The 10th-ranked and second-seeded UC San Diego men's water polo team opens Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Championship play on Friday, November 19. At 9:30 a.m. at Schaal Aquatics Center on the campus of UC Davis, the Tritons face off against Concordia, the tourney's seventh seed.
UC San Diego's remaining tournament schedule will be determined after Friday's five matches are complete.
The winner of the WWPA Championship earns an automatic berth in the NCAA National Collegiate Championships.
Overall, UC San Diego has won 19 WWPA Championships and has been the runner-up on 14 occasions. The Tritons last won it in 2018, defeating Fresno Pacific (11-4), Air Force (15-3), and UC Davis (11-10) at Fresno Pacific.
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THE WWPA TOURNEY SCHEDULE
Friday, November 19 - First Round
Game 1 (8am): #9 Biola vs #8 Fresno Pacific
Game 2 (9:30am): #7 Concordia vs #2 UC San Diego (
Live Video |
Live Stats)
Game 3 (11am): #6 Santa Clara vs #3 California Baptist
Game 4 (12:30pm): #5 Air Force vs #4 Loyola Marymount
Game 5 (2pm): Winner Game 1 vs #1 UC Davis
Saturday, November 20
Game 6 (8am): #8 Fresno Pacific vs. #7 Concordia
Game 7 (9:30am): #3 California Baptist vs. #2 UC San Diego (Semifinal) (
Live Video |
Live Stats)
Game 8 (11am): #4 Loyola Marymount vs. #1 UC Davis (Semifinal)
Game 9 (12:30pm): #6 Santa Clara vs. #5 Air Force
Game 10 (2pm): #9 Biola vs #7 Concordia
Sunday, November 21
Game 11 (10am): Loser Game 8 vs. Loser Game 7 (Third-Place Match)
Game 12 (12pm): Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 (Championship Match)
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ALL-TIME AGAINST CONCORDIA
• Overall Series: UC San Diego leads 7-1
• First Meeting: 9/19/09, UC San Diego 8-7 at Stanford
• Last Meeting: 9/9/21, UC San Diego 19-4 in La Jolla
• Current Streak: UC San Diego has won the last five meetings
• Last Concordia Win: 9/21/13, 15-12 at Cal
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TRITONS ON THE HUNT FOR NUMBER 20
UC San Diego has won 19 WWPA Championships - 1981, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2018.
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TRITON QUINTET EARNS WWPA ACCOLADES
Wednesday, five UC San Diego standouts earned accolades from the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) as the conference announced its annual awards.
Calder Hilde-Jones was named to the All-WWPA First Team, while
Vedran Latkovic and
Alexander Nemeth were selected to the All-WWPA Second Team.
Kaden Likins picked up All-WWPA Honorable Mention and
Miles Wilson found a spot on the WWPA All-Freshman Team.
The five UC San Diego all-conference selections were the most of the nine WWPA teams.
Hilde-Jones, who will graduate in 2022, leads the Tritons in scoring with 50 goals. He has found the back of the net in all 21 games this season and has multiple goals in 16 contests. His single game season-high is four goals, which he has done three times. Hilde-Jones has tallied his 50 goals on 83 shots, good for a stellar .612 shooting percentage. Hilde-Jones was a All-WWPA Second Team selection as a junior in 2019. A cognitive behavioral neuroscience major, he is a four-time Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-Academic honoree and a three-time WWPA All-Academic performer.
Latakovic, a junior in his first competitive season with the Tritons, has accumulated a team-high 61 points on 46 goals and 15 assists. He has finished with at least one point in 20 of 21 games and has scored a goal in 18 contests. Latkovic has 14 multiple-goal games this season, including a six-goal performance against San Jose State and a five-goal outing against Loyola Marymount. His fifth goal against LMU on September 22 was the game-winner, coming in the fourth quarter with just 15 seconds remaining on the clock.
As UC San Diego's primary goalkeeper, Nemeth holds a 12-7 record thus far. His .494 save percentage ranks second in the WWPA and his 158 saves rank fifth. The sophomore has stopped 10 or more shots nine times with a season-high 14 stops against UC Davis on September 24. Nemeth has also accumulated a team-high 18 steals this season.
