In 1200 BCE the Greeks defeated the Trojans in an epic battle; however on March 1, 2024 in Axelrod pool, the Goddesses of War were not so lucky, bringing the tally for Greek-Trojan combat to a grand total of 1-1.
The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) women’s water polo team lost to Division I powerhouse USC to kick off the annual Claremont Convergence Tournament. Their attempts to shift the tides in “Trojan Horse” fashion with a surprise goal in the final minutes of battle were of no avail, as the Trojans ultimately came away with a 18-4 win.
The Convergence Tournament is co-hosted each year by CMS and Pomona-Pitzer (P-P). The tournament provides many opportunities for teams to challenge themselves early on in the season and hosts strong programs such as Santa Clara University, UC Irvine and San Diego State University. With P-P and CMS in first and second respectively in the Division III rankings, the tournament allows them to match them up against schools two divisions above them.
Ranked fifth in the nation this year, USC has played in six of the last seven NCAA DI championship games, winning three national titles in that span. According to Caitlin Muñoz SC ’26, despite falling to the Trojans, the Athenas understand how crucial this annual competition is in making them a better team.
“[USC] was definitely gonna be our most physical and most high-ranking team we’re gonna play all year,” Muñoz said. “We get to cycle a lot of people in and it’s just a great opportunity to play very competitively at a super high level. That’s kind of why I love this tournament because you can see a lot of DI competition. And it’s always a good way to preface our SCIAC season.”
After a goal from USC in the first quarter, the Athenas took an early lead with back-to-back goals from Cooper McKenna CM ’24 and Valerie Wraith CM ’27. However, the Trojans quickly bounced back with another goal just seconds after falling behind, going on to score four more goals in the first quarter.
Despite trailing for the rest of the game, Elise Power CM ’25 said that small victories are what the team was looking for. She said she was proud of her team’s performance.
“It’s really fun to see our teammates succeeding against such a good program like USC,” Power said. “Mia Adsen [SC ’24] had a really awesome shot block and four of our girls had really great goals. Some great steals on defense too.”
In the second quarter, USC charged ahead with four more goals. Shots from Adsen and McKenna were not enough and the Athenas left the pool at the end of the first half behind 10-2.
Muñoz scored one goal in the third quarter, followed by a buzzer-beater with five seconds remaining in the final quarter by Fiona Murphy SC ’26. Angelina Tsai HM ’26 recalled the heroic final point, describing the skill required to pull off a goal like that.
“Shout out to Fiona Murphy,” Tsai said. “She had the last shot in the game and scored a really beautiful shot. That was a bar down, which is really hard to do against USC’s goalie.”
After the loss, the Athenas still look towards the rest of their season with heads held high. McKenna and Power both described how the team atmosphere has benefited from the CMS men’s team winning the DIII national championship in the fall.
“Our coach is kind of coming in with a lot more of a ‘we’re gonna win this whole thing’ [mentality],” Power said. “Like, let’s practice as hard as we possibly can after the men’s team had such good successes. So I think that definitely is setting the tone for the season.”
Following their loss to USC, the Athenas went on to win the rest of their games in the Convergence Tournament, taking out DI and DII competitors Cal State Fullerton, Santa Clara and Cal State Monterey Bay. Heading into upcoming SCIAC games, Power emphasized the importance of both wins and losses against schools like these.
“We have been playing a lot more DI teams in the preseason than normal,” Power said. “So I think it’s fun seeing us having successes in those games. I think we are looking really good and we have improved a lot. So we’re excited to go in next week and play P-P.”
The Athenas faced off against the Sagehens for the first Sixth Street matchup of the season on Wednesday, March 6, falling 12-9 in an overtime loss at home. CMS will look for their first conference win as they take on Chapman away on Saturday, March 9.
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