ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Elizabeth Matlin (Sr., Buffalo Grove, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) and 2025 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Most Valuable Player Jess Palmer-Sammons (Jr., Half Moon Bay, Calif./Half Moon Bay) both contributed three goals to share Player of the Game accolades as Division III No. 8-ranked Maclaester College (11-8, 7-1 CWPA Division III) overcame Grove City College (4-13, 2-6 CWPA Division III), 15-3, in the opening round of the 2025 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship hosted by Augustana College at the Anne Greve Lund Natatorium.
The victory advances the Scots into the tournament semifinals where Macalester will clash at 1:00 p.m. Central on Saturday, April 12, against the victor of an opening round tilt matching Division III No. 9 Washington & Jefferson College and Carthage College. Grove City will take on the fallen from the Presidents-Firebirds meeting at 10:00 a.m. with hopes of earning a victory to punch the program’s ticket into the championship’s Fifth Place game on Sunday, April 13.
The game started with both team’s being anemic on offense as Kendall Coney (Sr., League City, Texas/Clear Creek) spun in the first quarter’s lone tally with 5:37 left on the clock to put the Scots in front to stay at 1-0.
Lorelei Bell (Jr., Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) (7:40), Matlin (5:18), Palmer-Sammons (4:36), Anna Gaisser (Fr., Seattle, Wash./Ingraham) (3:59, man-up; 1:08, man-up) blew the game open prior to halftime by combining for a 5-0 outburst in the second quarter to hand Macalester a 6-0 margin through 16 minutes of competition.
Kiley Sill (Jr., Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) shattered the Scots’ shutout bid 25 seconds into the third quarter by slipping a ball into the twine with 7:35 left in the frame.
Olivia Dimka (Sr., Denton, Texas/John H. Guyer) (5:41, man-up), Matlin (5:15) and Palmer-Sammons (3:15) responded with a three strike outburst to inflate the lead to 9-1. Riley McCullough (Sr., Spring, Texas/Oak Ridge) snapped Scots’ surge at 2:36 by cashing in a man-up bid to inch the Wolverines back to within seven at 9-2, but Mak Kratz (Fr., Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) delivered an answer for Macalester with 24 seconds left in the third quarter to make the score 10-2 after 24 minutes of action.
Coney (7:45), Palmer-Sammons (7:08) and Matlin (6:31) punched in a trio of tallies to begin the fourth quarter before Frances Baska (Fr., Longwood, Fla./Lake Mary) arched in a counterpoint for Grove City at 6:13 to set the scoreboard at 13-3.
Macalester eased off the offensive throttle down the stretch as the Scots limited themselves to scores by Molly Lemmon (So., Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) (4:01) and Brooke Geel (Sr., Meriden, Conn./Hopkins School) (1:49) to conclude the 15-3 victory.
For Grove City, McCullough, Sill and Baska each netted solo markers, while Emma Strahorn (Fr., Harleysville, Pa./North Penn) and Shastyn Tihansky (So., Hazleton, Pa./Hazleton) dished out assists. Goalkeeper Lea Steen (Jr, Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) made seven saves in taking the loss.
Matlin (three goals-one assist), Palmer-Sammons (three goals), Gaisser (two goals-two assists), Coney (two goals), Lemmon (one goal-two assists), Dimka (one goal-one assist), Bell (one goal), Kratz (one goal), Geel (one goal), Kendall Strauss (Jr., Round Rock, Texas/Round Rock) (two assists), Sian Lewandowski (Sr., North Haven, Conn./Williston Northampton) (one assist), Ayla Reynolds (Fr., San Antonio, Texas/John M. Harlan) (one assist) and Myles Kratz (Fr., Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) (one assist) combined for Macalester’s offense.
In cage, Jayden Kratt (Jr., Palo Alto, Calif./Henry M. Gunn) garnered the victory with eight saves and two goals allowed in 24 minutes of competition. Kratz made five saves with a goal allowed in the fourth quarter.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Grove City College (4-13, 2-6 CWPA Division III) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | 3 |
| Division III No. 8 Macalester College (11-8, 7-1 CWPA Division III) | 1 | 5 | 4 | 5 | – | 15 |
| Macalester Goals: | Elizabeth Matlin (3); Jess Palmer-Sammons (3); Kendall Coney (2); Molly Lemmon (2); Lorelei Bell; Olivia Dimka; Mak Kratz; Brooke Gael; Anna Gaisser | |||||
| Grove City Goals: | Riley McCullough; Kiley Sill; Frances Baska | |||||
| Saves: | Macalester – Jayden Kratt (10); Grove City – Lea Steen (6) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Macalester – 6 ; Grove City -6 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Macalester – 3-for-6; Grove City – 1-for-6 | |||||
| Sprints: | Macalester – 3-for-4 (1st, 2nd, 4th) ; Grove City – 1-for-4 (3rd) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Steve Redding; Andy Mattson | |||||
Macalester College’s Elizabeth Matlin (#6) lobs a shot as Grove City College’s Shastyn Tihansky (#17) defends
Macalester College’s Kendall Coney (#4) pursues Grove City College’s Frances Baska (#18)
Macalester College’s Jess Palmer-Sammons (#12) tries for a steal
