LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Sophomore utility player Spyros Rapsomanikis (Kerkyra, Greece) scored a school-record seven goals for the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's water polo team in a 20-11 loss to California Institute of Technology, on day two of the Gary Troyer Invitational, hosted by Occidental College at De Mandel Aquatics Center in Los Angeles, Calif.
The Lyons drop to 0-10 on the season, while the Beavers improve to 5-10.
CalTech owned a 39-23 shooting advantage for the match.
Rapsomanikis added a pair of steals and three drawn exclusions to his record effort for Wheaton, while first year attackers Ayden Guess (Alvin, Texas) and Hudson Kosiba (Birmingham, Mich.) and sophomore two-meter defender Josh Vander Wagen (Brookfield, Ill.) each netted a goal. First year Nic Boyer (Toledo, Ohio) also found the back of the net for his first collegiate goal for the Lyons. Sophomore goalie Dylan Boccali (Ventura, Calif.) posted nine saves.
Junior utility player Eric Verheyden (Bend, Ore.) matched Rapsomanikis with seven scores of his own for the Beavers and added a pair of steals. Senior center Bram Schork (Villanova, Pa.) netted six markers to go with a steal, a field block and a drawn exclusion, while junior Axel Haydt (Austin, Texas) tallied a trio of goals, three steals and a field block. Senior keeper Sujit Iyer (Marietta, Ga.) made five saves.
Verheyden and Schork each scored a pair of goals to give CalTech a 4-1 lead to begin the match with the Lyons' lone marker coming from Rapsomanikis. Wheaton scored three of the next four goals, including two from Rapsomanikis, to pull within 5-4 with 4:10 left in the second quarter.
The Beavers ripped off five straight goals, capped by a goal from junior attacker Joshua Braun (Bakersfield, Calif.), to increase their advantage to 10-4 with 7:43 to go in the third period. The Lyons netted two of the next three, including a marker from Rapsomanikis that cut the deficit to 11-6 for Wheaton with 6:49 showing in the third quarter of play. CalTech countered with four unanswered markers, including two each from Haydt and Schork, to build a 15-6 cushion with 2:13 remaining in the third quarter.
The Lyons made one last push with a 4-1 burst, led by a pair of goals from Rapsomanikis, to pull Wheaton within 16-10 with 5:32 to play in the match. The Beavers took a double-digit margin at 20-10 with the next four goals, including three from Verheyden. Guess tallied the final marker of the day with just two ticks left to give the Lyons a season-high 11 goals.
Wheaton returns to the pool on October 18 when it takes on Washington and Jefferson College at host Pennsylvania State University Behrend in Erie, Pa. at 12:00 p.m., while CalTech heads back to Los Angeles to play Occidental on October 8 at 10:00 p.m.
