This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Rob Bartnichak.

Men’s water polo defeated Washington and Jefferson 15-6 on Sunday to place fifth at the Collegiate Water Polo Association Southern Division Championship this weekend.

GW went 3-1 on the weekend, bringing the team’s overall record to 12-12, which is good enough for an automatic bid to the CWPA Championship. The Colonials suffered a 16-11 loss to Johns Hopkins in their first game, but won their next three. They beat Salem International (19-1), Gannon (9-6), and Washington and Jefferson.

“Our play was a 50/50 split this weekend,” head coach Scott Reed said. “We definitely started off on the wrong foot this weekend, and it probably took a couple games to get into the form that we needed to be in.”

Junior Bogdan Petkovic led the team in goals over the weekend with 11, including two four-goal performances against Washington and Jefferson and Johns Hopkins. Senior Brian Mojica added seven goals, and freshman Pierce Deamer scored six.

Junior goalkeeper Conor Dillon made 35 saves in three games on the weekend, including 12 against Washington and Jefferson where he spent the entire game in net.

The Colonials held Washington and Jefferson to just one point in three of the four quarters, playing strong defense led by Petkovic’s five steals.

Reed attributed the success to defensive adjustments the team made after the loss to Johns Hopkins. Reed said they improved not only the defensive play, but the offensive play as well.

“We needed to make some adjustments after the Hopkins game,” Reed said. “It allowed our perimeter defenders to get the jump on our offensive transition, and it created a lot of opportunities for us.”

The Colonials will learn their seeding for the CWPA Championship on Monday. The tournament begins Nov. 21 and ends Nov. 23 at Navy.