ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Three goals apiece from senior Elizabeth Matlin (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) and junior Jess Palmer-Sammons (Half Moon Bay, Calif./Half Moon Bay) helped the Macalester College water polo team defeat Grove City College, 15-3 in the quarterfinals of the CWPA Division III Championship Friday afternoon at Augustana College's Anne Greve Lund Natatorium. The Scots (11-8), seeded second, advance to Saturday's semifinal match against third-seeded Washington & Jefferson at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 12.

In a match that saw Macalester score on 53.6 percent of its shots, the Scots started slowly, with senior Kendall Coney (League City, Texas/Clear Creek) tallying the only goal of the first quarter. Macalester heated up in the second quarter with five goals, including two from first year Anna Gaisser (Seattle, Wash./Ingraham), to take a 6-0 lead at halftime. After Grove City opened the third quarter with its first goal of the match, senior Olivia Dimka (Denton, Texas/John H. Guyer), Matlin and Palmer-Sammons found the net to make the score 9-1. First year Mak Kratz (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) answered a Wolverines' goal just before the end of the quarter for a 10-2 advantage heading into the final quarter.

Coney, Palmer-Sammons and Matlin registered goals over the first 1:30 of the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 13-2. After Grove City's third goal of the game, sophomore Molly Lemmon (Evanston, ill./Evanston Township) and senior Brooke Geel (Meriden, Conn./Hopkins School) closed out the scoring for the Scots in the 15-3 victory. Gaisser and Coney each scored twice, with Gaisser adding two assists. Lemmon and junior Kendall Strauss (Round Rock, Texas/Round Rock) also had two assists apiece.

Junior goalkeeper Jayden Kratt (Palo Alto, Calif./Henry M. Gunn) started the match and made eight saves through three quarters. First year Myles Kratz (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) played the final quarter and registered five saves.

Macalester will take on Washington & Jefferson in the semifinals on Saturday, April 12 at 1:00 p.m. The Presidents defeated sixth-seeded Carthage, 16-14 this afternoon to advance to the semifinals. The semifinal winners will play for the CWPA championship and also qualify for the Women's Water Polo Division III Championship, which features the top two teams from the CWPA and the SCIAC.

box score

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MAC – 1 5 4 5 - 15
GCC – 0 0 2 1 - 3
Macalester goals: Palmer-Sammons 3, Matlin 3, Coney 2, Gaisser 2, Bell, Lemmon, Dimka, Ma. Kratz, Geel

2025 CWPA Tournament - Anne Greve Lund Natatorium, Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill.
(Times are Central Daylight Time)
Friday, April 11
Game 1 - No. 8 Connecticut College 17, No. 9 Wheaton 2
Game 2 - No. 2 Macalester 15, No. 7 Grove City 3
Game 3 - No. 3 Washington & Jefferson 16, No. 6 Carthage 14
Game 4 - No. 4 Augustana vs. No. 5 PSU-Behrend, 5:30 p.m.
Game 5 - No. 1 Austin vs. No. 8 Connecticut College, 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 12
Game 6 - No. 6 Carthage vs. No. 7 Grove City, 10:00 a.m.
Game 7 - Game 4 Loser vs. No. 9 Wheaton, 11:30 a.m.
Game 8 - No. 2 Macalester vs. No. 3 Washington & Jefferson, 1:00 p.m.
Game 9 - Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 2:30 p.m.
Game 10 - Game 7 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser, 4:00 p.m.
Game 11 - Game 7 Winner vs. Game 5 Loser, 5:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 13
Seventh Place - Game 11 Loser vs. Game 10 Loser, 9:00 a.m. (Seventh place)
Fifth Place - Game 11 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 10:30 a.m. (Fifth place)
Third Place - Game 9 Loser vs. Game 8 Loser, 12:00 p.m. (Third place)
Championship - Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9  Winner, 1:30 p.m. (Championship)