For the third time this season, the 11th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team will face off against No. 15 Loyola Marymount. However, this match is different.
It will be the first time this fall that the Tritons and Lions have met in a Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) showdown.
UC San Diego comes in with a 3-1 conference mark, sitting in fourth place in the nine-team league. LMU is tied with UC Davis for the top spot, undefeated at 3-0 in WWPA outings.
The Tritons have defeated the Lions twice this season - 14-13 in sudden victory overtime in La Jolla and 13-8 in a tournament hosted by Cal.
Part of UC San Diego's Homecoming Week, the game is set for Saturday, October 23 with a rare noon start at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
Besides what's sure to be an exciting battle between the two teams, it will be a Pink Match in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
------
ATTENDING EVENTS AT UC SAN DIEGO
The following policies for events at UC San Diego went into effect on Sept. 6, 2021.
- Proof of vaccination or proof of negative COVID test for all fans 12 and older will be required for admittance to UC San Diego Athletics events.
- Athletics event management will verify vaccination status or testing status of all fans for entry to the facility.
- Those 12-years old and up can present proof of vaccination by either official CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card or official vaccination record QR Code (Medical records or CA.gov).
- Those without proof of vaccination (including those ages 6-11 who are not eligible for vaccination) can provide a negative COVID-19 test result from within 2 days of the event (PCR or Antigen).
- Those under 6 years of age but over 2 years of age will be required to wear a mask and be accompanied by an adult to ensure masking; those under 2 years of age do not have to wear a mask.
- Masks will be required for all when in the facility. Masks must fully cover one's nose and mouth. Masks will be available at the venue entrance.
- Food will not be allowed in stands/seating area, masks may be temporarily lifted for hydration in the stands/seating areas.
For more information, visit the UC San Diego Return to Learn Site.
Additional links:
UC San Diego Vaccine Mandate Overview | California Digital COVID Vaccine Record
------
THE SCHEDULE
Game 18 - WWPA match
No. 11 UC San Diego (10-7, 3-1 WWPA) vs. No. 15
Loyola Marymount (7-10, 3-0 WWPA)
Saturday, October 23 • 12 p.m.
Canyonview Aquatic Center • La Jolla, California
Watch Live •
Live Stats •
Tickets
------
------
ALL-TIME AGAINST LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
• Overall Series: UC San Diego leads 49-25
• First Meeting: 1988, UC San Diego 17-3
• Last Meeting: 9/25/21, UC San Diego 14-13 (SV OT) in La Jolla
• Current Streak: UC San Diego has won last 3 meetings
• Last Loyola Marymount Win: 9/25/19, 17-16 in La Jolla
------
UC SAN DIEGO AND COVID-19
UC San Diego's nationally renowned Return to Learn program was created to return to in-person teaching, learning, conducting pioneering research and serving our communities in the safest way possible. The program has three adaptive pillars that are central to our strategy to resume on-campus activity: risk mitigation, viral detection, and intervention. For the latest information on UC San Diego and COVID-19, please visit the University's Return to Learn site.
------
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
If you were one of the 900 fans in attendance at the last home game against Loyola Marymount, you came away with some lasting memories. On September 22 at Canyonview Aquatic Center, Vedran Latkovic scored with just 15 seconds left in regulation to lift the Tritons to a 14-13 victory over the Lions. WATCH HIS INCREDIBLE SHOT!
------
NET POSITIVE
Triton goalkeeper
Alexander Nemeth has been in net in 15 of 17 games (eight complete games) this season and currently holds a 9-6 record. He's made 10 or more stops seven times, including a season-high 14 against UC Davis on September 25 at the Nor Cal MPSF Invitational.
