PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's water polo team outscored host Brown University in the third quarter, but ultimately fell, 17-8, on the second day of the Bruno Invite at Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center in Providence, R.I.
The Lyons dip to 1-7 on the season, while the Bears win their fifth straight and improve to 12-2.
Junior attacker Spyros Rapsomanikis (Kerkyra, Greece) led all scorers with four goals for Wheaton and added an assist, four steals and drew an exclusion. Junior utility player Michael Ruemelin (Chicago, Ill.) netted a pair of goals and made a steal, while first year center defender Ethan Vince (Dexter, Mich.) scored a goal and assisted on another. Sophomore center Charles Jacoby (Reading, Pa.) also scored and added a steal. First year goalie Leo Upson (Woodside, Calif.) registered 10 saves and came up with a steal.
First year utility player Oliver Chu (Grand Rapids, Mich.), first year attacker Willem Anton (Interlaken, N.J.) and first year Will Corr (Walnut Creek, Calif.) each tallied three goals to lead Brown.
The Bears scored all six goals in the first quarter, including two each from Anton and first year utility player Robert Norell (Old Greenwich, Conn.), before Chu capped the quarter with a marker to give the home team a 6-0 advantage.
Brown continued its momentum with the first three markers of the second period, capped by a score from Corr to give the Bears a 9-0 lead with 3:14 remaining in the second quarter. Jacoby and Rapsomanikis tallied back-to-back goals over the next 104 seconds to cut the deficit to 9-2 with 1:30 to go in the first half for the Lyons. Brown closed the quarter with two goals, including a score from Chu to give the Bears an 11-2 halftime advantage.
Rapsomanikis scored three of the first four goals to open the third quarter for Wheaton to pull the Lyons within 12-5 with 2:11 showing in the quarter. First year Ethan Kittredge (Atlanta, Ga.) scored the final goal of the period to increase the Bears' margin to 13-5.
Ruemelin scored the first marker of the fourth quarter to cut the margin to 13-6 for Wheaton with 6:31 left in the final period. Brown ripped off four straight goals, including two scores from Corr, to take a 17-6 advantage with 3:55 to go in the contest. Vince and Ruemelin each scored for the Lyons to close out the game with a 17-8 final.
Wheaton returns to the pool on Friday, October 16 when it hosts Salem University at Balfour Natatorium at 7:00 p.m., while the Bears travel to Brooklyn, N.Y. to take on Long Island University on October 3 at 4:30 p.m.
