THE RUNDOWN
Final Scores: Virginia Military 16, Gannon 15 | Villanova 12, Gannon 10
Records: Gannon (0-3) | VMI (3-3) | Nova (3-2)
Location: Villanova Swim Complex | Villanova, Pa.
The Short Story: The Gannon women's water polo were right in both games late, but suffered setbacks to Virginia Military and Villanova to close out their opening weekend of the 2021 season Sunday.
GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Gannon opened the day with a narrow 16-15 defeat at the hands of VMI, with Campbell Ruh (Walnut, Calif./Lutheran High School of Orange County) netting five goals and Julia Kreidinger (Erie, Pa./Villia Maria) adding four.
- In the final game of the day, the host Wildcats got things started with a 3-1 edge before Libby Tirak (Erie, Pa./Villia Maria) netted two goals in the final minutes of the first quarter to cut it to 4-3. Villanova won a high-scoring second period and held a 9-5 lead at the break.
- Tirak added another to open the scoring in the second half, and scores from Ruh and Beatrice Popescu (Bucharest, Romania/Railway Tech) near the end of the frame got the Golden Knights within two. A power play goal from Ruh and another finish out of Nicole Wiemken (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon) inside of a minute remaining got Gannon to within one score, but Nova got the insurance goal on the next possession to hold on.
GAME NOTES
- Ruh led the way with eight goals on the day, giving her 10 on the weekend.
- Tirak totaled five goals over the two games, with Wiemken going for four.
UP NEXT
- Gannon is back in action next weekend, heading to Salem for four games.
- The Golden Knights will face host Salem and McKendree on Saturday, followed by VMI and La Salle on Sunday.
