LA VERNE/CLAREMONT, Calif. — Mount St. Mary’s University grabbed a 17-16 win over Westcliff University at the University of La Verne’s La Verne Aquatics Center and suffered a 21-14 setback against Division III No. 5-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges at Pomona-Pitzer College’s Haldeman Pool in splitting a pair of games on the first day of the 2023 Gary Troyer Tournament hosted by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Pomona-Pitzer, La Verne and Occidental College.
Joseph Maxson reestablished the Mount school record for saves in a game, with 18 rejections in overcoming the Warriors of Westcliff. Alexandros Bellesis came out to play by tallying his 100th career goal against Westcliff with his second of five scores in the opening game, becoming the third player in school history to achieve the feat. In the second game with the Panthers, Chrysostomos Valavanis led the Mountaineers’ offense with a season high in goals for the sophomore as he fired in five.
Trailing 9-8 to Westcliff at halftime, Mount St. Mary’s tallied four goals in the third quarter. A shot by Bellesis with 3:42 left in the frame exchanged the lead at 12-11. After the Warriors rallied to tie the contest at 15-all, Bellesis had another answer, followed by Eli Thalos with a goal to set the Mountaineers apart.
Bellesis (five), Thalos (four), Valavanis (three), Aaron Tarr (two) and Michael Lemishko (two) accounted for multi-goal games versus Westcliff, while Nate Valentine slipped in a solo strike.
The contest against Chapman was a different affair as the Panthers pounced on the Mountaineers to go ahead 5-1 and 11-4 by the conclusion of the first and second quarters in building a lead the Mountaineers were unable to surmount in the second half.
The squads played even in the third and fourth quarters with both squads putting away four and six tallies in the frames, respectively.
Valavanis (five), Bellesis (four) and Thalos (two) keyed the Mount’s attack with multiple goals, while Lemishko, Valentine and Tarr chipped in single tallies.
Sherif Hosni finished with 11 saves, while Frederick Brown accounted for a pair of stops.
Information courtesy Mount St. Mary’s University Athletics Communications
