Los Angeles, Calif., -- The 15th-ranked Loyola Marymount men's water polo team christened the new Burns Recreation Center Pool with a decisive victory Thursday, defeating Santa Clara 17-3.
LMU sophomore Kevin Witt, the Lions' leading scorer in 1999, picked up where he left off last season with a six goal performance against the visiting Broncos. Freshman Tamas Szego scored four times in his collegiate debut, while sophomore Ryan Chapatte made his presence felt with a two goal, four assist effort.
After Loyola Marymount jumped out to an early lead, SCU (0-2) made it a competitive affair by closing the gap to 5-3 at the 2:05 mark of the second quarter on a goal by sophomore Erik Akerman.
However that would prove to be Santa Clara's final score of the game as the Lions went on a two-goal run to end the first half. LMU would proceeded to score 10 more times in the second stanza, with Witt doing a bulk of his damage in the final 14 minutes of action. The native of Glendale, Calif., tallied five second half goals to help put the game out of the Broncos' reach.
Loyola Marymount (1-0) next hits the water in the UC San Diego Invitational this Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 9-10.
