By james art What 2 Watch 4
– The Big West is set for another light week around the pool with just four games on the schedule this week.
All three games on the schedule will feature conference play. No. 14 UC Santa Barbara hosts No. 13 UC San Diego on Friday at 6 p.m
The battle of the undefeated will take place at the Schaal Aquatics Center when No. 10 UC Davis welcomes No. 8 UC Irvine. Both teams enter the match at a perfect 3-0. The Anteaters have edged the Aggies by one goal in the last two games between these teams, the latter an 11-10 triumph in last year’s semifinal round of the Big West Men’s Water Polo Championship.
The Titans will travel to No. 11 Long Beach State to close out week four of conference play Friday at 7 p.m.
Around the pool
– #9 UC Irvine (14-7, 3-0 BW) – UCI enjoyed an undefeated week after a pair of clutch victories over conference foes No. 16 UCSB and No. 7 Pepperdine. Jackson Matos and Luka Krstic contributed three goals while Ethan Shipman also scored a hat trick while scoring the game-winner for the ‘Eaters. In the next contest against the Waves, UCI never trailed as Johann Thrall collected the sophomore’s seventh hat trick of the season.
No. 10 UC Davis (9-11, 3-0 BW) – UCD split their contests last week, highlighted by a 19-12 win at CSUF. Freshman forward Gabe Bensen set a new career high in goals with five along with a pair of assists. Both the Aggies and Anteaters boast 3-0 records heading into Friday’s clash.
No. 11 Long Beach State (14-9, 1-2 BW) – LBSU prevailed over conference foe UCSD by a score of 13-12. Sophomore forward Caleb Francisco’s third goal proved to be the game-winner in the seventh period for the Beach. Senior striker Evan Kane also contributed a hat-trick to the thrilling win.
#14 UC Santa Barbara (14-9, 1-2 BW) – The Gauchos were narrowly defeated by league-leading UCI in sudden death, 13-14. Red jersey junior goalkeeper Levin Lentin collected a career-high 17 saves in loss as a junior Sam McKenzie scored three times in attack. UCSB is now 1-2 in Big West play.
#13 UC San Diego (13-10, 1-2 BW) – The Tritons earned a 20-8 win against Whittier, where the freshman forward was Grant Kurtz composed four scores. Senior Eamonn Hennessy scored a career high with three goals and five points. After a loss against LBSU, the Tritons are 1-2 in the conference heading into their matchup with UCSB.
Cal State Fullerton (11-14, 0-3 BW) – CSUF suffered two setbacks last week, but boasts a senior forward Togan Ozbek as his top scorer (44 goals). Ozbek’s 44 marks among all Big West student-athletes.
Survey position
– The Big West sees five of its six schools in the latest edition of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) poll.
UC Irvine moves up to No. 8 after two national wins last week.
UC Davis and Long Beach State remain at No. 11, respectively.
UC San Diego moves up to No. 13. UC Santa Barbara rounds out the Big West list at No. 14.
Tickets for the Championship are on sale now!
– The Big West announced today the ticket pricing structure for the 2024 Big West Men’s Water Polo Championship.
The 2024 championship features the top six teams vying for The Big West crown and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Men’s Water Polo Championship. The championship will be held at the Schaal Aquatics Center on the UC Davis campus starting Friday , November 22 to Sunday, November 24, 2024
Individual session tickets will go on sale on Tuesday, October 22, 2024. Individual session ticket prices are $25 per session for adults and $10 for students each day of the race.
You can buy tickets here. For more information on the championship, please visit BigWest.org/MWPCHAMPS.
In 2023, top-seeded UC Irvine defeated No. 2 UC Santa Barbara in dramatic fashion, 11-9, to win the Big West Men’s Water Polo Championship in La Jolla, California on Nov. 19. The Gauchos held the lead early in the third period before the Anteaters roared back with an unanswered three to grab a lead that would not be relinquished. The championship marked the first season as a Big West-sponsored sport after a 22-year hiatus.
“UC Davis did a fantastic job hosting the 2023 Big West Women’s Water Polo Championship, and we look forward to the same level of fan experience and excitement when the men take to the pool this November,” said Big West Commissioner Dan Butterly. “We were pleased to have two teams in NCAA postseason play a year ago and look forward to building on that momentum in 2024.”
We welcome champions!
– The Big West is proud to boast that both UC San Diego and UC Davis will host the NCAA Men’s Water Polo Collegiate National Finals for the second season. The Tritons will take over hosting responsibilities in 2026, while the Aggies will host all in 2027. For the fourth time in its history, the NCAA conducted a comprehensive site selection process in 2024, putting most of its championships up for bid at the same time.
