UTICA, NY - The Utica University water polo team is set to compete at the CWPA Division III Championships at Macalester College in St. Paul Minnesota that runs from Friday, April 21 to Sunday, April 23.
 
Follow Along: Each match of the CWPA Championships can be streamed through https://bit.ly/3GRqhMa. 
 
Last Time Out: The team fell in both of its matches on day two of its home tournament on Sunday, April 2. The team fell to Washington & Jefferson 16-6 and lost to Connecticut College 10-5. W&J jumped out to a 5-0 lead, yet the Pioneers started battling back making it a 9-3 game at the half. Utica continued to fire off shots and scored three more goals in the second half, yet W&J tacked on a few late goals to secure a 16-6 victory. Amelia Laible () led the way with three goals while Paige Levine (Holtsville, NY/Sachem East), Kelly Waryncia (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa), and Kira Seaman (Fort Edward, NY/Hudson Falls) each netted one. In net, Kim Serio (Lakeville, NY/Livonia) made 12 saves. Connecticut College jumped out to a 4-1 lead after the first quarter, yet Utica stormed back scoring two goals in the second period to cut it to just 4-3 at the half. The Pioneers kept firing, scoring two more goals in the third, yet Connecticut held on for a 10-5 victory. Amelia Laible () continued her fantastic day scoring four goals, giving her seven on the day. Sara Kuiken (Valley Falls, NY/Tamarac) also found the back of the net in the third quarter. Kim Serio (Lakeville, NY/Livonia) was fantastic in net recording a season-high 23 saves and made some fine saves to keep Utica in the game.
 
Heating Up: Amelia Laible () has been heating up quickly as she scored seven goals in the team's final two games of the regular season. Laible recorded three goals against Washington & Jefferson and followed this up with four goals against Connecticut College. She finished the regular season second in goals and is a crucial part of the team's success.
 
Holding Down the Fort: Goalie Kim Serio (Lakeville, NY/Livonia) has been great in net with multiple games with more than 15 saves including one game with 20. The junior's ability to keep the ball out of the net has helped keep Utica in close games.
 
About Wittenberg: The Tigers finished the regular season 6-12 and beat Grove City 11-6 in its senior day on Saturday, April 15. The win was much needed as the team was on a five-game losing streak. Wittenberg enters the tournament as the seventh-seed and it will be a rematch of last year's opening round matchup.

Up Next: The winner will play second-seed Connecticut College on Friday, April 21 at 6:40 p.m. The loser will play at 11:20 a.m. on Saturday, April 22 against the loser of Macalester College and Washington & Jefferson College.