GROVE CITY, Pa. — Jordan Brough (So., North Palm Beach, Fla./Suncoast) made eight saves and the dynamic duo of Savannah Cross (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio/Kings) and Anaiah Lightner (Fr., West Covina, Calif./St. Lucy’s) both put away pairs of markers to power Wittenberg University to an 11-4 defeat of three-time Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Champion Macalester College, 11-4, in the 2002 CWPA Division III Championship Third Place game.
Wittenberg (10-8, 2-6 CWPA Division III-West) has now finished sixth (2019), second (2021) and third (2022) in three appearances at the event. The 2021 championship hosted by Carthage College was a four-team affair due to limited participation by institution’s caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Tigers never trailed versus the Scots (6-13, 4-4 CWPA Division III-West) as Lightner (7:42), Kailey Cordova (Jr., Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) (6:39, penalty shot) and Cross (one second) accounted for all the offense in the first quarter with a trio of tallies to stake Wittenberg to a 3-0 lead.
Grace McLaughlin (So., Hatfield, Pa./North Penn) expanded the spread to 4-0 at the 6:54 mark of the second quarter before Sydney Hollingsworth (Jr., Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) shattered Brough’s shutout bid by slicing in a shot a 6:30 to move the Scots back to within three at 4-1.
Macalester attempted to rally back over the remainder of the second quarter/first half as Eleanor Michaud (Jr., Long Grove, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) broke free for back-to-back strikes at 3:46 and 1:27 to turn the heat up on Wittenberg and make the Tigers show their stripes in the second half.
Cross (6:05) and Lightner (5:31) equaled Michaud’s offensive surge in the closing moments of the first half by opening the third quarter with consecutive markers to expand Wittenberg’s lead back to three at 6-3.
Annika Krueger (Sr., Emerald Hills, Calif./Sequoia) snapped the Tigers’ streak by converting a man-up bid at 3:43, but Cross (2:53) and Cordova (1:15) answered for Wittenberg to enlarge the margin to 8-4 heading into the fourth quarter.
The final eight minutes belonged to the Tigers as Lightner (7:02), McLaughlin (4:33) and Emma Menjivar (Sr., Moreno Valley Calif./Canyon Springs) (15 seconds) went back-to-back-to-back on scoring shots for close out the 11-4 victory.
For Wittenberg, Cross (three), Lightner (three), McLaughlin (two) and Cordova (two) each posted multi-goal games with Menjivar finding the back of the cage once as the Tigers improve to 1-2 versus Macalester in 2022 following a 10-7 loss on March 26 at home in Springfield, Ohio, and a 10-9 defeat on April 10 at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis.
Michaud led the way for the Scots with a pair of tallies. Krueger and Hollingsworth each contributed solo scores in support of a 10 save effort from netminder Laurel O’Hare (So., Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township).
Following the loss, Macalester has now finished first (2017, 2018, 2019), fourth (2011, 2013, 2014, 2022), fifth (2012, 2015), sixth (2010) and seventh (2016) with the 2020 and 2021 seasons lost to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Macalester College (6-13, 4-4 CWPA Division III-West) |
0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | 4 |
| Wittenberg University (10-18, 2-6 CWPA Division III-West) |
3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | – | 11 |
| Wittenberg Goals: | Savannah Cross (3); Anaiah Lightner (3); Grace McLaughlin (2); Kailey Cordova (2); Emma Menjivar | |||||
| Macalester Goals: | Eleanor Michaud (2); Annika Krueger; Sydney Hollingsworth | |||||
| Saves: | Wittenberg – Jordan Brough (8) ; Macalester – Laurel O’Hare (10) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Wittenberg – 6 ; Macalester – 7 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Wittenberg – 1-for-7; Macalester – 1-for-6 | |||||
| Sprints: | Wittenberg – 4-for-4 ; Macalester – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | YC – Maclaester (Head coach Scott Reed, one second left in 1st Q); YC/RC – Maclaester (Head coach Scott Reed, 3:29 left in 3rd Q); YC – Wittenberg (Head coach Sivan Pardon, 7:02 left in 4th Q) | |||||
| Officials: | Martin Murray; Greg Sanchez | |||||
Macalester College’s Eleanor Michaud (#3) defends against Wittenberg University’s Elizabeth Schexnaider (#9)
Macalester College’s Elizabeth Matlin (#6) shoots over a charging Riley Kettelson (#2) from Wittenberg University
Wittenberg University’s Evelyn Heil (#11) lines up a shot as Macalester College’s Riley Waters (#11) closes
2022 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship Third Place – Wittenberg University
