Box Score 1 STANFORD, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's water polo team had a daunting challenge this weekend at the MPSF Invitational at Stanford as the only Division III program in a field of teams ranked in the national top 20, and the Stags performed admirably, including narrow losses to No. 11 Pepperdine (14-10), No. 6 UC Davis (13-10) and No. 17 Santa Clara (12-10). 

CMS opened the tournament with a 23-4 defeat to No. 1 UCLA and then kept its ensuing three matches close. The Stags now stand at 1-9 on the year, but with all nine losses to Division I programs, including No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 USC, as well as a sudden-death overtime defeat to No. 11 UC Santa Barbara. 

The finale against No. 17 Santa Clara saw CMS come back from a three-goal halftime deficit to tie the score at 10-10 with 4:11 to go after consecutive goals from Jack Bryant and Calvin Donat. The Stags had two possessions to take the lead, before the Broncos broke the tie at the 2:01 mark, and held on for the 12-10 win. 

Bryant, Donat and Nick Kennedy each had two goals for the Stags, while Jeffrey Koretz, Stryker Scales, Gavin Netherton and Fletcher Appeldorn added a goal each. 

In the game against No. 6 UC Davis, the Stags were tied 9-9 heading into the fourth quarter, before the Aggies were able to surge in front for the 13-10 win. CMS led by one goal three times in the first quarter on two goals from Weston Hartel and one from Netherton, and then went ahead 6-3 in the second on two goals from Kennedy and one from Pete Ryan. 

UC Davis pulled back even 7-7 at the half, and Koretz and Donat gave CMS 8-7 and 9-8 leads in the third, before the Aggies came away with the win. Kennedy finished with a hat trick and Evan Liberatore added a fourth-quarter goal. 

CMS met Pepperdine for the second time, and in the first meeting, the Stags led for most of the first half before the Waves pulled away 16-9. This time, Pepperdine looked poised to run away with it after leading 8-2 at the half, but CMS battled back to within three goals twice (11-8 and 12-9) before falling 14-10.

Nick Kennedy had six goals against a top-11 team for the second time this season, after also accomplishing it against No. 2 USC. In the tournament opener against UCLA, Hartel had two goals and an assist, while Donat and Liberatore also boasted goals against the nation's top-ranked team. 

CMS will be back in action when it opens SCIAC play at Redlands on Saturday, before returning home for a Sixth Street Rivalry game on Wednesday, Sept. 30 against Pomona-Pitzer.