OUAZ Men's Water Polo got their chance to take down some of the best teams in the country last week. While the Spirit only recorded one win, it was great experience for a program in its infancy.

The Spirit dropped games against UC-Santa Barbara and Pepperdine on September 19, While the results were not what the team wanted, head coach Austen Ramer was proud of his players.

"It was great to get some experience by playing some of the best teams in the country," Ramer said in a statement following Thursday's game. "I'm pleased with the way the guys battled. We are earning great opportunities. We just need to come together and finish on those chances."

The next day, the Spirit defeated American River 13-8. It was the second win of the season for the team, and the squad learned from their struggles 24 hours earlier.

"We were able to apply the lessons we learned in [Thursday's games] to secure the win," Ramer said. "Weston Restad had a great day shooting and Dylan van Horn had a break out in the second half."

OUAZ was not able to keep that momentum into the weekend, as they lost all four games at the Aggie Round Up in Davis, Calif. The team's best performance at the event was against host UC Davis, where outside of a 5-0 third quarter by the Mustangs, the Spirit kept it close.

"Really an overall great game by the guys," Ramer said. "We were able to hold UC Davis to 3-11 on six on five, which is a big accomplishment. Besides the third quarter, we held tough to one of the best teams in the country."

The Spirit get back in the pool on Saturday against Fresno Pacific. Start time from Fresno, Calif. should be announced this upcoming week.