No. 15 Indiana water polo swept all competition at the Bruno Classic on Feb. 3 and 4.
Indiana started the series in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a match Feb. 3 against host No. 18 Harvard University.
The Crimson jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, but the Hoosiers answered back with four straight goals from junior center Sophia Sollie, graduate student utility player Zoe Crouch, sophomore utility player Nicole Tyner and junior attacker Skylar Kidd to bring the game to a 4-1 advantage late in the first quarter.
The Crimson outscored the Hoosiers 2-1 in the last 2:36, cutting the lead to 5-3 at the end of the first quarter. During the second quarter, Indiana and Harvard kept it level at 3 to enter the half with an 8-6 Hoosier advantage.
The second half was all about the Hoosiers. They built a 4-point lead as Sollie notched a hat trick with 2:18 remaining in the third quarter. A goal from senior attacker Sophie Wazzan extended the lead to five before the Crimson scored a goal with seven seconds left to end the third quarter down 12-8.
Indiana outscored Harvard 5-2 in the fourth quarter to secure the win 17-10 and start its season 5-0.
Later that day, Indiana defeated Marist College 13-6 in a rematch from the Wolverine Invitational the weekend prior. Indiana is now 2-0 against Marist this season.
Crouch and Sollie once again got the Hoosiers started against the Red Foxes in the first quarter, taking a 2-1 lead. The Hoosiers added two more goals in the second quarter before the Red Foxes answered 4-2 with 3:43 left. Kidd notched another goal to give the Hoosiers a 5-2 lead at the half.
Indiana senior defender Kallie White scored two goals in the third quarter, serving as a building block to take an 8-4 lead. Indiana outscored Marist 5-1 in the fourth quarter to win the match 13-6 and end the trip 2-0 in Massachusetts.
On Feb. 4, Indiana continued the Bruno Classic in Providence, Rhode Island, against No. 24 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. Indiana got on the board first at the 5:04 mark with a goal from sophomore attacker Louisa Downes. The team then capitalized on a 7-0 run that continued into the second quarter as Kidd notched two goals in the opening two periods to end the first half with an 8-2 lead.
The second half got rolling and the Hoosiers did not let off the gas. They outscored the Sagehens 6-4 to end the match 16-6. Sollie and Kidd each had hat tricks for the Hoosiers in game one against the Sagehens.
Indiana wrapped up play with a match against host Brown University. Indiana shut Brown out in the first quarter and capitalized on it with three goals of its own. Though Brown scored two goals in the second, Indiana scored five more to hold on to an 8-2 lead.
The Crimson outscored the Hoosiers 2-1 in the third quarter. The only goal came from White to keep a 9-4 lead. The Hoosiers once again scored two more goals in the fourth with back-to-back goals from Sollie to solidify the 11-6 win.
It is the first time that Indiana has gotten to an 8-0 start — the best in school history — under head coach Taylor McInerney, who has led the team since 2020.
The Hoosiers will have their first home matches on Saturday and Sunday at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center as part of the Indiana Classic.
On Saturday, Indiana has a 10:30 a.m. match against the 1-7 California Baptist University. Despite the record, six of its seven losses were to ranked opponents. It will be followed by a match at 6 p.m. against Iona University. Iona has not played a match since Jan. 28th, going 2-2 in the 2024 Villanova Invitational.
On Sunday, Indiana has a 10:30 a.m. match against 1-11 Saint Francis University. Of the 11 losses, only five came to ranked opponents. Concluding the classic at 3:30 p.m. is a match against Salem University. Salem is 3-10 with wins over California Lutheran University, Austin College and Virginia Military Institute.
