FULLERTON, Calif. -- The Augustana Vikings women's water polo team picked up two wins in the opening day of the Claremont Coverage on Friday. The Vikings earned a 13-6 win over the La Verne Leopards before defeating the Whittier Poets 14-9.
Game one against La Verne
In the opening period, Augie outscored the Leopards 7-0 to secure the early advantage.
Emma Blezien kicked off the scoring for the Vikings with back-to-back goals, and
Waiahuli Akau followed with one of her own.
Anais Jones kept the momentum going, and Akau found the back of the net once more. Blezien and Akau closed out the first eight minutes of play with a goal apiece to create a 7-0 lead. Jones tallied another successful shot, but La Verne followed with their first two of the game, and
Hailey Sherman closed out the period to create a 9-2 game entering the halftime break.
Returning to action, both teams put up two successful shots in the period, with Jones collecting the first one and
Abigail Gatlin closing out the eight minutes to move the game 11-4 heading into the final period. Both teams traded shots once more, with Akau and
Carli Udovich putting up the shots for Augie. The Leopards scored the final goal, but the Vikings maintained the 13-6 upper hand.
Six different Vikings scored in the win, with Akau leading with four goals. Jones and Blezien followed with three apiece, while
Anita Rodgers collected three assists. Susan Palmentra-Reid tallied four steals and seven saves in their 32 minutes in goal.
Game two against Whittier
The Poets found the back of the net first, but Augie followed with four straight points to overtake the lead. Successful shots came from Jones,
Jersey Merrick, Akau, and Blezien to create a 4-1 game. Both teams traded shots in the final minutes, with
Cindy King closing the opening eight minutes with a penalty goal to move the game 5-2. In the low-scoring second period,
Braelyn Hill found the back of the cage in another penalty shot before Blezien added another to the score sheet. Whittier secured the final goal, but the Vikings held the 7-3 advantage heading into the halftime break.
Returning to action, the Poets outscored Augie 4-3 to get within three points. Whittier tallied the first goal before
Alayna Ickert and Jones grabbed back-to-back successful shots. The Poets grabbed the final two points to create a 10-7 game entering the final period. Udovich scored first in the fourth period, but Whittier followed with one of their own. Blezien and Jones added two more to Augie's score. The Poets tallied another before Merrick closed out the game with a goal at 17 seconds to seal the 14-9 victory.
Nine different Vikings scored in the win, with Jones and Blezien leading with three apiece. Blezien also added two assists to the score sheet. In the cage, Palmentera-Reid collected 13 saves and a steal.
With the two wins, Augie improves to 8-2 on the season and will be back in action tomorrow for the final two matchups agaisnt Cal Lutheran and Occidental.
