LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The Augustana Vikings women's water polo team will be back in action beginning Friday, March 1 when they kick off the 2024 Claremont Convergence in Southern California. 

Augustana currently sits at 5-1 on the season and has won five in a row since its opening-season loss to McKendree. The team is recently coming off a 4-0 weekend in St. Paul, Minn. at the Macalester Invite, picking up wins over VMI, Ottawa, Occidental, and Carthage. Following their performances, the Vikings swept the CWPA Division III weekly awards for the second time this season, with Casey Barragan and Charlotte Newport sharing Co-Player of the Week honors and Susan Palmentera-Reid notching Defender and Rookie of the Week recognition.

Augie begins the two-day stay on Friday against the Caltech Beavers a 2:20 p.m. CST. Caltech is 1-1 on the season and will begin its weekend, recently earning a 10-9 win over UC Merced. The Beavers finished 4-17 in 2023 and dropped their last 11 contests of the seasons. Friday will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

The Vikings close out the day with a road matchup against the No. 6 ranked Chapman Panthers at 9 p.m. CST. Chapman is 3-4 on the year, but 2-0 against fellow Division III opponents. The Panthers are riding a two-game winning streak, recently defeating Mercyhurst and Washington & Jefferson back on February 18 in Pennsylvania. This year serves as the third straight season the Vikings and Panthers will square off, with each winning one of the previous two encounters. Augie defeated Chapman last season at this tournament by a score of 9-7.

On Saturday, Augustana begins its day against Occidental for the second meeting of the season. Oxy currently sits with an 0-4 record, recently falling to both Augie and McKendree on the final day of the Macalester Invite two weekends ago. Saturday will be the fourth meeting all-time between the two programs, with the Vikings winning all three. Augie won the February 18 matchup by a score of 12-5. Newport scored five times in the victory.

The final game of the weekend will be against the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds on Saturday at 4:40 p.m. CST. The Sunbirds are 4-5 on the year, recently halting a two-game losing streak this past Saturday with a 13-10 win over La Verne. Saturday will be the first-ever meeting between Fresno Pacific and Augustana.

Live coverage of the weekend can be found here.