ANNAPOLIS, Md. â€" The Navy water polo team kicked off its 2016 season with a pair of wins on the first day of action at the Navy Open. The Mids recorded an 11-6 victory over Iona to start their Saturday before closing it out with an 11-8 triumph over Gannon University. Four goals by David Huber (Sr., Fort Washington, Pa.) in the first game and individual hat tricks by Jared Castillo (Jr., League City, Texas) and Tyler Zimmerman (Jr., McLean, Va.) in the second contest led the Mids offensively.

Navy 11 â€" Iona 6

The Mids began their season with an 11-6 victory over the Gaels of Iona. Navy had to overcome a slow start that saw it trail 4-3 through the first quarter of play. The action was back-and-forth with Iona going up 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 over Navy to start the game. Goal scorers for the Mids in the first quarter consisted of Huber, Alex Piecuch (Fr, Ladera Ranch, Calif.) and Castillo. Piecuch's marker was the first of his collegiate career.

From trailing 4-2 at the 2:43 mark of the first quarter through the 6:38 mark of the third quarter, Navy went on a run of four unanswered goals. Zimmerman's tally at 6:52 in the second quarter tied the game at 4-4 before Jack Orchard (Sr., Orlando, Fla.) put the Mids up for the first time in the contest at 5:46.

Coming out of halftime up 5-4, Navy held onto a slim lead over the third quarter with Huber finding the back of the net for the second time at 7:19 in the period. The teams traded goals over the remainder of the quarter with Brendan Metcalf (Sr., Frisco, Texas) and Huber scoring to make it 8-6. Huber's final goal came with just one second left on the clock.

In the fourth quarter Navy clinched the victory with another run of unanswered goals and a clean period on defense. Huber, J.B. Lee (Jr., Newport Coast, Calif.) and Matt Skowronski (Jr., Oak Hill, Va.) all scored for the host Midshipmen.

"As anticipated Iona was a tough nut to crack," exclaimed Navy head coach Mladen Stanicic. "We kept sending fresh lineups at them and finally wore them out.

"Our concepts are in place and evident, but execution was at the level of the first game of the season."

Cerritos College 19 â€" Navy 'B' 18 (Exhibition)

In an exhibition contest versus Cerritos College, a leading California junior college squad, the Mids "B' team fell 19-18.

"That was an exceptionally physical game that provided plenty of trial-by-fire situations for freshmen and others looking for some extra experience," said Stanicic. "We committed a number of defensive mistakes and some on the opposite end of the pool, but overall it was a very good effort."

Navy 11 â€" Gannon 8

In the final game of the day for Navy, the Mids used a strong second quarter to once again overcome a slow start. The visiting Golden Knights took an initial 1-0 lead over the Mids at 6:44. In a 2:26 run of play from 5:52 to 3:16, Navy notched three unanswered goals with Taylor Peterson (Sr., Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.), Castillo and Jack Robinson (Jr., Riverside, Conn.) scoring in succession. A late marker by Gannon tightened the game to a 3-2 margin before the first quarter break.

After Gannon tied it up with the first score of the second quarter at 7:15, Navy ran off another 3-0 goal streak with Castillo, Orchard and Nate Reiff (Fr., Wheeling, Ill.) all finding the back of the net to make it 6-3.

The third period saw Gannon fight back and make it a close contest going with a 4-2 advantage in scoring. The teams traded the first four goals of the quarter to make it 8-5 before the Golden Knights tallied the two final scores. Castillo and Zimmerman each recorded goals in the third.

With the score 8-7 in favor of the Mids, the hosts put together a concerted defensive effort in the fourth quarter to hold the Golden Knights to just one goal. With Gannon at bay on the scoreboard, Navy locked down the victory with three insurance goals. Zimmerman (twice) and Skowronski scored for the Mids in the final period to give the hosts an 11-8 win.

Both hat tricks by Castillo and Zimmerman were the first of the respective careers. Reiff's second quarter marker was the first of his collegiate career.

"Gannon played great, especially their goalkeeper," exclaimed Stanicic. "We created many opportunities, but their number one came up big quite a few times, including a 5-meter penalty shot. At the end of the day, we managed to get a victory and learn a few valuable lessons in the process."

The Mids will conclude play at the Navy Open with a busy slate of action on Sunday. An 8:00 a.m. matchup versus La Salle starts the day before the host school takes on McKendree at 11:20 a.m. and Caltech at 4:00 p.m.