ST. PAUL, Minn. — In the final game in program history, Wittenberg University built an early lead and went the distance to overcome Washington & Jefferson College, 11-7, in the 2023 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship Fifth Place game.
The Tigers (9-13, 1-7 CWPA Division III-West) – who posted prior Second (2021), Third (2022) and Sixth (2019) Place finishes at the CWPA Division III Championship – will see their program eliminated following the completion of the 2022-23 academic year by the institution.
Wittenberg opened up a 3-0 margin in the inaugural five minutes of the first quarter as Bianca Gallegos (Fr., Albuquerque, NM/Manzano), Shania Stone (Fr., Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) and Grace McLaughlin (Jr., Hatfield, Pa./North Penn) tossed in shots at 7:14, 5:28 and 3:03, respectively. W&J (11-10, 7-1 CWPA Division III-East) – which previously finished Second (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017), Third (2013), Fourth (2010, 2018), Sixth (2022) and 10th (2019) at prior CWPA Division III Championship – got on the board with 1:21 left in the frame as Ryley McClellan (Sr., Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) pulled the Presidents within 3-1 heading into the second quarter.
Meghan Lythgoe (Sr., Mason, Ohio/Mason) (7:32) and Olivia Pena (So., Ontario, Calif./Bonita) (5:42) cushioned the Tigers’ margin to 5-1 to start the second quarter prior to McClellan lining in a five-meter penalty shot at 5:20. The teams traded goals again as Pena (5:08) and Sydney Neumann (So., Long Beach, Calif./Millikan) (4:36) exchanged markers to make it 6-4 before McClellan wrapped-up a first half hat-trick at 1:02 to move Washington & Jefferson within 6-4 heading into halftime.
The third quarter saw dramatically less offense compared to the second quarter as Evelyn Heil (So., Fort Worth, Texas/Carroll) and Gallegos drove home scoring spikes at 3:18 and 2:10, respectively, for the lone blows to widen Wittenberg’s margin to 8-4 with eight minutes left in regulation.
The teams exchanged goals throughout the remainder of regulation as Gallegos (7:39, man-up; 5:24), McClellan (5:33; 2:53), W&J’s Megan DePrez (Sr., Claremont, Calif./Claremont) (1:30) and Heil (30 seconds) combined to rack up six goals in the fourth quarter and establish the 11-7 final score.
For W&J, McClellan notched five goals with Neumann and DePrez chipping in solo tallies. in net, Alliey Cunningham (So., Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) and Sky Wald (Fr., Granada Hills, Calif./John F. Kennedy) swatted down nine tries.
Across the tank, Player of the Game Gallegos (four), Pena (two) and Heil (two) racked up multi-goal games. McLaughlin, Stone and Lythgoe added solo markers with the goaltending duo Jordan Brough (Jr., North Palm Beach, Fla./Suncoast) and Leah Green (Fr., Grandville, Mich./Grandville) blocking away seven shots.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Wittenberg University |
3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | – | 11 |
| Washington & Jefferson College | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | 7 |
| W&J Goals: | Ryley McClellan (5); Sydney Neumann; Megan DePrez | |||||
| Wittenberg Goals: | Bianca Gallegos (4); Olivia Pena (2); Evelyn Heil (2);Grace McLaughlin; Shania Stone; Meghan Lythgoe | |||||
| Saves: | W&J – Alliey Cunningham (8, 27 minutes), Sky Wald (1, 5 minutes) ; Wittenberg – Jordan Brough (3, 16 minutes), Leah Green (4, 16 minutes) | |||||
| Exclusions: | W&J – 5 ; Wittenberg – 5 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | W&J – 3-for-5 ; Wittenberg – 1-for-5 | |||||
| Sprints: | W&J – 0-for-4 ; Wittenberg – 4-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | W&J – None ; Wittenberg – None | |||||
| Officials: | Victor Rarau; Joe Peila | |||||
Washington & Jefferson College’s Anastacia Didovich (#10) attempts to block a shot by Wittenberg University’s Bianca Gallegos (#2)
Washington & Jefferson College’s Alliey Cunningham (#1)
Wittenberg University’s Shania Stone (#12) defends Washington & Jefferson College’s Laura Anthony (#4)
