USAFA, Colo. (August 31, 2025) – Mount St. Mary's men's water polo fell in their final game of the Air Force Rare Air Challenge on Sunday to No. 3 California by a score of 27-3. With the loss, the Mount falls to a record of 1-3, winning the second game of yesterday's doubleheader against Redlands.
The Mountaineers were held goalless throughout the first half until a goal from
Alexandros Belesis found the net with three minutes left in the fourth quarter. Even with a sizable Golden Bears lead in the fourth quarter,
Aaron Tarr and
Max Economy found the net to keep the fight alive for the Mount, with Tarr recording an assist against California. In goal,
Sherif Hosni recorded 10 saves during the game, bringing his weekend total to 31 across four starts.
All in all, the Rare Air Challenge provided key experience for the Mountaineers going forward this season. Playing two ranked teams in Air Force and California along with talented, West Coast opposition in Biola and Redlands will yield valuable inside heading into the rest of the 2025 season. Across the four games of during the weekend, Belesis scored 16 goals and provided three assists, becoming the Mount's top goal scorer in Colorado. Tarr also had himself a weekend, recording eight goals and nine assists across four starts in the pool. The freshman, Greek pairing of
Ioannis Skliras and
Nikolaos Agritelis five and four goals respectively, both notching their first Mount hattricks while at Air Force. And
Wes Reising showed his offensive prowess and finesse in attack, providing five assist in four games along with a single goal scored.
No. 3 California 27, Mount St. Mary's 3
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Mount St. Mary's 0 0 1 2 3
No. 3 California 8 4 8 7 27
Goals: Belesis 1, Economy 1, Tarr 1
Saves: Hosni 20
COMING UP
The Mountaineers return to action next weekend at the Princeton open where they will take on the hosts on September 5 while playing games against Santa Clara and LIU on September 6 and September 7 respectively.
