THE SCHEDULE
Match 23
TBD
Saturday, Nov. 22 • 11:15 a.m.
2014 WWPA Championship
Burns Aquatics Center • Los Angeles
Live Video
Match 24
TBD
Sunday, Nov. 23 • TBD
2014 WWPA Championship
Burns Aquatics Center • Los Angeles
Live Video
TICKET INFORMATION
2014 Western Water Polo Association Championship (WWPA) tickets may be purchased online here. Tickets can also be purchased at the entrance gate one hour prior to game time, a $1 ticket fee will be assed on all walk-up purchases. Tickets can also be purchased via phone at (310) 338-LION, however, a $7 processing fee will be charged per phone order. All tickets are single-day, general admission and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. A one-day pass for Friday and/or Saturday can be purchased for $10 for adults and $5 for youth/seniors/students. Championship Sunday prices are $15 for adults and $10 for youth/seniors/students.
WWPA HISTORY
UCSD and head coach Denny Harper have claimed 16 Western Water Polo Association Championships throughout his tenure, most recently in 2013. That squad entered the WWPA Championships as the No. 2 Seed, which sent them straight to the semifinals. There the Tritons faced No. 14 Santa Clara and took a 8-4 win thanks to goalie Cameron Ravanbach's (La Jolla/ La Jolla HS) single game high 21 saves. UCSD went on to play No. 11 UC Davis in the Aggies' home pool. Despite UC Davis' advantage, the Tritons grabbed a 6-4 win and earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships in the process.
TOURNEY TIME
The Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Tournament will feature six of the seven teams from the conference. Newcomer Fresno Pacific will be eligible for the 2015 WWPA Championships. The action will start on Friday with fourth-seeded Loyola Marymount playing fifth-seeded Santa Clara at 12:15 p.m. The third-seeded Air Force Falcons will face off against the sixth-seeded California Baptist at 2 p.m. The Tritons will play their first match of the tournament on Saturday at 11:15 a.m. as the No. 1 seed awaits the lowest advancing seeded team. The second-seeded UC Davis will be matched up with the highest advancing seeded team later in the day at 1 p.m. Following the outcome of the matches, the fifth-place game will be played on Sunday at 9:30 a.m., the third-place game will start at 11:15 a.m. and the championship is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. The winner will receive an automatic qualifier for the 2014 National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championships. The tournament format will feature two play-in games to reach the four-team championship bracket, hosted by UCSD in La Jolla on Dec. 6-7.
SIX HONOREES
No. 6 UC San Diego's Josh Stiling was named the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Player of the Year for the second time in his career on Tuesday. Stiling previously received this honor in 2012 as a junior. Stiling leads UCSD with 56 goals this season. He also leads the team with 40 steals. Joining Stiling as an All-WWPA First Team honoree is goalie Cameron Ravanbach. This is the third year Ravanbach has been named All-WWPA First Team. In addition, senior David Higginson was named to the All-WWPA Second Team, seniors Joe Dietrich and Matt Michalko received Honorable Mention recognition, and Thomas Higginson was selected to the All-Freshman Team.
RAVANBACH MOVING UP
Senior goalkeeper Cameron Ravanbach (La Jolla/La Jolla HS) entered the 2014 season in seventh place on UCSD's all-time saves list with 557. The senior made nine stops against No. 14 UC Davis and 15 saves against No. 16 Santa Clara during the Tritons' final weekend of conference play to move him into fourth place. After recording 22 saves during the Tritons' final two regular season games, he is now one stop away from tying Willy Morris' third place mark. Ravanbach has posted 10 or more saves in 18 games so far this season.
STILING CRACKS TOP 10
Senior Josh Stiling is now on UCSD's career goals top-10 list. After scoring five times in the Tritons final weekend of conference play, Stiling tied the ninth place mark with 171. Then the Beaverton, Ore., native recorded a goal against No. 12 UC Irvine to take sole possession of ninth place. Stilling is now nine goals away from Dana Greisen's eighth place mark
MICHALKO ENTERS RECORD BOOK
Senior Matt Michalko (San Diego/The Bishop's School) continues to move up UCSD's all-time ejections drawn list. Michalko has helped give the Tritons a 6-on-5 advantage 138 times, which is good for eighth on the list. Michalko first earned a spot on the list earlier this season on Sept. 6 against Cal when the senior recorded a career-high five ejections drawn. He is now closing in on Kevin Vance's seventh place mark of 145. He is also in ninth place on the all-time penalties drawn list with 12.
