Owls Finish Strong on Day Two

Glendora, CA -- The Citrus College Men's Water Polo team closed out the final day of their 2013 Citrus College Men's Water Polo Tournament with a pair of victories. The Owls started off the day with a 10-8 win over conference rival Santa Monica College, before closing out the tournament with a 12-8 victory over NCAA DIII Cal Tech.

Against the Corsairs of Santa Monica, the Owls sprinted to a 6-3 lead after the first quarter. The Owls stalled though over the final three quarters managing just four total points the final 24 minutes of the game. Luckily, Citrus' defense was stout enough to hold off Santa Monica as they held them to just five scores in that same span. Freshman Patrick Phommachanh led the way with a team high four goals in the win, while sophomore Robert "Austin" Sanchez added a trio of scores and four assists.

In the second contest, both Citrus and Cal Tech played some tough defense throughout the first half. The Owls led just 2-1 after the first quarter and 4-3 at the break. In the third quarter, Citrus finally broke through with a 5-2 third quarter. The two schools traded goals in the fourth, as the Owls went on to win by four. Phommachanh added three more scores in the Cal Tech contest, while freshman Charles Ortega had a team high four. Arguably more impressive was the play of sophomore goalie Andy Perez who made acrobatic save after acrobatic save, notching nine total blocks in the contest.

With the wins, Citrus improves to 3-1 on the year. The Owls will be back in the water locally next weekend when they take part in the Mt. San Antonio College Tournament next Friday and Saturday. Pairings should be released later this week.