CLAREMONT, Calif. – The VMI Water Polo Team opened up action in the 2024 Claremont Convergence on Friday, falling in its first game to Cal State East Bay but capping the day off with a dominant 20-8 victory over UC Merced.

Key Stats
- Sydney Smith nets 11 goals on the day, Courtney Novotny has a pair of hat tricks
- Seven of eight position players score
- Ysabel Casillas totals 20 saves in two starts
- 20 goals against UC Merced are a season high, best since matchup with team in 2023  
- VMI improves to 4-7 overall; the four wins surpasses 2023 total, matches 2022

Game 1 – L, 13-19 vs. Cal State East Bay
- Sadie Smith and Sarah Fitzsimmons each record four goals, Novotny nets three and dishes out three assists
- Casillas collects nine saves
- Novotny would score the opener as VMI took a 3-1 lead after goals from Sadie Smith and Fitzsimmons
- Cal State rallied to take the lead, with Fitzsimmons scoring just before the end of the first
- Cal State took the momentum into the second, leading 10-5 at the break
- The Keydets showed their fight in the third, outscoring East Bay 4-3, but the Pioneers took the 6-4 to earn the 19-13 win

Game 2 – W, 20-8 vs. UC Merced
- VMI is 2-for-2 on penalty shots, .486 shot percentage for the game as they score a season-high 20 goals
- Sydney Smith nets career-high seven goals
- Sydney Smith and Julia Ward open up the game with goals
- UC Merced ties it at 2-2 but VMI scores four straight to end the quarter
- Sydney Smith opened the second with three straight goals for VMI as the Keydets closed out the half ahead 12-3
- While UC Merced would attempt to mount a comeback in the third, the Keydets would keep the distance between the two sides, taking the game 20-8
              
Remaining Weekend Schedule
Saturday, March 2 – Cal State Fullerton – 1:30 p.m. EST – Watch - Stats
Saturday, March 2 – University of Redlands - 6:30 p.m. EST – Watch - Stats