OAKLAND, Calif. – The UC San Diego men's water polo team was selected to finish first, tying with conference foe UC Davis, in the 2021 Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Preseason Coaches Poll. Picked by the league's head coaches, the organization announced its news Wednesday afternoon.
UC San Diego and UC Davis both earned 60 points in the poll. However, the Tritons were narrowly edged by the Aggies in first-place votes, five to four.
UC San Diego, which elected not to participate in the 2020 season due to the pandemic, looks to build on a successful 2019 campaign where the Tritons were WWPA Regular Season Runners-Up and WWPA Championship Tournament Runners-Up.
That same year, the program had six scholar-athletes garner All-WWPA honors. Two of those six standouts return in 2021. Senior
Calder Hilde-Jones was a Second Team All-WWPA honoree, while junior
Kaden Likins was recognized on the All-Freshman Team.
The Tritons welcome back a handful of other veterans including
Karlo Krmek,
Jack Ranj,
Aram Nordanyan, and
Alex Zamanian. In addition, eight individuals make up the freshman class:
Rhys Bugelli,
Brendon Fezzey,
Connor Macmitchell,
Trevor Moore,
Connor Stauffer,
Collin Tournat,
Nikita Valajev, and
Matthew Wastila. Moore was recently selected to the
USA Men's Junior National Team.
The Tritons are led by Head Coach
Denny Harper in his 42nd season at the helm. Over the course of his tenure, Harper has accumulated an overall record of 683-486-4 and has been named Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) National Coach of the Year 17 times, as well as WWPA Coach of the Year 19 times.
After nearly two years without competition, UC San Diego is excited to host the upcoming
Triton Invitational at Canyonview Aquatic Center on Sept. 4-5. The annual tournament will feature 12 schools, some of which make up the best teams in California.
For the Tritons' full schedule, click
here.
2021 WWPA Preseason Coaches' Poll
| T1. |
UC Davis |
60 (5) |
| T1. |
UC San Diego |
60 (4) |
| 3. |
California Baptist |
49 |
| 4. |
Loyola Marymount |
44 |
| 5. |
Air Force |
34 |
| 6. |
Santa Clara |
31 |
| 7. |
Concordia |
23 |
| 8. |
Fresno Pacific |
13 |
| 9. |
Biola |
10 |
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 83 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.
