NEW LONDON, Conn. – Sophomores Jess Palmer-Sammons (Half Moon Bay, Calif./Half Moon Bay) and Alana Nadolski (Kentwood, Mich./East Kentwood) each scored three goals to lead the Macalester College water polo team to an 11-4 victory over Carthage College on Friday in the quarterfinals of the CWPA Division III Championship, hosted by Connecticut College at Lott Natatorium. The Scots, seeded second, improve to 13-4 overall, while the Firebirds fall to 4-13.

Macalester advances to Saturday's semifinal match against No. 3 seed Austin College, which defeated sixth-seeded Penn State Behrend, 21-9.

Macalester opened the match with three straight goals by Palmer-Sammons, Nadolski and first year Pooja Bucklin (Palo Alto, Calif./Henry M. Gunn) for a 3-0 lead. Carthage found the net near the end of the first quarter, then scored early in the second to make the score 3-2. Juniors Kendall Coney (League City, Texas/Clear Creek) and Olivia Dimka (Denton, Texas/John H. Guyer) tallied back-to-back goals to put the Scots back up by three, 5-2. With 37 seconds left in the first half, the Firebirds scored, only to have Dimka notch her second goal of the game 17 seconds before halftime for a 6-3 advantage at the break.

Nadolski opened the scoring in the second half with two consecutive goals to give Macalester an 8-3 lead. In the fourth quarter, Carthage scored to cut the deficit to 8-4 with 5:30 left in the match. But Palmer-Sammons quieted any thoughts of a Carthage comeback with two more goals to give the Scots a commanding 10-4 lead. Bucklin wrapped up the scoring with her second goal of the game.

Senior goalkeeper Laurel O'Hare (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) registered eight saves in goal for the Scots.

Macalester will take on Austin College on Saturday, April 20 in the semifinals. The match starts at 12:00 p.m. Central at Lott Natatorium. Along with advancing to Sunday's CWPA finals, the semifinal winners qualify for the Division III national championship May 6-7.

All games at the 2024 CWPA Tournament will be streamed live at https://www.nsnsports.net/colleges/connecticut-college/. Click here to view the tournament website.

MAC – 3 3 2 3 - 11
CC – 1 2 0 1 - 4
Macalester goals: Nadolski 3, Palmer-Sammons 3, Dimka 2, Bucklin 2, Coney


2024 CWPA Tournament - Lott Natatorium, Connecticut College, New London, Conn.
(Times are Central Daylight Time)
Friday, April 19
Game 1 - No. 8 Grove City 14, No. 9 Wheaton 4
Game 2 - No. 2 Macalester 11, No. 7 Carthage 4
Game 3 - No. 3 Austin 21, No. 6 PSU-Behrend 9
Game 4 - No. 4 Connecticut College vs. No. 5 Washington & Jefferson, 4:30 p.m.
Game 5 - No. 1 Augustana vs. No. 8 Grove City, 6:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 20
Game 6 - No. 6 PSU-Behrend vs. No. 7 Carthage, 9:00 a.m.
Game 7 - Game 4 Loser vs. No. 9 Wheaton, 10:30 a.m.
Game 8 - No. 2 Macalester vs. No. 3 Austin, 12:00 p.m.
Game 9 - Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 1:30 p.m.
Game 10 - Game 7 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser, 3:00 p.m.
Game 11 - Game 7 Winner vs. Game 5 Loser, 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 21
Seventh Place - Game 11 Loser vs. Game 10 Loser, 8:00 a.m.
Fifth Place - Game 11 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 9:30 a.m.
Third Place - Game 9 Loser vs. Game 8 Loser, 11:00 a.m.
Championship - Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9  Winner, 12:30 p.m.