CLAREMONT, Calif. -- The Augustana Vikings women's water polo team was defeated in the semifinals of the USA Water Polo National Tournament on Saturday, falling to the No. 2 ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas by a score of 23-9.

CMS jumped out to an early advantage with the game's first five goals until Charlotte Newport halted the momentum with the final tally of the first quarter. The Athenas broke the game open with 11 goals in the second to take a 16-4 lead into halftime. Ocean Akau, Annelie McGhee, and Newport accounted for the three goals for Augie in the second.

The Athena notched the first three goals of the third to extend their margin out to 15 before Akau earned her second strike of the day around the four-minute mark. Waiahuli Akau grabbed the second goal of the frame for the Vikings with 25 seconds remaining. Casey Barragan began the scoring with the first goal of fourth on her way to two tallies in the final eight minutes. O. Akau sent in another with 25 seconds left to finish with a game-high three scores.

Augustana will be back in action tomorrow to face Austin in the third-place game. Start time is scheduled for 12 p.m. CDT.