and Augustana clashed for the CWPA Division III crown in 2022 (18-7 Austin win at Grove City College), 2023 (16-8 Augustana win at Macalester College) and 2024 (14-10 Augustana win at Connecticut College). This year, the two teams battled to a near-stalemate as Austin picked up a 14-13 win on March 16 at home in Sherman, Texas.
A two-time CWPA Division III Champion (2021, 2022) and three-time runner-up (2019, 2023, 2024), the ‘Roos ran off the four-time (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) CWPA Division III Champion and one-time (2018) runner-up Camels thanks to a first half which saw Austin hold a 7-2 lead entering halftime.
Connecticut struck first in the contest as Ainsley Cornwall (Jr., San Mateo, Calif./Aragon) punched in a strike at the 6:19 mark of the first quarter to stake the Camels to an early 1-0 margin.
Dimitri erased the lead under three minutes later by netting the equalizer with 3:30 left in the frame prior to Bianca Gallegos (Jr., Albuquerque, N.M./Manzano) putting in a go-ahead goal with 1:48 to play in the opening eight minutes to place Austin in front to stay.
Back-to-back tallies by Dimitri (7:20, 6:40) to commence the second quarter ballooned the space between the programs to 4-1. Clara Koenig (Fr., Cypress, Texas/Bridgeland) (6:29; 42 seconds) and Ashlyn Thomas (Fr., Winter Garden, Fla./West Orange) (4:57) exacerbated Connecticut’s deficit by combining for three additional goals to help Austin acquire a 7-1 lead nearing halftime.
Emma Luna (Jr., Wahiawa, Hawaii/Punahou School) chipped a goal off the ‘Roos lead prior to the break as she converted a five-meter penalty shot to inch Connecticut back within five at 7-2.
Following halftime, Connecticut came out heaving as Luna launched in her second strike of the contest to close the gap to 7-3 22 seconds into the third quarter. Gallegos terminated the Camels’ attempt at rallying back as the junior beat her defenders and wailed home back-to-back line-drives into the cage at 7:22 and 6:41 to pad Austin’s scoreboard advantage to 9-3.
Connecticut, however, refused to go down without a fight as Maddie Baybeck (So., Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer), Luna and Cornwall spit in back-to-back-to-back strikes at 4:22, 3:37 (man-up) and 40 seconds, respectively, to put the Camels within striking distance at 9-6 heading into fourth and final quarter of action on Day One of the 2025 CWPA Division III Championship.
Needing some insurance to stymie Connecticut from stunning the regular season champions, Austin turned to the duo of Camila Diarte (Fr., San Antonio, Texas/Brandeis) and Dimitri who struck at the 7:12 and 5:34 marks, respectively, to widen the gap between the two prior league champions to 11-6.
Carly Schneider (Fr., Barrington, Ill./Barrington) attempted to restart Connecticut’s comeback bid as the first-year fired in her team’s seventh goal, but Diarte delivered a counterstrike at 4:11 by beating Camels’ goalkeeper Baybeck to return the lead to five at 12-7.
From there, the teams exchanged scoring opportunities as Luna accounted for her fourth goal of the game with 1:50 remaining in regulation prior to Caroline Armstrong (So., Houston, Texas/Cy-Fair) stretching the final difference to 13-8 via a liner with 24 seconds on the clock.
For Connecticut, Luna (four goals), Cornwall (two goals), Baybeck (one goal, one assist), Schneider (one goal), Anna Taylor (Jr., Pleasanton, Calif./Foothill) (two assists), Melia Lorch (Jr., Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) (two assists) and Sarah Nagel (Fr., Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School) (one assist) accounted for the Camels’ offense to support a 14-save effort by Baybeck.
Across the tank, Dimitri (four goals) and Gallegos (three goals) accounted for half of their team’s offensive production. Diarte (two goals, one assist), Koenig (two goals), Armstrong (one goal, one assist), Thomas (one goal), Mikayla Arizmendi (Fr., San Antonio, Texas/Harlan) (two assists), Sophie Johnson (Fr., Lantana, Texas/Guyer) (two assists) and Mikhaela Torres (So., Cypress, Texas/Bridgeland) (one assist) also factored to aid a five save performance by goalkeeper Ashley Easley (So., Antonio, Texas/Brandeis).
Connecticut will next be in action at 5:30 p.m. Central on Saturday, April 12, against the winner of a consolation bracket showdown pitting Penn State Behrend and Wheaton College.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Connecticut College (4-10, 1-7 CWPA Division III) |
2 | 5 | 2 | 4 | – | 13 |
| Division III No. 6 Austin College (12-7, 8-0 CWPA Division III) | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | – | 8 |
| Austin Goals: | Joslyn Dimitri (4); Bianca Gallegos (3); Camila Diarte; Clara Koenig (2); Ashlyn Thomas; Caroline Armstrong; | |||||
| Connecticut Goals: | Emma Luna (4); Ainsley Cornwall (2); Maddie Baybeck; Carly Schneider | |||||
| Saves: | Austin – Ashley Easley (5) ; Connecticut – Maddie Baybeck (14) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Austin – 9 ; Connecticut – 4 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Austin – 1-for-4 ; Connecticut – 3-for-9 | |||||
| Sprints: | Austin – 0-for-4 ; Connecticut – 4-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | YC – Connecticut (Head coach Matt Anderson, 5:34 left in 4th Q); YC – Austin (Head coach Mark Lawrence, 4:42 left in 4th Q) | |||||
| Officials: | Andy Mattson; Tiffany Ruiz-Urbanski | |||||
Austin College’s Ashley Easley (#1B) makes a save against Connecticut College
Connecticut College’s Maddie Baybeck (#1) prepares for a shot
Austin College’s Bianca Gallegos (#2) defends Connecticut College’s Anna Taylor (#13)
