The No. 4 Cal men’s water polo team got back on the winning track Saturday with two wins at the Aggie Shootout hosted by UC Davis.
After losing two close matches last Sunday in the final day of the NorCal Invitational, the Bears (8-2) outscored their nonconference opponents by a combined 22 goals in the wins. Senior Collin Smith led Cal with nine goals on the day.
In the Bears’ opening match against No.13 UC Davis, Smith scored four times in the 14-4 win.
Sophomore Colin Mulcahy added three goals in the match, and sophomore Thomas Agramonte and freshman Thomas Carroll each scored twice. Junior goalkeeper Jon Sibley made 15 saves.
Immediately after its match against the Aggies, Cal then took on the No. 18 University of Redlands. And after a first quarter in which the Bears only led by one goal, Cal outscored the Bulldogs 14-3 in the final three quarters to secure the 20-8 win.
Smith scored five times for the Bears. Agramonte and freshman Chandler Jarrels-Stickney each scored three goals.
Both meetings were rematches of games played earlier in the season at the Triton Invitational held at UC San Diego. On Sept. 7, the Bears defeated Redlands 21-3, in Cal’s opening match of the season. Smith led the Bears with four goals in the win.
The following day, Cal defeated UC Davis 15-4. In that match, Jarrels-Stickney led the Bears with four goals.
Stephen Hobbs covers men’s water polo. Contact him at [email protected].