Hank Franscioni
The Occidental men’s water polo team picked up two wins at the Gary Troyer Tournament at Pomona-Pitzer, with Hank Franscioni (senior) scoring seven goals in four games.
Though the Tigers only managed two wins in the tournament, Franscioni was happy with his performance, as well as the team’s collective effort against tough opponents such as Division I Fordham University.
“I feel like I played pretty well this weekend,” Franscioni said via email. “I felt good in warm-ups and that translated into how I played. I just gave it my all and tried to maintain the intensity and not lose focus.”
Despite his high-powered offensive performance, Franscioni thought he could have played even better.
“I feel like I could have been more vocal and made better passes to teammates to take advantage of more scoring opportunities,” Franscioni said via email. “But I feel like the team is looking strong.”
The senior from Salinas, California acknowledged that dealing with teams that are bigger and more physical would be a challenge, but he looked forward to the task.
“I feel like we just need to handle the bigger teams better, and play more physical under pressure,” Franscioni said via email. “But overall we’re looking very good and I’m excited to see what the outcomes of our games will be once SCIAC play starts in a couple weeks.”
The Tigers return to the pool Oct. 15 when they travel to Long Beach State, after which they begin SCIAC play at home on Oct. 17 against Pomona-Pitzer.
Amanda Herold
The Occidental women’s volleyball team (5-8 overall; 3-5 SCIAC) won three of its four matches last week, thanks in large part to Amanda Herold’s (sophomore) performance. Herold recorded 34 kills in the four games, including a team-leading 10 kills in a victory over University of California, Santa Cruz Saturday.
Herold noted how the efforts of her teammates were crucial to her individual success.
“We’ve been working a lot on strong connections between setters and hitters to create a faster offense,” Herold said via email. “Our setters Tiareh Cruz (junior) and Sarah Beene (senior) are some of the hardest workers on the team. Their diligence really paid off this week with all of their assists and my kills. I’m blessed to have such amazing and supportive teammates and coaches. Their constant support and belief was a huge key for me during some of our tougher matches last week.”
Though the Tigers are just 5-8 overall this season, Herold believes the team will continue to improve.
“We had some really tough matches last week, but we have learned so much from those games,” Herold said via email. “We are continuing to improve every day and I believe that our hard work will start to pay off. I can’t wait for the second round of SCIAC play to begin.”
The Tigers will have a quick turnaround, resuming SCIAC play Oct. 6 at home against Chapman.
