ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Grove City College (2010, 2011, 2012). Connecticut College (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016). Macalester College (2017, 2018, 2019). Augustana College (2023, 2024, 2025).
In the history of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), four teams have now won back-to-back-to-back Women’s Division III titles as the host/Division III No. 10-ranked Vikings of Augustana College found a way to knock off Division III No. 9 Washington & Jefferson College, 10-7, at home in the Anne Greve Lund Natatorium to put Augustana in the same category as the Wolverines, Camels and Scots of Grove City, Connecticut and Macalester.
The game concludes the season for neither program as both Augustana (15-8, 5-3 CWPA Division III) and Washington & Jefferson (14-7, 6-2 CWPA Division III) will compete at the USA Water Polo Division III Collegiate Championship – likely at Augustana – on Saturday-Sunday, May 3-4, against the championship and runner-up from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). It marks the Vikings’ third trip to the USA Water Polo Division III Championship, while the Presidents will make the field for the first time as the event was created following W&J’s most recent CWPA Division III Championship title game berth.
The game marked the fourth time in as many years Augustana – which overcame 2021 and 2022 CWPA Division III Champion Austin College by a 10-5 count in the semifinals – made the CWPA Division III Championship title game. In 2022 at Grove City College, Austin College topped Augustana (18-7 W) to repeat as league champions. Two years ago at Macalester, Augustana claimed a 16-8 victory versus Austin in the title tilt. Last year at Connecticut, the Vikings once again felled the Kangaroos by a 14-10 score.
W&J – which dropped Division III No. 8/Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III regular season runner-up Macalester College, 9-6, in the semifinals to make the title tilt – adds another near miss to its legacy at the CWPA Division III Championship as the Presidents post their seventh runner-up mark (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2025). However, the title game is a potential stepping stone on the ascension/reemergence of W&J to/at the top of the CWPA Division III ranks as the team most recently finished Fourth (2018, 2024), 10th (2019) and Sixth (2022, 2023) at the championship in recent seasons. The Presidents did not compete at the championship in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a clash of the two lowest seeded teams (Washington & Jefferson – third; Augustana – fourth) to make a CWPA Division III Championship title game as No. 1 seed Austin and No. 2 Macalester went down in the semifinals, the Vikings never trailed and held the lead for all but 86 seconds in the game to avenge a 9-6 regular loss to the Presidents at Grove City College on March 28.
Following 56 seconds of scoreless action, Alayna Ickert (So., Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound) put Augustana on the scoreboard by spinning a shot around W&J netminder Alliey Cunningham (Sr., Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township). The Vikings expanded their lead to a pair at 3:38 as Waiahuli Akau (So., Pana’ewa, Hawaii/Kamehameha) broke loose to bury a shot into the twine.
Washington & Jefferson climbed back into the game over the next three minutes as Emma Halle (Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) curled a man-up shot into the cage at 2:35 prior to Laura Anthony (Sr., Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) lining in a five-meter penalty shot with 38 seconds remaining in the first eight minutes to knot the contest at two-all.
It took Augustana 30 seconds to regain a lead which it refused to relinquish until the final horn as Emma Blezien (Fr., Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) cocked and rocked a shot past Cunningham to make it a 3-2 game in favor of the home team.
Blezien struck again 54 seconds into the second quarter (7:06) to double-up the Presidents at 4-2, but Anastacia Didovich (Sr., Venice, Fla./Venice) delivered a response for W&J at 5:08 to shrink her team’s deficit to 4-3.
The teams exchanged scoring blows over the remainder of the first half as Annie Opal Dickson (Sr., Imperial Beach, Calif./Mar Vista) finished a man-up chance (3:35) prior to Halle hurling in a counterpoint with seven seconds left in the second quarter to set the scoreboard at 5-4 in favor of the Vikings at the break.
Ickert returned Augustana’s lead to a pair at 6-4 with 5:36 remaining in the third quarter prior to Hallie Ratcliff (So., Friendswood, Texas/Friendswood) chipping W&J’s disadvantage to 6-5 at the 2:12 mark.
Facing the potential of a Presidents’ rally, the Vikings utilized svefnthorn upon Washington & Jefferson as Anita Rodgers (So, Salt Lake City, Utah/Kearns) (1:43) and Blezien (1:07) deposited shots to sandwich yellow (1:23) and yellow/red (1:07) cards to W&J head coach Nikola Malezanov and widen the gap to 8-5 heading into the fourth quarter.
Washington & Jefferson was unable to rally back in the final eight minutes of regulation as Akau (6:22) and Rodgers (2:46) were the equals of the Presidents’ Emmie Ratcliff (Fr., Friendswood, Texas/Friendswood) (5:18) and Anthony (2:24) to preserve the three-goal margin until the final horn.
