ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — The McKendree University men’s water polo team concluded its 2021 season by posting a 24-11 win over host Augustana College at the Anne Greve Lund Natatorium.
With the win, McKendree closes out the season with an 11-9 record, while Augustana concludes the year with a 4-12 mark.
The game marked the first-ever home varsity water polo contest in school history for Augustana and also the first game inside the school’s newly built Anne Greve Lund Natatorium.
The Bearcats scored five or more goals in all four periods, including tallying a total of 13 goals in the middle two quarters to hold an 18-7 lead after three periods.
McKendree held a 37-26 edge in shots and was two-for-two on power play situations.
Against the Vikings, four Bearcats scored three or more goals in the win as graduate student Uros Pelemis (Belgrade, Serbia/Fresno Pacific University) led the way with seven goals on nine shots. In addition to Pelemis, senior attacker Nico Rodriguez (Bogota, Colombia/Oviedo) added five goals and a team-high four assists for nine points, while freshman attacker Jespyn Bishop (Brighton, Colo./Brighton) and fifth-year Ori Scanlon (Orlando, Fla./Olympia) each had three goals in the win.
Overall, a total of 10 Bearcats scored goals in the win over Augustana.
The Bearcats used goals by Pelemis and Rodriguez to jump in front 2-0 less than three minutes into the game. After James Sutton scored Augustana’s first goal of the game with 2:39 left in the first period, the Bearcats would close the period by scoring three straight goals to lead 5-1 after the opening eight minutes.
Augustana opened the second quarter by scoring three of the first five goals to drop McKendree’s lead to 7-4. Pelemis, Bishop and senior attacker Tony Sunagawa (Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills) scored a total of four goals over the final 4:30 of the second quarter to give McKendree an 11-6 lead at the half.
Rodriguez and Pelemis opened the third period by scoring two goals each to open the period and push McKendree’s lead to 15-6 just two-plus minutes into the period.
After Colin McDowell stopped the Bearcats’ scoring run, Rodriguez, graduate student utility player Michael Rojas (Cali, Colombia/Salem University) and freshman utility player Alex Napawan (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central) scored the final three goals of the frame to provide the Bearcats an 18-7 lead after three periods.
Sutton got the scoring started in the fourth period to cut McK’s lead to 18-8, Pelemis and fifth-year senior Pedro Osorio (San Bernardino, Calif./Riverside City College) scored the next two goals to give McKendree a 20-8 lead. Scanlon (three goals) and freshman attacker Schuyler Cramer (Thornton, Colo./Horizon) netted four of the final six goals in the game to set the final margin.
Scanlon allowed seven goals and recorded six markers, while sophomore Jimmy Cronin (Naperville, Ill./Metea Valley) allowed four goals and made three saves.
Release courtesy McKendree University Athletics Communications
