ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Champion/Division III No. 1-ranked Pomona-Pitzer utilized an eight goal third quarter to put away Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III runner-up/Division III No. 8 Washington & Jefferson College, 19-6, in the opening game of the 2025 USA Water Polo Division III Collegiate Championship hosted by Augustana College at the Anne Greve Lund Natatorium.
Pomona-Pitzer (24-10) advances to face SCIAC runner-up/Division III No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges – which dispatched CWPA Division III Champion/host/Division III No. 7 Augustana by a 14-5 count in the second semifinal – at 12:30 p.m. Central/1:30 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, May 4, for the 2025 USA Water Polo Division III title. The Sagehens will seek to claim the program’s fourth USA Water Polo Division crown in as many tries as Pomona-Pitzer (2022 – 1st; 2023 – 1st; 2024 – 1st), Whittier College (2022 – 2nd) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (2023 – 2nd, 2024 – 2nd) of the SCIAC are the only three teams to play for USA Water Polo’s Division III championship.
Washington & Jefferson (14-8) – which is making the teams’ first appearance at the USA Water Polo Division III Championship – will take on Augustana at 10:30 a.m. Central/11:30 a.m. Eastern on May 4 in the Third Place game. The Presidents defeated Augustana by a 9-8 score on March 28 at Grove City College in Grove City, Pa., during the regular season, but fell to the Vikings by a 10-7 score in Rock Island, Ill., on April 13 as the home team claimed the program’s third consecutive CWPA Division III Championship (2023, 2024, 2025).
The Vikings will seek to add another Third Place finish to the team’s legacy in the program’s fourth appearance in the fourth year of the USAWP Division III Championship.
Following the cancellation of the 2021 event due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the Vikings qualified in 2022 (at Pomona-Pitzer, Fourth Place), 2023 (at Augustana, Third Place) and 2024 (at Pomona-Pitzer, Third Place) along with Austin College (2022 – Third Place; 2023 – Fourth Place; 2024 – Fourth Place).
Taking on Pomona-Pitzer for the second time in program history and the first time since a 15-3 setback on March 16, 2013, at the California Baptist University Lancer Invitational in Riverside, Calif., the Presidents fell behind 4-0 by the 4::40 mark of the first quarter and were unable to recover.
Kaylee Stigar struck first for the Saghens as she buried a five-meter penalty shot with 6:44 left in the opening frame to stake Pomona-Pitzer to a lead it never relinquished. Mia Amberger (5:52), Sydney Bowns (5:14, man-up) and Stigar (4:40) followed with tallies to build the lead to 4-0 prior to Sydney Neumann (Sr., Long Bech, Calif./Millikan) mailing in a shot with 3:56 left in the frame to inch W&J back to within three at 4-1. Hallie Ratcliff (So., Friendswood, Texas/Friendswood) plucked the Sagehens’ margin by lining in a shot with 1:20 on the clock to shrink the Presidents’ deficit to 4-2.
However, Amberger responded with back-to-back even-strength markers to begin the second quarter at 7:40 and 5:51 to put W&J in a four-goal hole at 6-2. Laura Anthony (Sr., Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) connected on a five-meter penalty shot at 5:35, but Paityn Richardson converted a man-up opportunity at 4:28 to once again provide Pomona-Pitzer a four-goal margin at 7-3 Neumann closed out the second quarter/first half by spinning in a shot with 31 ticks on the clock as Washington & Jefferson reached the contest’s midway point down 7-4 to remain within striking distance.
Stigar and Amberger, however, put any questions regarding a Washington & Jefferson comeback to rest in the first two minutes of the third quarter as the duo deposited markers with 6:47 and 6:05 on the scoreboard, respectively, to engorge the margin to 9-4.
Anastacia Didovich (Sr, Venice, Fla./Venice) snapped the mini-scoring run by denting the twine with 3:56 on the clock to once again place W&J within four goals at 9-5.
The remainder of the third quarter belonged to the Sagehens, however, as Brienz Lang (3:37, two seconds), Amberger (3:01), Gabby Lewis (2:41, 1:25) and Ayva Magna (53 seconds) deposited six consecutive strikes in the final 3:40 of the frame to stake Pomona-Pitzer to a 15-5 lead through 24 minutes of action.
The goals kept coming for the top-ranked team in Division III to begin the fourth quarter as Bowns (7:30, 5:37), Layla Szymczak (7:05) and Sydney Bianchi (3:02) closed out a 10-score run by the Sagehens for a 19-5 spread. Neumann concluded out the scoring by chipping in the Presidents’ sixth and final goal with 48 seconds left in regulation for the 19-6 final score.
Amberger led the way with five goals to garner Player of the Game status for Pomona-Pitzer. Bowns (three), Stigar (two), Lang (two) and Lewis (two) also posted multi-score contests, while Richardson, Szymczak, Bianchi and Magna accounted for solo markers. Zosia Amberger played the first half in cage for the Saghens and notched four saves with four goals allowed to pick-up the win. Thea Pine turned aside eight shots with a pair of scores permitted during the second half.
Neumann anchored the Presidents’ offense with a hat-trick (three goals). Didovich, Ratcliff and Anthony joined her in the scoring column in support of a nine save effort by netminder Alliey Cunningham (Sr., Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township).
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Division III No. 8 Washington & Jefferson College |
2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | 6 |
| Division III No. 1 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 4 | 3 | 8 | 4 | – | 19 |
| Pomona-Pitzer Goals: | Mia Amberger (5); Sydney Bowns (3); Kaylee Stigar (3); Brienz Lang (2); Gabby Lewis (2); Paityn Richardson; Layla Szymczak; Sydney Bianchi; Ayva Magna | |||||
| W&J Goals: | Sydney Neumann (3); Anastacia Didovich; Laura Anthony | |||||
| Saves: | Pomona-Pitzer – Zosia Amberger (4, 4 goals against, 16 minutes), Thea Pine (8 saves, 2 goals against, 16 minutes); W&J – Alliey Cunningham (9) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Pomona-Pitzer – 6 ; W&J – 4 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Pomona-Pitzer – 3-for-4 ; W&J – 1-for-6 | |||||
| Sprints: | Pomona-Pitzer – 4-for-4 ; W&J – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | W&J – YC (Head coach Nikola Malezanov, 4:29 left in 2nd Q), Y/RC (Head coach Nikola Malezanov (53 seconds left in 3rd Q) | |||||
