ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Emma Luna (Jr., Wahiawa, Hawaii/Punahou School) scored a game-high four times to earn Player of the Game honors as Connecticut College overwhelmed Wheaton College, 17-2, in the opening game of the 2025 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship at Augustana College’s Anne Greve Lund Natatorium.
Connecticut (4-9, 1-7 CWPA Division III) advances to face No. 1 seed/CWPA Division III regular season champion/Division IIi No. 6-ranked Austin College at 7:00 p.m. Central this evening with a spot in the championship tournament semifinals on the line.
Connecticut never trailed in turning back Wheaton (0-11, 0-8 CWPA Division III) as Luna (6:21) and Jada Keen (So., Kealakekua, Hawaii/Kealakehe) (5:42) broke the ice with strikes to stake the Camels to a 2-0 lead less than three minutes into the contest. Meiling Bottan (Sr., Lexington, Mass./Lexington) capped off the opening eight minutes of competition by lining in a shot with 1:11 on the clock to expand the margin to 3-0.
Carly Schneider (Fr., Barrington, Ill./Barrington) (6:45), Melia Lorch (Jr., Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) (6:14) and Sarah Nagel (Fr., Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School) (3:58, 2:49) padded Connecticut’s lead to 7-0 in the second quarter prior to Issabel Babikova (Jr., South Portland, Maine/South Portland) (2:29) and Izabella Agraz (57 seconds) converting on man-up bids to shrink the Lyons’ deficit to 7-2 heading into halftime.
The remainder of the contest was the domain of Connecticut as Ainsley Cornwall (Jr., San Mateo, Calif./Aragon) (7:27, 6:44), Luna (6:21, 5:56), Schneider (3:38), Maddie Baybeck (So., Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) (2:48, man-up) and Anna Taylor (Jr., Pleasanton, Calif./Foothill) (1:46) pounded the twine in the third quarter to inflate the margin to 14-2.
Lorch (6:48, man-up), Taylor (5:11) and Luna (2:47, penalty shot) capped off the offensive fireworks by torquing in a trio of tallies to close out the 15-goal win.
For Wheaton, Agraz and Babikova combined for the Lyons’ offense in support of a nine save performance by goalkeeper Amelia Brown (So., Action, Mass./Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School).
The team will return to the water at 11:30 a.m. Central on Saturday, April 12, against the fallen from another first round game between host/Division III No. 19 Augustana College and Penn State Behrend.
Connecticut – which previously claimed the 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 CWPA Division III Championships – received offensive output from Luna (four goals-two assists), Taylor (two goals-four assists), Lorch (two goals-one assist), Cornwall (two goals-one assist), Schneider (two goals-one assist), Nagel (two goals), Keen (one goal-one assist), Bottan (one goal-one assist), Baybeck (one goal) and Grace Isola (one assist).
Isola earned the win in cage with 13 saves in 24 minutes of action, while Baybeck played the fourth quarter with four stops.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Wheaton College (0-11, 0-8 CWPA Division III) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 |
| Connecticut College (4-9, 1-7 CWPA Division III) | 3 | 4 | 7 | 3 | – | 17 |
| Connecticut Goals: | Emma Luna (4); Anna Taylor (2); Ainsley Cornwall (2); Sarah Nagel (2); Carly Schneider (2); Melia Lorch (2); Maddie Baybeck; Meiling Bottan; Jada Keen | |||||
| Wheaton Goals: | Izabella Agraz; Issabel Babikova | |||||
| Saves: | Connecticut – Grace Isola (13, 24 minutes), Maddie Baybeck (4, 8 minutes) ; Wheaton – Amelia Brown (9) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Connecticut – 5 ; Wheaton – 4 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Connecticut – 3-for-4 ; Wheaton – 2-for-5 | |||||
| Sprints: | Connecticut – 3-for-4 (1st, 2nd, 4th) ; Wheaton – 1-for-4 (3rd) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Tiffany Ruiz-Urbanski; Aleks Mitrevski | |||||
Connecticut College’s Jada Keen (#7) & Wheaton College’s Issabel Babikova (#7)
Connecticut College’s Melia Lorch (#19) & Wheaton College’s Isobelle Jennings (#9)
Connecticut College’s Emma Luna (#9)