HIGGINSON HELPING HIS WAY INTO HISTORY
David Higginson (San Diego/The Bishop's School) is approaching UCSD's all-time assists list. Higginson notched one assist over the weekend to bring his total to 103 assists, putting him just three shy of Vladmir Djapic's 10th place mark. Higginson had a stellar performance in the SoCal Tournament where he notched seven assists in addition to three goals and four steals.
TRITON NOTES
Head coach Denny Harper is now just two victories away from earning his 600th win... Josh Stiling leads UCSD with 56 goals this season. He has been the Tritons' top scorer in 15 games... Eight Tritons have recorded hat tricks this season - Stiling (10), Lukas Syka (San Diego/Westview HS) (2), Chase Cockerill (1), Luca De Vivo (1), Joe Dietrich (1), David Higginson (1) (San Diego/The Bishop's School), Matt Michalko (1), and Andy Moore (1)... UCSD has earned 10 wins against nationally ranked opponents so far this season. The highest ranked opponent the Tritons have defeated was No. 6 UC Santa Barbara.
ABOUT THE AGGIES - No. 2 SEED
UC Davis currently sits just below .500 with a 15-16 overall record. The Aggies got off to a rocky start in their 2014 campaign by dropping six of their first seven games. However, all six losses came from teams ranked higher than them. UC Davis started to build momentum at the Kap7 NorCal Classic. After dropping to No. 6 Pacific in the first game, they took two-straight victories, including their first win against a ranked opponent (No. 19 Air Force). The Aggies really shined at their own Aggie Shootout where they won all four contests highlighted with a 13-9 win against No. 18 Navy and a 16-12 win against No. 19 Whittier. UC Davis then went on to the SoCal Tournament where it struggled slightly as it won only one of four. The Aggies took a big 7-6 overtime win against Santa Clara on Oct. 26, and split the following weekend by falling 10-6 to the Tritons and defeating LMU 12-7 at home. Despite losing 16-4 to No. 1 UCLA, UC Davis won its final two regular season games to give them the No. 2 seed in the WWPA Championship.
SERIES HISTORY
UCSD currently sports a 46-14 all-time record against UC Davis. The last time the two matched up was on Oct. 31 and UCSD came out with a 10-6 win.
ABOUT THE FALCONS - No. 3 SEED
No. 15 Air Force is 14-14 overall and finished tied with UC Davis in conference play with 4-2 record. The Falcons opened up their season at the Triton Invitational. There they dropped three of four games, with all three losses coming from opponents ranked higher than them. Following their trip to La Jolla, Air Force suffered a close 10-9 loss to Whitter on the road. The Falcons regrouped for the Inland Empire Tournament. There they dominated by winning three of four, with the only loss coming from No. 3 USC. Air Force continued to find success at the NorCal Tournament. There it posted a 1-3 record, with all three losses coming against teams ranked in the top 13 in the nation, and its one win being an 11-9 upset of No. 12 LMU. After falling 17-7 to the Tritons, the Falcons split the weekend at the SoCal Tournament and picked up their second win against the Lions. Air Force is entering the WWPA Championship having won five of its last six games, all of which were against conference opponents.
SERIES HISTORY
UCSD holds a commanding 60-14 lead in the all-time series against Air Force. The Tritons and Falcons saw each earlier this season with UCSD coming out on top in a 17-7 win on Oct. 3.
ABOUT THE LIONS - No. 4 SEED
The Lions, who are 7-17 overall, had a tough start to their 2014 season. They opened up at the Triton Invitational, where they lost all four matches in the tournament, all to opponents ranked in the top-10. LMU picked up a win against Pepperdine following the Triton Invitational, but then went on to lose three of four in the NorCal Tournament. Prior to facing UCSD earlier in the season, LMU had a two-game win streak with victories over Redlands and Fresno Pacific. LMU then lost four straight games. However, all four losses came from teams ranked in the top-10. The Lions snapped their four-game skid with their first win against a ranked opponent, which came on Oct. 12 in a 19-13 victory against No. 18 Whittier in the SoCal Tournament. Following the SoCal Tournament, LMU defeated the Redlands for a second time this season. But the Lions have lost five of their last seven after beating Redlands 10-5. Their two wins in that stretch came from California Baptist and No. 16 Santa Clara.