Likins, also a sophomore, is second on the roster with 52 points after scoring 30 goals and assisting on 22 others. He has nine multiple-goal games to his name and has scored three goals on three occasions this season. Twice he has finished with five points and has totaled four points four times. In 2019, Likins was named to the WWPA All-Freshman Team. Majoring in urban studies and planning, he is a two-time ACWPC All-Academic pick and was a member of the WWPA All-Academic Team as a freshman.
Wilson has put together an outstanding first season of competition at UC San Diego and currently has 47 points on 26 goals and 21 assists. His most productive outing came against Biola on September 16 when he finished with nine points on a pair of goals and seven assists. That point total is a season-high by any Triton. On 10 occasions, Wilson has amassed two or more points. His season-high in goals was four against UC Davis on September 24. In 2020, Wilson earned ACWPC All-Academic honors.
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HARPER APPROACHING 700 CAREER WINS
Now in his 42nd season leading the Tritons, head coach Denny Harper currently holds a 696-494-4 (.585) record. He has been named the WWPA Coach of the Year 19 times.
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SENIOR SALUTE
Five outstanding senior scholar-athletes were recognized for their contributions to the Triton community on Senior Day, which took place on October 29 prior to the match against Fresno Pacific.
• Calder Hilde-Jones
• Karlo Krmek
• Aram Nordanyan
• Jack Ranj
• Alex Zamanian
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KRMEK DRAWS WWPA PLAYER OF THE WEEK DISTINCTION
On November 10, Karlo Krmek was named the WWPA Player of the Week. Krmek played a huge role in UC San Diego winning both of its WWPA matches. The senior from Dubrovnik, Croatia, netted three goals, two coming on power play opportunities, in an 11-10 road win at No. 9 UC Davis. It was the first loss for the Aggies in WWPA play this season. Trailing 9-8 in the fourth quarter, Krmek's goal at 6:34 tied the match up and kicked off a three-goal run by the Tritons to essentially seal the victory. He also put the Tritons ahead in the third quarter when his strike at 4:09 gave his team a 7-6 advantage. Krmek also drew two exclusions in the game. Two days prior, Krmek scored three times and added an assist as UC San Diego collected a 16-8 victory at No. 20 Santa Clara. The Tritons trailed the Broncos until Krmek's penalty shot goal at 3:40 of the second quarter tied the match at 5-5. That led to four more unanswered goals by UC San Diego.
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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.
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GOAL POST
Through 21 games this season, UC San Diego has totaled 307 goals. That averages out to 14.6 goals per contest.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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2021 WWPA STANDINGS
(final) |
| Rank |
Team |
WWPA Record |
Overall Record |
| 1 |
UC Davis |
7-1 |
13-7 |
| 2 |
UC San Diego |
6-2 |
13-8 |
|
California Baptist |
6-2 |
18-13 |
|
Loyola Marymount |
6-2 |
10-13 |
| 5 |
Air Force |
5-3 |
17-7 |
| 6 |
Santa Clara |
2-6 |
9-15 |
|
Concordia |
2-6 |
8-15 |
|
Fresno Pacific |
2-6 |
5-15 |
| 9 |
Biola |
0-8 |
2-20 |
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2021 CWPA NATIONAL POLL
11/17/21
1. California
2. USC
3. UCLA
4. Stanford
5. Long Beach State
6. UC Santa Barbara
7. Pacific
8. San Jose State
9. Pepperdine
10. UC San Diego
11. UC Davis
12. Harvard
T-13. Princeton
T-13. UC Irvine
15. Loyola Marymount
16. California Baptist
17. Pomona-Pitzer
18. Fordham
19. St. Francis College Brooklyn
20. Navy
-
RV Santa Clara
RV Air Force
RV Brown
RV Bucknell
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UC SAN DIEGO IN THE 2021 CWPA NATIONAL POLL
November 17: 10
November 10: 9
November 3: 12
October 27: 13
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)
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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)
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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
696-494-4 (.585). 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories,
click here.
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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.
