LMU Water Polo: Men end 2019 with romp over Concordia

Loyola Marymount University’s men’s water polo team ended its season on a triumphant note Nov. 30, overpowering Concordia 21-10 to take fifth place at the Western Water Polo Association Tournament in Riverside.

The win by the No. 12-ranked Lions (14-12) eased some of the pain after losing to Santa Clara 11-10 in double overtime the day before, when the Broncos tied the game in the final second of regulation.

Against Concordia, the Lions raced to a 6-3 first quarter lead, then scored seven times in the second period for a commanding 13-4 bulge at intermission. Joseph Cavazos scored six goals to lead the Lions, David Carrasco had four (plus three assists), Christian Huhn three (plus four assists), Jonny Rimlinger and Alexandros Athymaritis two apiece, and Ford Witman, Luke Chandler, Austin Clark and Jack Dunbar one each.

The day before, Santa Clara prevailed over LMU in the first round of the WWPA tournament, as Mac Carey — who scored with one second left in regulation to tie the game 9-9 — tallied his fifth goal of the match for the Broncos with 2:35 remaining in the second extra period. 

LMU’s Rimlinger scored his second goal of the game with 1:51 left in the first overtime to put the Lions ahead 10-9, but the Broncos tied it with 43 seconds left to force the second extra stanza.

Blazo Mitrovic scored three for LMU, Cavazos two, and Clark, Carrasco, and Joseph Shaw, one each, the latter putting the Lions ahead 9-8 with 54 seconds to play. 

Post-Season Honors

Following a stellar individual campaign, Mitrovic was named WWPA Player of the Year and, along with Carrasco, to the All-WWPA First Team. Mitrovic, a sophomore from Montenegro and last season’s Freshman of the Year, was one of three players in the nation with 80 or more goals, while Carrasco, a junior from Spain, was sixth in scoring nationally and second in the WWPA with 119 total points.

Also earning honors were Athymaritis, a redshirt junior from Greece who was named to the All-WWPA second team, and Rimlinger, a freshman from Newport Beach, named to the All-Freshman team.