SERIES HISTORY
UCSD leads the all-time series against LMU, 54-23. The two squads met earlier this month on Oct. 1 when the Tritons took a 7-2 win against the Lions at Canyonview Aquatic Center. During that win, Cameron Ravanbach (La Jolla/La Jolla HS) shut out the Lions for the second half, while David Higginson (San Diego/The Bishop's School) completed the hat trick by scoring all three goals in the fourth quarter. They squared off again on Oct. 25 at Burns Aquatic Center with the Tritons once again taking the win.
ABOUT THE BRONCOS - No. 5 SEED
Santa Clara started its 2014 season at the Bruno Classic where the Broncos took three of four games against nationally ranked Brown, Harvard and Navy. They then traveled back to the west coast where they competed in the Kap7 NorCal Classic. Santa Clara split the tournament by suffering a loss from California and Pepperdine, but picking up wins against Redlands and Pomona-Pitzer. The Broncos also found success at the Aggie Shootout where they took a win against Cal Lutheran and Chapman while dropping a close 10-9 contest to Whittier. The Broncos split their first two conference matches. The first was a 9-8 win against Cal Baptist and the following was a 13-10 loss to Air Force. Santa Clara then played in The Rodeo where it took its second win of the season against Brown and another against Fresno Pacific, while dropping to Air Force and UC Davis. Following The Rodeo, the Broncos lost two straight to conference opponents before defeating Fresno Pacific 8-7 on Nov. 8. They then lost to No. 2 Stanford, but bounced back big by taking down No. 9 Pepperdine at home in a 16-15 victory. Still, Santa Clara is entering the WWPA Championships coming off an 11-7 loss to UC Davis.
SERIES HISTORY
UCSD holds a 40-3 all-time record against Santa Clara. The twos squads last faced each other on Nov. 1 when the Tritons took an 11-8 win against the Broncos to conclude their conference schedule undefeated.
ABOUT THE LANCERS - No. 6 SEED
The Lancers, who sit at 14-18 overall, opened up their season in La Jolla at the Triton Invitational where they lost both games against No. 3 UCLA and No. 11 UC Davis. The Lancers then picked up two easy wins at home against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Riverside City College. Next came the Bruno Classic where they dropped three of five games. However, two of those losses came at the hands of No. 11 Princeton and No. 14 Navy. The Lancers have shined in their home pool this season. After the Bruno Classic, California Baptist hosted the Lancer Invitational where it won all four contests. In their most recent homestand, the Lancers took three of four games including a 10-9 win against No. 11 UC Davis. Following its impressive upset California Baptist struggled for the remainder of the season. The Lancers went on a 10 game lossing skid before defeated Concordia 14-12 in overtime to conclude their regular season.
SERIES HISTORY
The Tritons hold a perfect 6-0 all-time record against the Lancers. The two squads faced off earlier this season where the Tritons took a 12-9 win against the Lancers at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
WHAT THE COACHES THINK
The Tritons have been selected to repeat as Western Water Polo Association Champions in the WWPA Preseason Coaches' Poll. UCSD received six first place votes, tallying 36 points to be picked as the favorite to win the WWPA Championship. The Tritons won the 2013 WWPA Championships with a 6-4 win over UC Davis giving them their second title in three years. UC Davis was picked to finish second with 30 points.
HEAD COACH DENNY HARPER
UCSD head coach Denny Harper is in his 35th season leading the Tritons. He has compiled a career record of 598-439-4. Harper has led the Tritons to 16 Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) titles and 12 appearances in the NCAA Championship. He has been named the WWPA Coach of the Year 16 times and the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPA) Division II Coach of the Year five times.
UCSD TO HOST 2014 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
UCSD will be hosting the 2014 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, Dec. 6th and 7th, at Canyonview Aquatic Center. All-Session tickets are now on sale. Don't miss what promises to be the biggest water polo event in San Diego history! For tickets and information, click here.
GEAR HERE
UCSD Athletics has partnered with Advanced-Online to provide a web-based, on-demand option for UCSD apparel and merchandise. Fans have access to over 600 products that can be processed and shipped within 24 hours. Visit the site at UCSDTritonsGear.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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UP NEXT
Should the Tritons win the 2014 WWPA Championship, they will receive an automatic qualifier for the 2014 National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championship. They would then likely host a play-in game on Nov. 29 at 6 p.m.
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