CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Navy water polo team (12-7) posted a pair of victories on the final day of competition at the Gary Troyer Tournament to finish the event with a 2-2 record. On the opening day of the tournament, the Midshipmen dropped a 6-5 decision to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (8-1) before dropping a 15-11 game to No. 15 Pomona-Pitzer (9-3). The Mids rebounded on Saturday with a 14-9 win against No. 14 California Baptist (11-9) prior to closing out the tournament with a 13-10 victory over La Verne (6-13).
 
"I am extremely proud of this team," head coach Luis Nicolao said of the tournament. "We played good defense all weekend, but were not able to come away with any wins on day one. The team rallied with a pair of solid performances to get a pair of wins on the final day of the tournament. It was a solid team effort today. We continue to get better every day. We have one more game out here in California so we need to finish this road trip strong."
 
Nate Reiff (Wheeling, Ill.) led the way with 14 total points (9 goals, 5 assists), followed by Bobby Lee (Santa Ana, Calif.) who tallied 12 points (10g 2a). Lee's 10 goals paced the Navy offensive attack, while Reiff's five assists was one more than Jake Haines (Ashburn, Va.) and Crawford Smith (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) who chipped in four helpers apiece.
 
Ronan Williams (Severna Park, Md.) worked three of four games at goal for the Midshipmen. The junior posted 23 saves in three games. Williams opened the weekend with 11 stops against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, while notching seven saves against No. 14 California Baptist. In the final game of the tournament, he posted five stops en route to the victory. Francis Kim (Houston, Texas) and Max Sandberg (Newport Beach, Calif.) combined for five saves against No. 15 Pomona Pitzer.
 
Navy closes out its five-game California road trip with a single game against No. 19 Loyola-Marymount on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. (ET). The game will be live streamed and live stats will be available.
 
Game 1 Recap – Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 6, Navy 5
In the first game of the tournament, the Midshipmen dropped a 6-5 decision to CMS. The Mids were led by Reiff who tallied four of the Mids' five goals in the game, but as a whole Navy was unable to find the back of the net, missing 29 shots in the game. The defense kept the game close with Williams making 11 saves to hold Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to six goals.
 
Game 2 Recap – No. 15 Pomona Pitzer 15, Navy 11
Against nationally-ranked Pomona-Pitzer, Navy battled hard before falling 15-11. Reiff once again led the team with three goals, while also adding an assist for four total points. Andrew Shashin (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) joined Reiff as the only multi-goal scorer in the game with a pair of goals. Kim and Sandberg split time at goal for the Midshipmen, surrendering 15 goals, while combining for five stops.
 
Game 3 Recap – Navy 14, No. 14 California Baptist 9
Navy rebounded on the second day of competition. Led by four goals by Lee, the Midshipmen saw nine different players score against the nationally-ranked foe. Alex Piecuch (Ladera Ranch, Calif.) and Smith joined Lee with multiple goals, notching a pair of scores apiece, while Reiff led the way with two assists in the game. Williams picked up the victory at goal, recording seven saves in a complete-game effort.
 
Game 4 Recap – Navy 13, La Verne 10
In the Mids' final game of the 2018 Gary Troyer Tournament, Navy rallied from behind to pick up a 13-10 victory over La Verne. The Mids trailed 4-1 early and 7-5 in the third quarter before scoring eight of the final 11 goals for the three-point victory. Lee scored a team-high five goals, while Smith contributed a team-best four assists. Williams' five blocks were enough as the junior picked up his second victory of the day.