ORANGE, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific men's water polo team dove into action at the Gary Troyer Tournament, hosted at the Allred Aquatics Center, with a strong showing on opening day. The Sunbirds came out firing, cruising past La Verne with a 20–12 victory before battling hard in a competitive 9–13 matchup against Chapman.
 
GAME 1 | University of La Verne, 20-12

In the first match of the day, the Sunbirds capitalized on four penalty goals and six power-play goals to secure the win. The match began with La Verne getting ahead of the scoring, but Fresno Pacific responded quickly, with Forrest Gray equalizing and Samuel Ramos adding another, taking a 2-1 lead. The teams exchanged leads in a high-scoring first period, ending with the Sunbirds ahead 5-4 after Jake Canales scored. In the second period, the teams continued their back-and-forth, but Fresno Pacific began to distance themselves, highlighted by Gray's goal as part of his four-goal performance. The third period saw the Sunbirds extend their advantage with a dominant stretch, scoring six unanswered goals, including two by Gray, pushing their lead to 16-9.

Gray led Fresno Pacific with six goals and two assists on nine shots, marking another multi-scoring match for the senior. Christiano Sandino also contributed significantly by scoring a hat trick and adding two assists, while winning two sprints. Christian Clark added another hat trick to the mix and assisted on a goal, while also recording three steals in the match. In the cage, Chase Hammes made an impact with eight saves and three steals to bolster the defense.
 
GAME 2 | Chapman University, 9-13

Chapman took early control in the first period with a flurry of four goals, building a 4-1 lead. The Sunbirds responded with Ramos scoring, but Chapman extended their lead to 6-2 and cut off any momentum for the Blue and Orange. The second period saw a more balanced exchange as the 'Birds cut into the deficit, highlighted by Tristin Fox's goal to make it 8-5. Despite a rally, Chapman maintained their lead throughout the match. Christian Clark scored twice more for the Sunbirds, but Chapman secured the 13-9 victory in the final minutes.

Clark scored his second hat trick of the day, netting six goals in both games. Ramos and Fox were efficient in the water and also contributed two goals. Sandino facilitated the offense with two more assists on the day (four in total) and added a steal.

NEXT UP: The Sunbirds head into day two of the Gary Troyer Tournament with a match versus Ottawa (Ariz.) at 9 am and another against Cal Lutheran at 2 pm.

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