La Verne, CA - The Iona College Men's Water Polo opened the 2008 Claremont Convergence with a split on Friday.  The Gaels (7-11) had a dominant second quarter to take a 14-6 victory over La Verne on Friday afternoon.  Iona was edged by Chapman 7-6 in the second game of the day.

The Gaels got on the scoreboard early and often against the Leopards (1-11) with a 2-1 lead after the first quarter and a 5-0 shutout in the second to take a 7-1 lead into halftime.  Iona added a pair in the third quarter and five more in the fourth to cruise to a 14-6 win.  

Joe Przekota continued his strong start to the West Coast trip with four goals and an assist.  Matt Joslyn and Patrick St. Cin each netted a pair of goals with St. Cin adding five steals.  Rookies Max Krzyminski">Max Krzyminski and Carlos Cannon each picked up their first collegiate goals and junior transfer Eric Lilly, playing the field, netted his first goal in the Maroon & Gold.  Cannon also added a steal.  Seth Tasman, Trevor Creighton, and Nick Velasquez each hit the back of the net to round out Iona's scoring.  Ed Gronkowski recorded an assists, five steals, two kickouts drawn and a field block.  Emre Erdogan added three steals and Eric Konzem made 10 saves in the victory.

Iona battled throughout the second game of the afternoon against Chapman.  The Panthers held a slim 2-1 advantage after the first quarter, but a strong second quarter saw the Gaels tie it up at the half.  The Maroon & Gold, though were outscored 3-2 over the final two quarters to fall just short, 7-6.  

Nick Velasquez set the tone with three goals and four steals.  Przekota added a goal and two kickouts drawn with Creighton netting a goal, handing out an assist, drawing a kickout and grabbing five steals.  Tasman finished the scoring with a goal, a kickout drawn and a field block.  Konzem had another good game between the pipes with 10 saves and a steal.

The Men's Water Polo team dives back into the Claremont Convergence on Saturday, October 4 at Axelrood Pool on the campus of Claremont McKenna-Mudd-Scripps.  The Gaels will take on No. 15 Redlands at 1:15 pm followed by California Lutheran at 5:00 pm.

		1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Iona		2	5	2	5	14
LV		1	0	1	4	6

		1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Iona		1	3	1	1	6
CHP		2	2	2	1	7