------
LATKOVIC EARNS WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOD
On Wednesday, September 29, Vedran Latkovic was tabbed the WWPA Player of the Week. He helped the ninth-ranked Tritons to a 3-2 record by scoring 12 goals to go along with three assists. Latkovic provided the highlight of the season thus far against No. 17 Loyola Marymount at home in front of over 900 fans. Tied 13-13, Karlo Krmek found him on the left side, about six meters from the net. With only 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Latkovic launched an off-speed lob just before the shot clock expired. The ball spun past several outstretched arms and a lunging LMU goalkeeper, finding a home in the bottom right corner of the net for the game-winner. It was his fifth goal and sixth point of the night. Against No. 11 San Jose State at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Invitational in Berkeley, Latkovic found the back of the net six times, the most goals by a Triton in a single game this season. Also at the tourney, he scored once against No. 13 UC Irvine and recorded two assists vs. No. 8 UC Davis.
------
GOAL POST
Through 17 games this season, UC San Diego has totaled 254 goals. That averages out to 14.9 goals per contest.
------
FIREPOWER
The Tritons have scored 20 or more goals three times this year, including a season-high 25 at Biola on September 16. In 2019, they hit the 20 mark just once. In 2018, they did it three times.
------
SCORING MACHINES
Calder Hilde-Jones and Vedran Latkovic are currently tied for the team lead in goals scored with 38 each. Hilde-Jones has netted at least one goal in all 17 matches, while Latkovic has scored in 15 of 17. Hilde-Jones has 13 multi-goal games and has scored at least twice in his last nine outings. Latkovic has 11 multiple-goal games, including six against San Jose State on September 26.
------
POINT BREAK
On September 16 at Biola, Miles Wilson lit up the box score by finishing with nine points. The redshirt freshman found the back of the net twice and helped seven others score by assisting on their goals. The nine points are a single game-high for any Triton this year.
------
START ME UP
UC San Diego got off to a strong start this season, compiling a 3-1 record while hosting the Triton Invitational. In fact, the Tritons won their first three games of the tourney after not engaging in any countable competition since Nov. 24 of 2019. They scored 63 goals over the four matches, an average of almost 16 goals per game. In just the first three contests, UC San Diego found the net 56 times, tallying 17 against Occidental, another 17 in an upset of Pepperdine, and 22 vs. Westcliff.
Here are the results linked to the box scores.
•
No. 9 UC San Diego 17, Occidental 4
•
No. 9 UC San Diego 17, No. 5 Pepperdine 12
•
No. 9 UC San Diego 22, Westcliff 6
•
No. 8 Long Beach State 11, No. 9 UC San Diego 7
------
GAME DAY HAS A NEW LOOK
Triton fans now have a whole new way to access game day information as game programs have gone digital! Fans can visit
https://bit.ly/MWPgameday from their smart phone or scan the QR code at the entrance to Canyonview Aquatic Center for everything they need to know about each home game, including updated rosters, schedules, and stats for each team, as well as watch links.
------
COVERING THE TRITONS
Media members wishing to cover a UC San Diego match in-person at Canyonview Aquatic Center this season must notify a member of the Athletics Communication staff no later than 24 hours before gameday. All media members will need to complete a UC San Diego symptom screening form on the day of the match prior to arriving on campus.
------
2021 CWPA NATIONAL POLL
10/20/21
1. UCLA
2. California
3. USC
4. Stanford
5. Long Beach State
6. Pacific
7. UC Santa Barbara
8. UC Davis
9. Pepperdine
10. San Jose State
11. UC San Diego
12. Princeton
13. Harvard
14. UC Irvine
15. Loyola Marymount
T-16. Pomona-Pitzer
T-16. Fordham
18. California Baptist
19. Air Force
T-20. Navy
T-20. St. Francis College Brooklyn
-
RV Brown
RV Santa Clara
RV Bucknell
------
UC SAN DIEGO IN THE 2021 CWPA NATIONAL POLL
October 20: 11
October 13: 11
October 6: 11
September 29: T-9 (Princeton, San Jose State)
September. 22: T-9 (Princeton)
September 15: 9
September 8: 8
Preseason: T-9 (UC Davis)
------
2021 WWPA PRESEASON COACHES POLL
T1. UC Davis (60 points, 5 first-place votes)
T1. UC San Diego (60 points, 4 first-place votes)
3. California Baptist (49)
4. Loyola Marymount (44)
5. Air Force (34)
6. Santa Clara (31)
7. Concordia Irvine (23)
8. Fresno Pacific (13)
9 Biola (10)
------
STRONG VETERANS RETURNING
UC San Diego has a core group of veterans returning in 2021.
