ORANGE, Calif. — Chapman men's water polo had Redlands on the ropes on senior day at home. The Panthers had control and a two goal lead in the first quarter. The ended up falling 12-11 but almost won the game with under one minutes to pay. Led by senior goalkeeper Jackson Sanders, Chapman held the second rank team in the SCIAC at bay in the first half, before falling by as many as three goals in the third quarter, and roaring back to tie it at 11 all with 37 seconds left. 

Sanders led the way for the Panthers, recording 13 saves while playing the entire game. Senior Daniel Franks fueled the offensive attack, recording five assists and two goals and two steals. The team captain set up his teammates on multiple occasions to keep Chapman in the game in the fourth quarter. Additionally, fellow senior Luke Stiebel had one goal, two assists and a new career-high five earned ejections. Junior All-American Davin Castillo added another three steals and a goal, while freshman Rylan Takahashi netted two to the back of the net. Despite the loss, the Panthers positioned themselves to prove yet again that they can compete with anyone in one of the deepest conferences in the country across all three divisions of NCAA water polo. 

Chapman also celebrated six seniors including: Franks, Stiebel, Sanders, Jason Pieracci, Sahak Abrahamyan and Nathan Jones. Sanders will go down as one of the most dominant goalkeepers in program history, after being named an ACWPC All-American in 2024. Abrahamyan will be remembered as an athlete who bounced back to rejoin the team in 2025 after fighting back from a heart issue. He played in the program in 2023 and had to sit out in 2024 to heal the condition. He managed to return to play in 2025 and netted the opening goal on senior day. 

Chapman will look to bounce back from the tight game on Saturday, Nov. 7 as they head on the road to play against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.