The association has selected more than 240 host sites for the preliminary and final rounds of pre-determined Division I, II and III championships, primarily for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons. This cycle marks a shift from a four-year to a two-year site selection process.
The Tritons last hosted the event in 2014 as a Division II team. The 2026 National Collegiate Finals will be the first time they will be hosted as a Division I team.
For the fourth time in its history, the NCAA conducted a comprehensive site selection process in 2024, putting most of its championships up for bid at the same time.
For the first time since the 2006 NCAA Women’s National Water Polo Championship and only the third time in history, the Schaal Aquatics Center will host the NCAA Men’s National Water Polo Championship, welcoming the nation’s best to Davis in 2027 Mr.
Already the host venue for the 2024 Big West Men’s Water Polo Tournament, the Schaal Aquatics Center made its debut on campus in 2003 and has already seen high-level action throughout its history. In the past, Davis hosted the United States Men’s Water Polo Championship in 2005, and during the 2004-05 seasons, the pool was used for the Western Water Polo Association Championship for both the men’s and women’s teams.
Big West Weekly Recognition
– UC Irvine’s Luka Krstic secures Big West Men’s Water Polo Player of the Week honors for the third time this season (Sept. 11, Oct. 9) and fourth overall in his junior career (Oct. 25, 2023) behind a dominant performance in the Black and Blue rivalry. Krstic’s four weekly honors are the most in the league. The forward collected a career-high seven goals for the second time this season during UCI’s triumphant 13-12 win over No. 8 Long Beach State. Krstic also recorded a field goal in the contest. The win snapped a 10-game losing streak to LBSU dating back to 2017. Krstic currently leads the Anteaters with 42 kills, good for second in The Big West, while leading the league in field goal blocks (9). UC Irvine boasts a No. 9 overall national ranking and is undefeated in conference play at 2-0.
Preseason forecast
-The Beach were tied for first place after 22 points and three first place votes after finishing with a 16-12, 2-3 BW record last season.
The league’s coaches also voted on a seven-man preseason squad as Long Beach State saw a duo of student-athletes make the team with a senior attack Evan Kane and senior assistant Bruno Chiappini. Cain contributed 60 goals and 21 assists for Beach, while Chiappini collected 47 points and 25 assists for Beach a year ago. The duo also earned All-Big West First Team honors for their efforts in 2023.
Right behind LBSU in the preseason rankings is defending Big West champion UC Irvine (18-10, 4-1 BW) with 21 points and two first-place votes. The Anteaters also placed a pair on the preseason junior offensive team Luka Krstic and graduate goalkeeper Jacob Pyle. Krstic tallied an Anteater-high 69 points last year and scored two key goals in UCI’s championship victory a year ago. Pyle was named to the preseason team after earning Big West Tournament MVP for his postseason goaltending performance.
UC San Diego is third with 17 points and the only first-place vote. Junior utility Bennett Axline represented the Tritons on the preseason team after leading UCSD a year ago in goals (59), shots (116) and draw saves (83).
UC Davis (16-10, 3-2 BW) slips to fourth with 13 votes as it looks to graduate utility Alex Aznar Beltran earn preseason recognition. The native of Barcelona, Spain, led the Aggies in 2023 with 78 points on 48 goals and 30 assists.
Last year’s runner-up UC Santa Barbara (17-13, 3-2 BW) is fifth with 12 votes. The Gauchos bring back the redshirt junior Levin Lentin in goal, who stopped 188 shots on a .449 save percentage to make his way onto the preseason roster.
Cal State Fullerton finishes the poll with five points. Last year, the Titans had their inaugural season in 2024 and finished the season with a .500 overall mark (16-16, 0-5 BW).
In the preseason addition of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), UC Irvine (No. 6), UC Davis (No. 8), Long Beach State (No. 10), UC Santa Barbara (No. 11) and UC All San Diego (No. 12 ) occupy national rankings before 2024.
The first date of the Big West men’s water polo competition begins on Saturday, September 7 in La Jolla, Calif., during the Triton Invitational on the campus of UC San Diego. A schedule of games played during opening week can be found here and on our Big West website.
The Schaal Aquatics Center will host the 2024 Big West Men’s Water Polo Championship Nov. 22-24 on the UC Davis campus. The winner of the championship will receive the league’s automatic seeding into the NCAA Championship.
Select regular season contests are scheduled to air on the ESPN family of networks. Please check ESPN listings for upcoming game schedules and additional information.