By Annabelle Del Bosque — Staff Writer
What began as a disappointing start for San Jose State’s men’s water polo team (3-5) at the Aggie Invitational last weekend ended up on a somewhat positive note with the Spartans winning two of its five tournament matchups.
The Spartans started the weekend off against Cal Baptist University (3-7) with an 8-9 loss. , Both teams were tied 2-2 in the first quarter. The Lancers took a lead in the second quarter, but the Spartans were able to tie up the match in the third 6-6. Cal Baptist was able to take the lead and finish the game in the fourth quarter 8-9.
The second match of the day was lost in overtime against UC Berkeley (7-3), 11-13. The Spartans and the Bears were tied 5-5 in the first half. Cal led in the third quarter, but SJSU was able to power through to take the match in overtime, 10-10. Afterwards, the Spartans fell short on the board as the Bears concluded the game, 11-13.
With a two-game losing streak going into Sunday, the Spartans continue their losing streak against Pacific (6-0), 12-14.
The Tigers led the first half 2-3. The Spartans tied the game up in the middle of the second quarter 6-6 until Pacific took back the lead into the third quarter 6-8. SJSU took the lead in the third quarter, but fell short to UOP in the fourth quarter, 12-14.
San Jose State turned it around against Whittier College (3-7), 15-9. The Spartans immediately got on the boardin the first quarter, and held the lead until the end of the match. Sophomore 2-meter Niels Hofmeijer made three of the 15 shots while senior 2-meter Finn Pardon made four of the 15 shots in this matchup.
The Spartans blew Ottawa University of Arizona (2-12) out of the water in the final matchup of the weekend 22-6. SJSU started the game with power and finished the same way it started. Freshman attacker Ethan Koch scored the most goals of the team with 4. Junior driver Justin Pickering and sophomore center Michael Burgess scored the second most goals with 3.
San Jose State will now travel to Los Angeles to participate in the Mountain Pacific Invitational Sept. 27-29.
Follow Annabelle on Twitter @BosqueAnnabelle