Annapolis, Maryland – The Iona College men's water polo team swept the opening day of competition at the Navy Open, downing Cal Lutheran 9-7 and Washington and Jefferson 13-1. Marc Stauble, Patrick Hudack, and Quinn Lloyd tallied three goals apiece, with Phillip Wachowski, Andrew Judge, Zach Roper, and Blake Ballantyne each tallying a pair. Jorge Andres Torres collected both wins in the cage, posting 18 saves and three steals.
 
Game 1 – Iona 9, Cal Lutheran 7
 
In the opening contest, the Gaels erased an early 5-1 deficit to storm back and defeat Cal Lutheran 9-7.  Roper and Judge each scored a pair, with Matthew Rothman, Patrick Hudak, Quinn Lloyd, Marc Stauble, and Phillip Wachowski tallying one apiece. Torres started in net, making 14 saves and collecting three steals.
 
The Kingsmen jumped in front just over a minute into the contest before Lloyd quickly tied it up 17 ticks later. The Gaels remained off the scoresheet for the remainder of the first quarter, with Cal Lutheran tallying a pair to put the Gaels in a two score hole.
 
Cal Lutheran continued to roll early in the second quarter with two goals in the first seven minutes of play, as the Gaels found themselves down 5-1 with 2:43 remaining in the half. Goals from Wachowski and Hudak in the final 66 seconds put Iona back in it, only trailing 5-3 after the first 16 minutes of play.
 
Rothman found the back of the net 46 ticks into the second half, and was followed by Roper's first goal of the season, knotted the score at 5-5. The Kingsmen went back ahead with 2:39 left in the frame, and held the Gaels off for the remainder, as the scoreboard read 6-5 in favor of Cal Lutheran heading into the final period play.
 
Iona outscored the Kingsmen 4-1 in the fourth quarter, helped by a pair of goals by Judge. The senior knotted the score at 6-6 and put the Gaels ahead with 3:58 remaining. Cal Lutheran tied the score shortly thereafter but Roper answered put Iona up for good with 2:45 left. Torres and the Iona defense, aided by an insurance goal by Marc Stauble led the Maroon & Gold to the opening weekend victory.

Head Coach Brian Kelly on the victory, "excellent come from behind win. We had a really slow offensive start and got down 5-1. Jorge kept us in the game and the offense picked up with two big goals out of center from Wachowski and Hudak. Roper and Stauble had big fourth quarter goals to seal the win."
 
Game 2 – Iona 13, Washington and Jefferson 1
 
In the afternoon contest, the Gaels took care of business over Washington and Jefferson, besting the opposition 13-1. Hudak, Lloyd, Ballantyne and Stauble each scored two, with Daniel Savage, Spencer Anthony, Wachowski, Andrew Brozovic and Hulbert each finding the back of the net.
 
Torres started the game in net for the first quarter, stopping four Presidents' shots and allowing one goal. Michael Banks relieved him and collected 10 saves while holding Washington and Jefferson off the scoresheet.
 
The Gaels return to the pool tomorrow with matchups against Gannon and Navy at 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM respectively.