GROVE CITY, Pa. — Meghan Lythgoe (Jr., Mason, Ohio/Mason) scored nine times as Wittenberg University defeated Utica University, 21-0, in the opening round of the 2022 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship hosted by Grove City College at the Longnecker Competition Pool.
The Tigers (8-17, 2-6 CWPA Division III-West) outscored the Pioneers (0-9, 0-8 CWPA Division III-East) by counts of 7-0, 3-0, 6-0 and 5-0 in the first, second, third and fourth quarters, respectively, to overwhelm Utica and punch Wittenberg’s ticket to a 6:40 p.m. showdown this evening versus CWPA Division III-East regular season champion Washington & Jefferson College.
Utica falls into the consolation side of the bracket and will return to the water at 11:20 a.m. on Friday, April 22, to face the fallen from a first round matchup between the host Wolverines of Grove City and the Scots of Macalester College.
Wittenberg put the contest out of reach in short order as Kailey Cordova (Jr., Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg), Elizabeth Schexnaider (So., Friendswood, Texas/Friendswood), Evelyn Heil (Fr., Fort Worth, Texas/Carroll), Kiersten Heverly (Sr., Pottstown, Pa./The Hill School), Riley Kettelson (So., New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West), Lythgoe and Sierra Bui (Fr., Portland, Ore./David Douglas) buried shots at the 5:52 (man-up), 5:15, 4:39, 3:54, 3:26, 3:03 and 2:16 marks, respectively, to help the Tigers tear out to a 7-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Lythgoe (3:29, 1:43, 13 seconds) accounted for all the scoring in the second quarter with a trio of tallies to push Wittenberg head by a 10-0 margin at the midway point.
Lythgoe opened the third quarter with another score at 7:46 prior to Heil (4:40), Schexnaider (3:00, 47 seconds) and Emma Menjivar (Sr., Moreno Valley, Calif./Canyon Springs) (1:56, one second) depositing five more strikes to widen the gap to 16-0.
Lythgoe (7:42, 6:06, 4:42, 3:34) and Savannah Cross (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio/Kings) (6:49) capped off the win by combining for five goals in the fourth quarter to complete the inaugural shutout at the CWPA Division III Championship since a 13-0 Washington & Jefferson College victory versus Utica on April 16, 2016, at Connecticut College in New London, Conn.
Lythgoe (nine), Schexnaider (three), Menjivar (two) and Heil (two) each posted multi-goal games, while Heverly, Cordova, Bui, Cross and Kettelson all accounted for single strikes.
In cage, Kim Serio (So., Lakeville, N.Y./Livonia) stopped four shots in taking the loss for the Pioneers. Wittenberg’s Olivia Pena (Fr., Ontario, Calif./San Dimas) also made four saves to earn the win and Player of the Game status.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Utica University (0-8, 0-8 CWPA Division III-East) |
7 | 3 | 6 | 5 | – | 0 |
| Wittenberg University (7-17, 2-6 CWPA Division III-West) | 7 | 3 | 6 | 5 | – | 21 |
| Wittenberg Goals: | Meghan Lythgoe (9); Elizabeth Schexnaider (3); Emma Menjivar (2); Evelyn Heil (2); Kiersten Heverly; Kailey Cordova; Sierra Bui; Savannah Cross; Riley Kettelson | |||||
| Utica Goals: | None | |||||
| Saves: | Wittenberg – Olivia Pena (4); Utica – Kim Serio (4) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Wittenberg – 2 ; Utica – 2 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Wittenberg – 1-for-2; Utica – 0-for-2 | |||||
| Sprints: | Wittenberg – 4-for-4; Utica – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Martin Murray; Brandon Nicholson | |||||
Utica College’s Kim Serio
Wittenberg University’s Kailey Cordova (#18) shoots over Utica College’s Madison West (#4)
Utica College’s Hope Millets (#13) lobs a shot as Wittenberg University’s Meghan Lythgoe (#10) defends
