CLAREMONT, Calif.  ? The 9th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team trailed early but defeated No. 11 UC Davis 10-9 in the semifinals of the Western Water Polo Association Championships on Saturday afternoon.  Adnan Jerkovic scored four times and A.J. Kotanjian scored the tying goal right before halftime.  Jeff Hunt's score with 4:29 remaining put the Tritons ahead for good and David Morton made several saves as the Tritons advanced to the conference championship on Sunday at 4:00 p.m.

"I liked the way we kept our composure,” said Head Coach Denny Harper. “There was never any feeling that we weren't going to win. They took care of business and for a true freshman, Morton played a great game."

The UCSD vs. UC Davis meeting was the third meeting this year between the two schools.  UCSD won the previous two match-ups, 14-11 at UCSD and 9-6 at UC Davis.

The Tritons (20-10) won their 20th game of the year, the fourth time in the last five years that coach Harper's club has won 20.  The last time the Tritons won 20 games was during the 2006 year when it won a school-record 26 games and won the WWPA Championship.

Trailing 6-4 in the first half, UCSD tied it up at 6-6 at the break.  The Tritons outscored UCD 2-1 in the third, which would be the difference as each team scored twice in the final quarter. 

Jerkovic scored four goals, while Jeff Hunt and Steven Donohoe scored two goals apiece.  Kotanjian and Daniel Garcia also scored for UCSD.

The Tritons will face the winner of the Loyola Marymount vs. Santa Clara match-up in the WWPA Championship.  The winner of Sunday's 4:00 p.m. game will receive the WWPA's automatic bid to the NCAA Final Four in Stanford.