The first contest of the UC-Santa Cruz Slugfest!, held in Santa Cruz on the second and third of October, was a good one.

There were less than thirty seconds left in the game. The Pomona-Pitzer men’s water polo team (5-7 overall) was leading the Santa Clara Broncos by one and had possession of the ball. It looked as though the Sagehens were on the brink of SCIAC men’s water polo immortality; the Broncos, an NCAA Division-I team, are rarely challenged by smaller Division-III squads such as Pomona-Pitzer’s.

Grayson Schaffer Cody Bitterlich ’00 spreads his arms wide to deny the attacker and save a would-be goal

Then the bottom fell out.

"We were up, then some freak plays happened," said Dusty Baker ’01. "That, and they got some breaks, especially on that last shot."

Santa Clara’s final shot, a two-point attempt from over eight meters out, bounced off of the right post and into the back of the net with one second remaining in regulation, giving them a one-point victory.

"The way it ended was a big letdown for us," said an obviously distraught Ryan Williams ’01. "I t would have been huge to beat Santa Clara. But it was a good, close game, and we’ll learn how to get better in tight games like that one."

Williams’ efforts last season helped carry the Sagehens to a bid in the Western Water Polo Association Finals. That year he was voted to First-Team All SCIAC.

Williams’ play was perhaps the catalyst for the Hens’ near upset. After a two-point goal from All SCIAC Second-Teamer Marc Cavagnolo ’01 put Pomona-Pitzer up 9-7 with 1:30 left in the match, the Broncos promptly responded with a two-pointer of their own, tying the game at 9-9. That was when Williams scored what was then the go-ahead score.

The Sagehens brought the ball across the line following Santa Clara’s goal. Williams was fed an entry pass in the center of Pomona-Pitzer’s offensive set. Baker and Cavagnolo were struggling to free themselves from their men on the wings as they had been doing all game. After some deliberation, Williams used all six-feet, six-inches of his long frame to propel the ball up and around his man, then past the befuddled Bronco goalie.

Despite the Sagehens’ efforts in the last quarter of play, the Broncos were nonetheless able to manage that last second two-pointer. The final score was 11-10 in favor of the Broncos.

After this distressing defeat, Pomona-Pitzer did not appear to be itself. In their second game of the Invitational, the Hens were pitted against the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs. UCSC has historically been one of the top teams in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) and, although they appear to be having a relatively average season thus far, they still appear poised to be a factor come postseason.

Earlier this year, Pomona-Pitzer was able to defeat the Banana Slugs, 12-9, at friendly Haldeman Pool. This victory, even though it was only one game, instilled some confidence in a team trying to crack the WWPA elite.

Last Saturday’s game was a different story, however, as the Sagehens lost to UCSC, 9-5.

In their first game on Sunday, Pomona-Pitzer drew the UC Davis Aggies, another WWPA power. The contest started poorly with the ejection of Cavagnolo early in the second quarter. After that, things went from bad to worse as the Hens went on to lose, 15-7. This was followed by another sad (although somewhat unsurprising) loss to WWPA powerhouse UC San Diego, 8-4.

The four losses this weekend are not the end of the world for the Sagehens. Goalie Cody Bitterlich PI ’00 has continued to shine in net this year. His play in the Santa Clara game kept Pomona-Pitzer alive in the contest early on, after the Broncos had jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the match’s first minute and a half.

The Hens did not play this past weekend due to the lengthy road trip. Tonight, the Sagehens are scheduled to play Chaminade, at 7:00 in Haldeman. Tomorrow night, Pomona-Pitzer will be taking on the Harvard University Crimson at 7:30. Harvard is one of few nationally ranked water polo teams to be visiting Claremont this year. During last season’s Claremont Convergence, an invitational featuring several nationally ranked teams in addition to the usual SCIAC clubs, the Hens stunned the crimson at CMC’s Axelrood Pool, 8-5, in one of that campaign’s most phenomenal upsets.

On Saturday afternoon, Pomona-Pitzer will begin a series of four games at this season’s Claremont Convergence.

"It was sad to have a losing weekend like this, but we’ll get over it," said David Ratner ’01. "We’re going all out this week because we know we can play better as a team. All we need to do is start putting it all together."