Day one of the UC San Diego men's water polo Triton Invitational went pretty much as planned at the Canyonview Aquatic Center as the top four ranked teams in the tournament all advanced on to the semifinals on Sunday. The host and 8th-ranked Tritons defeated 18th-ranked Whittier College by a 17-1 score in its first game and then came back for a 15-8 win over 17th-ranked University of Redlands in its nightcap. UCSD will take on No. 7 UC Irvine at 10:15 a.m. in the second semifinal match.
No. 6 Pepperdine, who defeated its opponents on Saturday by a combined margin of 22-9, will take on No. 9 Loyola Marymount in the first semifinal match on Sunday at 9:10 a.m. LMU defeated No. 11 UC Santa Barbara by a 7-5 score in its first match qualified for the semifinals with a 15-8 win over Pomona-Pitzer in its second match.
The winners of the two semifinal matches will face off in the Championship match of the Triton Invitational at 3:40 p.m.
In its first match of the day, UC San Diego took a commanding 7-0 lead after the first quarter of play as six players notched goals. After three more tallies in the second quarter the Tritons entered the second half with a 10-0 lead. Whittier notched the first goal of the second half, but UCSD answered right back with four goals in the third and three more in the fourth quarter for the 17-1 victory.
Senior Jonathan Hopkins led the way for UCSD, scoring four times in the match, including three in the third quarter. Fellow seniors Steve Jendrusina and Brandon Borso each tallied three goals in the win. Chris Eichholz, another one of the Tritons' 11 seniors, added two goals as well.
UCSD dominated its second match of the day as well, jumping out to a 3-0 lead after the first quarter and a 7-2 advantage at halftime. A 5-1 run in the third quarter put the match out of reach for the Tritons who cruised in to the 15-8 victory. Hopkins and Borso led the way for UCSD, scoring four and three goals, respectively. Ty Lackey pitched in with three goals as well, netting points in the first, second and fourth quarters. Dave Miller picked up the victory between the pipes for the Tritons.
UCSD TRITON INVITATIONAL RESULTS AND SCHEDULE
Day One Results ? Saturday, September 3
Game 1: UCSD “B” def. Air Force, 9-4
Game 2: UC Davis def. UC Santa Cruz, 8-3
Game 3: Redlands def. Whittier, 8-6
Game 4: UC Santa Barbara def. Pomona-Pitzer, 11-4
Game 5: Pepperdine def. Air Force, 12-3
Game 6: UC Irvine def. UC Davis, 10-6
Game 7: UC San Diego def. Whittier, 17-1
Game 8: Loyola Marymount def. UC Santa Barbara, 7-5
Game 9: Pepperdine def. UCSD “B”, 10-6
Game 10: UC Irvine def. UC Santa Cruz, 9-2
Game 11: UC San Diego def. Redlands, 15-8
Game 12: Loyola Marymount def. Pomona-Pitzer, 15-8
Day Two Schedule ? Sunday, September 4
Game 13: UCSD “B” vs. No. 11 UC Santa Barbara ? 7:00 a.m.
Game 14: No. 14 UC Davis vs. No. 17 Redlands ? 8:05 a.m.
Game 15: No. 6 Pepperdine vs. No. 9 Loyola Marymount ? 9:10 a.m.
Game 16: No. 7 UC Irvine vs. No. 8 UC San Diego ? 10:15 a.m.
Game 17: No. 19 Air Force vs. Pomona-Pitzer ? 11:20 a.m.
Game 18: UC Santa Cruz vs. No. 18 Whittier ? 12:25 p.m.
Game 19: Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14 ? 1:30 p.m.
Game 20: Loser Game 13 vs. Loser Game 14 ? 2:35 p.m.
Game 21: Winner Game 15 vs. Winner Game 16 ? 3:40 p.m. ? Championship Match
Game 22: Loser Game 15 vs. Loser Game 16 ? 4:45 p.m. ? Third Place Match
Game 23: Winner Game 17 vs. Winner Game 18 ? 5:50 p.m.
Game 24: Loser Game 17 vs. Loser Game 18 ? 6:55 p.m.