Calder Hilde-Jones and
Kaden Likins, 2019 All-WWPA honorees, are back for their super senior and redshirt sophomore seasons, respectively. In addition,
Karlo Krmek,
Jack Ranj,
Aram Nordanyan, and
Alex Zamanian look to capitalize on their extra years of eligibility.
------
NEW FACES
The Tritons welcome eight rookies to the program including
Nikita Valajev (Mill Valley/Tamalpais HS),
Trevor Moore (La Mesa/Steele Canyon),
Rhys Bugelli (Santa Barbara/La Jolla HS),
Connor Stauffer (Mill Valley/Tamalpais HS),
Matthew Wastila (Coronado/Coronado HS),
Connor Macmitchell (San Carlos/Menlo School),
Collin Tournat (Manhattan Beach/Mira Costa HS), and
Brendon Fezzey (Riverside/John W. North HS).
------
MATT USTASZEWSKI AT THE 2020 OLYMPIC GAMES
Associate Head Coach
Matt Ustaszewski served as the video coach for the U.S. Olympic Men's Water Polo Team at the most recent 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. Ustaszewski also assisted in scouting reports and worked closely with the goalies, helping the Americans to a sixth-place finish at the tournament. For the full story, click
here.
------
TREVOR MOORE NAMED TO USA MEN'S JUNIOR NATIONAL TEAM
Redshirt freshman
Trevor Moore was selected to the USA Men's Junior National Team roster in late August. He is currently competing with Team USA in Prague, Czech Republic at the FINA Men's Junior World Championship.
Drawn into Group B, the Americans defeated Slovakia (12-7) and Czech Republic (18-2), but lost to Spain (20-10) and Serbia (15-0) to finish third in the group stage. Now, Moore and the U.S. are matching up for playoff contention with other second and third-place teams from the three other groups (A, C, D). For the full story, visit
here. To follow along, click
here.
------
2019 SEASON RECAP
UC San Diego closed out the 2019 season as Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) regular season runners up. The Tritons also finished second at the WWPA Championship Tournament, falling to UC Davis in the final game, 5-14. Six scholar-athletes were named All-WWPA including redshirt senior
Calder Hilde-Jones (Second Team) and redshirt sophomore
Kaden Likins (All-Freshman Team).
------
HEAD COACH DENNY HARPER ENTERS SEASON 42
Denny Harper has sat the helm of the UC San Diego men's water polo program for the last 41 years. Throughout his Triton coaching career, Harper has amassed an overall record of
693-493-4 (.584). The water polo legend has earned 19 WWPA Coach of the Year accolades and 16 ACWPC Coach of the Year honors while guiding the Tritons to 19 WWPA Tournament Championships. For Harper's full bio, click
here.
------
UC SAN DIEGO ATHLETICS LAUNCHES WEEKLY PODCAST
As part of UC San Diego's transition to Division I, the Athletics Department launched a weekly podcast,
Tritoncast. Produced by UC San Diego Athletics Communications, Tritoncast features in-depth interviews with UC San Diego personalities including scholar-athletes, alums, coaches, and administrators. Triton fans will get an inside look at the UC San Diego Athletics Department as the program transitions to NCAA Division I and the Big West Conference. New episodes of Tritoncast are available each week on the most popular podcasting apps, including Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Audible, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Vurbl. In addition, each episode can be heard and downloaded on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on Twitter
@Tritoncast.
------
GET SOCIAL WITH UC SAN DIEGO MEN'S WATER POLO
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through
Twitter,
Facebook, and
Instagram. The team's handle for Twitter and Instagram is @ucsdmwp. The handle for Facebook is @ucsdtritonsmwp.
------
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the
Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!
------
GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories,
click here.
------
UP NEXT
UC San Diego stays in La Jolla to host WWPA opponent Fresno Pacific on Friday, October 29 at 6 p.m.
------
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
