This past weekend the Iona college women’s Water Polo team traveled to Poughkeepsie, NY to defend their MAAC Championship title. The Gaels boasted an impressive 11-1 record as they were named regular season champs. Senior Cecilia Leonard and Sophomore Amy Olsen were named First Team All-MAAC and senior Mackenzie Mone was named All Second Team prior to the tournament. The Maroon and Gold coasted past Villanova University in the semi-finals putting up an 11-1 lead at the half and finishing the game 15-6. Nine different players found the back of the net for Iona, with Mone and senior Caitlin McGregor, junior Alyssa Turza and sophomores Olsen, Erika Lauraitis and Hannah Cross each scoring twice. Senior Cecilia Leonard, freshmen Katie Stelnicki and Monica Stiles each had one goal in the win as sophomore Marisa Gaynor had six saves. Freshman Devin Green had six saves in a relief effort. Iona came out slow at the start of the Wagner game, putting themselves in a 5-1 deficit at the beginning of the 2nd quarter before they were able to make a comeback. Mone recalls the experience. “I don’t think I had ever been more nervous, scared, excited, and proud to play in a game as I did at our championship game,” Mone said. “I think I can speak for the whole team and as the score showed it took us until the second quarter to let the excitement settle and for us to begin to play the way we needed to in order to win. Once we got past that I knew the game was ours!” The Gaels played tremendous defense throughout the third and fourth quarter, cutting Wagner’s 7-4 lead to tie up the game. Tied 8-8 at the end of regulation play, the Gaels found themselves in all too familiar over time play. Iona rallied as they outscored Wagner 2-1 in OT to tie up their second straight MAAC championship and secure a spot in the NCAA tournament. Leonard scored three goals for the Gaels with Mone, Lauraitis, and Stelnicki each adding one goal for the Maroon and Gold. Junior Alyssa Turza was named MVP of the tournament after scoring four goals in the championship game. Teammates Leonard and Gaynor were also named to the All-tournament team. “We wanted this win, we fought back and we came out on top,” Leonard said. “As a senior I don’t get to walk across the stage with my class or attend senior formal, but I’ll always remember I was part of a team that competed in college water polo’s most prestigious competition, twice.” Coach Brian Kelly feels confident in his team with one NCAA tournament now under his belt. “Our team has struggled throughout the season holding onto leads and allowing other teams to make a comeback,” Kelly said. “It was nice to see our girls with the odds against them for a change having to fight back. It shows the tremendous amount of heart and passion that these girls have. It’s not every day that you get a team as talented as this one. Returning to NCAA’s we want to go out and show that we can play at the same level as these teams.” Iona enters the NCAA tournament seeded 7th, as they are set to play the number two seed UCLA in the quarterfinals. The match will take place on May 11 at the Aztec Aquaplex in San Diego, Calif.