THE RUNDOWN
Final Scores: Gannon 15, Salem 7 | Gannon 13, Washington & Jefferson 10
Records: Gannon (5-1, 4-1 MAWPC) | SU (0-3, 0-3) | W&J (0-4, 0-4)
Location: Hallman Aquatics Center | Erie, Pa.
The Short Story: The Gannon men's water polo team never trailed in a pair of victories Saturday to close out its regular season, topping Salem and Washington & Jefferson in Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference play.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
- A slow start for the offenses saw Gannon holding a 2-0 lead over Salem after one quarter. Dylan Schmitzerle (Plymouth, Mich.) netted his second of the game early in the second to make it 3-0, and two more midway through the period from Thomas Uht (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) and Lucas Petzold (Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) quickly turned it to a 5-1 advantage.
- Scores from Ethan Hamp (Chicago, Ill./Von Steuben) and Petzold in the final minute of the half extended the lead, and Hamp added another early in the third period to make it a comfortable 8-2 margin. Seth Johnson (Sugar Hill, Ga./Lanier) pocked three straight on his own later in the frame, and Schmitzerle capped his own hat trick with 21 seconds left as the Golden Knights eased to the win over the Tigers.
- Schmitzerle also started the scoring against W&J, and after a finish from John Vieira (Erie, Pa/Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy (McDowell)) at the 5:25 mark, the Knights led the rest of the way. A 4-1 run to end the opening half, including two scores from Johnson, made it 8-4.
- Four straight goals to start the third quarter — with scores from Marty Kaverman (Erie, Pa./McDowell), Robert Bolmanski (Erie, Pa./McDowell), Tim Baer (San Diego, Calif./Classical Academy) and Schmitzerle quickly made it 12-4. The Presidents closed with the final four scores of the game, but Gannon was never seriously threatened as it closed out the unbeaten day.
GAME NOTES
- Johnson posted three goals in each game to lead the Golden Knights, while Schmitzerle totaled five on the day.
- Anthony Squeglia (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) dished out six assists in the second game, while Bolmanski had five in the opener.
- The Knights locked up the No. 2 seed in next week's MAWPC-West playoffs, as Gannon looks to defend its 2019 tournament crown.
UP NEXT
- Just over a month after its season started, Gannon heads to the postseason next weekend, staying close to home at the Hallman Aquatics Center for the MAWPC-West Tournament.
- The COVID-altered schedule will see pool play, with the Golden Knights facing off against Mount St. Mary's and Salem on Saturday before place matches on Sunday.
- The top two teams in the field will move on to the MAWPC Championship the first weekend of March at Navy.
- See the full schedule here: Click Here
