Water Polo Splits Conference Double Header with Brown and Conn College

PROVIDENCE, R.I. and NEW LONDON, Conn. – The MIT water polo team, ranked No. 6 in the latest Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III poll, split its double header with Brown University and Connecticut College on Saturday afternoon. The Engineers opened the day with an 11-7 loss to Brown, but bounced back with a 17-4 triumph over the Camels in the night cap.

Senior Ory Tasman (Orlando, Fla.) paced the Engineers offense with five goals, while classmate Kale Rogers (Newberg, Ore.) chipped in with four markers of his own. Senior Matthew Orton (Los Altos Hills, Calif.) and freshman Luka Knezevic (Zagreb, Croatia) notched three goals apiece, while sophomore Jeremy Bogle (Weston, Mass.), junior Zach Churukian (Menlo Park, Calif.) and freshman Nikhil Bhatia (Los Altos, Calif.) all scored twice over the weekend.

Brown 11, MIT 7

The first quarter featured MIT goals by Bogle and sophomore Kyle Archer (Clovis, Calif.), who got on the board with just seven seconds remaining in the stanza. Trailing 3-2 after the first quarter, Tasman fired the ball past Brown junior goalkeeper Luke Weiser (Los Alamitos, Calif.), knotting the game at 3-3, 1:44 into the second.

Brown went on a 5-0 run, taking an 8-3 lead with under four minutes to play in the third. Over the spurt, the Bears used four different goal scorers, including sophomore Rico Burke (San Mateo, Calif.) who tallied a pair of goals. MIT registered back-to-back goals to pull within three, 9-6. Churukian and Knezevic teamed up for the Engineers rally. The Both teams traded goals, as Brown hung on for the 11-7 game one win.

MIT 17, Conn. College 4
This game had a completely different feel than the first match against Brown. MIT jumped out to a 4-0 lead over the first quarter before the Camels got on the board 1:27 into the second stanza. Four different Engineers scored over the stretch, including Knezevic, Tasman, Bogle and senior Samuel Edson (Newport Beach, Calif.).

Much like the first quarter, MIT added four more goals in the second. Tasman notched a pair of goals, while Rogers and Orton each chipped in with a single marker, leaving the score 8-2 in favor of MIT at the break.

In the second half, the Engineers outscored Connecticut College by a 9-2 differential. CC opened the scoring in the third quarter with the Camel's third goal, before MIT scored nine straight over the final 16 minutes of action. The run saw two goals from Bhatia, while Rogers, Tasman, Orton, Churukian, Bogle, sophomore Daniel Yahalomi (New York, N.Y.) and freshman Bryan Carbaugh (Orange, Calif.) all potted single goals, leading to the 17-4 victory.

MIT (7-8, 3-5 Northern Division) hosts cross town and Northern Division rival Harvard University on Friday, October 16 at 7:30 p.m. for a conference match inside the Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center Pool.