For Washington & Jefferson, Anthony (two goals-one assist), Halle (two goals), Didovich (one goal), Emmie Ratcliff (one goal-one assist) and Hallie Ratcliff (one goal-one assist) all factored on offense. Cunningham finished with six saves and nine goals against in 25:38, while Didovich allowed a goal with no saves in the final 6:22.
Player of the Game Blezien (three goals-one assist), Akau (two goals-one assist), Ickert (two goals-one assist), Rodgers (two goals), Dickson (one goal-one assist), Charlotte Newport (Sr., Baytown, Texas/Roos S. Sterling) (two assists) and Mary King (Jr., Bakersfield, Calif./California Baptist) (one assist) accounted for the majority of the Vikings’ offense. Goalkeeper Susan Palmentera-Reid (So., Chicago, Ill./Lane Tech) notched 15 saves and dished out a trio of assists in picking up the win.
Following the championship, the All-Tournament team was announced with Halle, Emmie Ratcliff and Malezanov sweeping the Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Tournament and Coach of the Tournament honors, respectively. It marks the first time a runner-up in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s and/or women’s varsity and Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) men’s and/or collegiate club swept the awards based on a vote of the competing institutions’ head coaches:
| 2025 CWPA Division III Championship All-Tournament | |
| Most Valuable Player: | Emma Halle (Washngton & Jefferson College) |
| Rookie of the Tournament: | Emmie Ratcliff (Washington & Jefferson College) |
| Coach of the Tournament: | Nikola Malezanov (Washington & Jefferson College) |
| First Team | |
| Lizzie Pelzman (Goalie) | Augustana College |
| Charlotte Newport | Augustana College |
| Emma Halle | Washington & Jefferson College |
| Emmie Ratcliff | Washington & Jefferson College |
| Bianca Gallegos | Austin College |
| Emma Luna | Connecticut College |
| Jess Palmer-Sammons | Macalester College |
| Second Team | |
| Alliey Cunningham (Goalie) | Washington & Jefferson College |
| Sydney Neumann | Washington & Jefferson College |
| Ocean Akau | Augustana College |
| Annie Opal Dickson | Augustana College |
| Ashley Chand | Austin College |
| Jocelyn Dimitri | Austin College |
| Kiera Crawley | Carthage College |
| Kendall Coney | Macalester College |
| Makenzie Rickerd | Penn State Behrend |
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Division III No. 9 Washington & Jefferson College (14-7, 6-2 CWPA Division III) |
2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | – | 7 |
| Division III No. 10 Augustana College (15-8, 5-3 CWPA Division III) | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | – | 10 |
| Augustana Goals: | Emma Blezien (3); Waiahuli Akua (2); Anita Rodger (2); Alayna Ickert (2); Annie Opal Dickson | |||||
| W&J Goals: | Laura Anthony (2); Emma Halle (2); Anastacia Didovich; Emmie Ratcliff; Hallie Ratcliff | |||||
| Saves: | Augustana – Susan Palmentera-Reid (15 saves) ; W&J – Alliey Cunningham (6 saves, 9 goals against, 25:38 minutes), Anastacia Didovich (0 saves, 1 goal against, 6:22 minutes) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Augustana – 6 ; W&J – 5 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Augustana – 1-for-5 ; W&J – 2-for-6 | |||||
| Sprints: | Augustana – 2-for-4 (1st, 4th) ; W&J – 2-for-4 (2nd, 3rd) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | YC – W&J (Head coach Nikola Malezanov, 1:23 left in 3rd Q); YC/RC – W&J (Head coach Nikola Malezanov, 16 seconds left in 3rd Q) | |||||
| Officials: | Steve Redding; Aleks Mirevski | |||||
Washington & Jefferson College goalie Alliey Cunningham (#1) attempts to make a save against Augustana College
Washington & Jefferson College’s Emma Halle (#6) lines up a shot as Augustana College’s Annie Poal Dickson (#9) defends
2025 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship Third Place: Macalester College
2025 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship Second Place: Washington & Jefferson College
2025 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship Coach of the Tournament: Nikola Malezanov (Washington & Jefferson College)
2025 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship Rookie of the Tournament: Emmie Ratcliff (Washington & Jefferson College)
2025 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship Most Valuable Player: Emma Halle (Washington & Jefferson College)
2025 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Champion: Augustana College
2025 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Champion Augustana College celebrates
Augustana College accepts the 2025 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship plaque
Augustana College head coach Ryan Pryor (right) and assistant coach Peter Ollis (right) put the Vikings’ name into the final spot on the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship board following the team’s victory over Washington & Jefferson College
