DAVIS, Calif. – A strong comeback bid fell short as the 10th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team was defeated, 18-16, by No. 15 Loyola Marymount Sunday in the third-place match at the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Championship tournament.
Second-seeded UC San Diego's record dropped to 14-10 while fourth-seeded LMU's improved to 12-14.
The Tritons went 1-2 at the tournament, which was hosted by UC Davis at the Schaal Aquatics Center.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Down by as many as eight goals at 14-6 in the third quarter, UC San Diego went on to out-score its opponent 6-4 in the third and 5-2 in the fourth frame but couldn't quite overcome the deficit.
Alex Zamanian netted a career-high six goals for UC San Diego, which equaled the most scored by a Triton in a game this season. The senior had 10 goals over three tournament matches as he scored four times in a win against Concordia Friday.
Manuel Augusto,
Calder Hilde-Jones, and
Karlo Krmek each scored twice today.
Vedran Latkovic,
Aram Nordanyan,
Will Riley, and
Miles Wilson all had single goals.
Kaden Likins and
Brendan Nugent each finished with a pair of assists.
Goalkeeper Bennet Kienast, who started the match and played the entire first half, made eight saves.
Alexander Nemeth came in for the second half and made three stops.
For LMU, Joseph Cavazos scored five goals. Tyler Harvey finished with four and David Carrasco had three. Carrasco amassed a match-high nine points as he assists on six goals.
Robert Halligan logged a complete game in net for the Lions and made seven saves.
Hilde-Jones was named to the All-Tournament First Team and
Karlo Krmek picked up second team honors.
Top-seeded UC Davis defeated third-seeded California Baptist 14-9 to win the WWPA title and the league's automatic berth in the upcoming National Collegiate Championships.
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TRITON TIDBITS
• UC San Diego was on the hunt for its 20th WWPA Championship title, the last coming in 2018.
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Calder Hilde-Jones had nine goals during the tourney.
• Hilde-Jones scored at least once in all 24 matches this season.
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Vedran Latkovic is the other Triton that scored six goals in a match this season (9/26 vs. San Jose State).
• Latkovic found the net seven times over the three WWPA Championship matches.
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Alexander Nemeth was credited with four steals during the tourney.
• It was the fourth meeting between the Tritons and Lions this season with the series finishing at an even 2-2.
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TOURNAMENT RESULTS/SCHEDULE
Friday, November 19 - First Round
Game 1: #9 Biola 10, #8 Fresno Pacific 9
Game 2: #2 UC San Diego 21, #7 Concordia 7
Game 3: #3 California Baptist 15, #6 Santa Clara 10
Game 4: #4 Loyola Marymount 13, #5 Air Force 6
Game 5: #1 UC Davis 21, #9 Biola 5
Saturday, November 20
Game 6: #8 Fresno Pacific 11, #7 Concordia 9
Game 7: #3 California Baptist 14 #2 UC San Diego 13 (Semifinal)
Game 8: #1 UC Davis 8, #4 Loyola Marymount 5
Game 9:Â #6 Santa Clara 17, #5 Air Force 16 (SV)
Game 10: #7 Concordia 10, #9 Biola 9Â
Sunday, November 21
Game 11:Â #4 Loyola Marymount 18, #2 UC San Diego 16 (Third-Place Match)
Game 12: #1 UC Davis 14, #3 California Baptist 9 (Championship Match)
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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 began a new era in 2020 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 earned 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.
