ORANGE- The University of La Verne battled to an eighth-place finish at the SCIAC men's water polo tournament over the weekend.

The seventh-seeded Leopards opened play Friday with a near-upset of #2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The Leos never held the lead, but outside of a one-minute stretch in the fourth quarter, kept the game within three goals in a 16-14 defeat against the eventual tournament champions. Sophomore attacker Bryan Jiminez led the Leo offense with five goals. 

The Leopards kicked off Saturday's action with a 16-8 win over #9 Caltech to stay alive. La Verne grabbed an early lead against the Beavers that was never relinquished. Jiminez led the scoring again, finding the back of the net four times. Junior goalkeeper Daniel Newell had nine saves.

A Saturday-night loss to #6 Cal Lutheran University sent the Leos to the seventh-place game. La Verne got another four goals from Jiminez and 10 saves from Newell but were unable to stop the Kingsmen in a 20-15 defeat.

The Leopards met #8 Occidental College in the season finale, but after holding a lead multiple times in the first half, the Leos took a 14-12 loss to finish eight overall. Sophomore driver Matthew Vega had a four-goal effort in the loss and Newell made eight stops.

La Verne wrapped up the 2013 season with a 7-23 overall record and a 3-9 mark in league play.