Wheaton College (MA)

WASHINGTON, PA. -- Junior attack Spyros Rapsomanikis (Kerkyra, Greece) opened up the 2026 season for Wheaton College (Mass.) men's water polo with a hat-trick against Gannon University, but the effort was not enough to lift the Lyons to victory as they dropped their opener 22-9 on the campus of Washington & Jefferson College.

Wheaton started their 2026 campaign with an 0-1 record following the loss, while the Golden Knights earned their second win of the season to improve to 2-3 overall. Wheaton will take on McKendree University this evening, while Gannon takes on Connecticut College this afternoon.

Rapsomanikis was the tip of the spear on offense as he led Wheaton in scoring with three goals on nine shots. Junior Brian Otto (Escondido, Calif.) and first year Sean Spooner (Saline, Mich.) each finished with a pair of goals, while the former also added an assist for a three-point game. Sophomore Charles Jacoby (Reading, Pa.) and first year Stefan Kecman (Chevy Chase, Md.) rounded out the scoring for Wheaton with a goal apiece. Jacoby and junior Jack Ruggiero (Hamden, Conn.) each finished with an assist as well. Sophomore Nic Boyer (Toledo, Ohio) and first year Leo Upson (Woodside, Calif.) split the goalkeeping duties with each seeing 16 minutes of action. Boyer finished with eight saves while Upson stopped nine shots.

Junior Nick Thompson (Hudsonville, Mich.) led the way for the Golden Knights with four goals, but three of his teammates were hot on his heels with a hat-trick. The trio of junior Dillon Shaw (Salt Lake City, Utah), sophomore Callum Snider-Mills (Erie, Pa.) and junior Rajmund Farsang (Budapest, Hungary) each netted three goals to power the Gannon offense. Senior goalkeeper Hewson Morphy (Erie, Pa.) was between the posts for the entire contest and made 11 saves.

Gannon came out of the gates with a high offensive tempo and intensely physical defending, but the Lyons, playing in their first game of the year, were able to go punch-for-punch with their opponents. Gannon started the scoring first, but Wheaton roared back with a pair of quick goals to take a lead. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Golden Knights slipped two more goals past Boyer to regain the lead at the first break. 

The Golden Knights, playing in the fifth game of the season already, managed to increase their offensive tempo even further in the second quarter. They managed to put six goals on the board in the second frame, while the Lyons answered with only three. Gannon kept the pressure on out of the halftime break, and netted seven goals in the third quarter. The Lyons answered with only one. 

Trailing 16-6 in the final quarter, the Lyons faced an uphill battle. They entered the final frame with a refined accuracy to their passing game, and were able to limit the turnovers to decrease the scoring chances afforded to Gannon. Behind the crisp passing, Wheaton was able to score three times. Gannon did manage to preserve the lead as they netted six more goals to drive the final score to 22-9. 

Wheaton will return to the campus of Washington & Jefferson this evening as they take on McKendree University at 7:20 pm. Gannon will face off with Connecticut College at 2:30 pm this afternoon.