LA JOLLA, Calif. — In its final week of the regular season, the UC San Diego men's water polo team plays three games in three days before all attention shifts to the Big West Championship.

Action begins Friday when the Tritons host conference opponent UC Irvine. The game is set for a 6 p.m. first sprint at Canyonview Aquatic Center.

Saturday is Senior Day in La Jolla as UC San Diego entertains Biola at noon. Ten Tritons will be recognized prior to the game, so make sure to be in your seat early.

Sunday, it's a quick trip to Los Angeles to play Loyola Marymount for the third time this season. That game is also slotted for a 12 p.m. start.

The Tritons are ranked No. 8 and No. 10 in the most recent ACWPC and CWPA national polls. 

---

INSIDE THE GAMES
Game 27: Big West
• #8/10 UC San Diego (18-8, 1-3) vs. #13/16 UC Irvine (14-10, 2-2)
• Friday, November 7, 6 p.m.
• Canyonview Aquatic Center, 3428 Voigt Dr, La Jolla, CA 92037
• Tickets
• Watch on ESPN+
• FOSH Live Stats
• KDST Online Radio

Game 28: Senior Day
• #8/10 UC San Diego (18-8) vs. Biola (7-18)
• Saturday, November 8, 12 p.m.
• Canyonview Aquatic Center, 3428 Voigt Dr, La Jolla, CA 92037
• Tickets
• Watch on ESPN+
• FOSH Live Stats
• KDST Online Radio

Game 29: Non-Conference
• #8/10 UC San Diego (18-8) at #12/13 LMU (12-9)
• Sunday, November 9, 12 p.m.
• Burns Center, 1 LMU Dr Los Angeles, CA 90045
• FOSH Live Stats

---

SENIOR DAY
Ten senior Tritons will be celebrated prior to Saturday's game against Biola:
#1 Nikita Valajev
#1 Winston Loh
#3 Eamon Hennessey
#4 Ante Buzov
#6 Felipe Ferreira
#7 Lucas Romaguera
#8 Mark Laurlund
#11 Luca Rago
#12 Bennett Axline
#13 Brendon Fezzey

---

2025 SEASON ON THE TABLE

Date	Opponent	H/A/N	W/L	Score	Media
10/30	Cal State Fullerton*	A	W	16-11	Recap | Box
10/25	UC Davis*	H	L	10-11 SV	Recap | Box | Highlights
10/18	Princeton	H	W	10-9	Recap | Box | Highlights
10/17	Long Beach State*	H	L	12-14	Recap | Box | Highlights | Usha Interview
10/11	UC Santa Barbara*	A	L	10-11	Recap | Box
10/3	Pomona-Pitzer	A	W	14-8	Recap | Box
10/3	McKendree	N	W	21-9	Recap | Box
9/27	California Baptist	A	W	11-10	Recap | Box
9/27	Biola	N	W	18-8	Recap | Box
9/24	LMU	H	W	14-9	Recap | Box | Highlights | Usha Interview
9/21	UC Davis	N	W	14-12	Recap | Box
9/20	LMU	N	W	13-11	Recap | Box
9/20	USC	N	L	8-15	Recap | Box
9/19	Princeton	N	W	14-13 OT	Recap | Box
9/18	Concordia	A	W	15-3	Recap | Box
9/14	Stanford	H	L	4-15	Recap | Box | Highlights | Fezzey Interview
9/12	Chapman	N	W	26-7	Recap | Box
9/12	Concordia	N	W	16-12	Recap | Box
9/5	Cal Lutheran	N	W	20-9	Recap | Box
9/5	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps	A	W	14-8	Recap | Box
8/31	Pepperdine	H	L	9-10	Box | Recap | Highlights | Usha Interview
8/31	George Washington	H	W	19-12	Box | Recap
8/30	UCLA	H	L	2-18	Box | Recap
8/30	Occidental	H	W	20-3	Box | Recap
8/29	USC	H	L	7-10	Box | Recap
8/29	La Verne	H	W	22-7	Box | Recap

 

	TRITON ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Returners (21)	Newcomers (6)	Lost (8)
Landon Akerstrom, Jr., Attacker	Kyson Becker, Fr., Attacker	Rhys Bugelli, Utility
Razvan Alistar, RS-Fr., Utility	Jackson Boettner, Fr., Attacker	Logan Estes, Goalie
Liam Amburgey, RS-Fr., Attacker	Dusan Djordjevic, Fr., Utility	Parker George, Goalie
Bennett Axline, Sr., Utility	Caleb Harrison, Fr., Utility	Augi Macchi, Utility
Jaime Bhattacharyya, RS-So., Utility	Winston Loh, Sr., Goalie	Trevor Moore, Utility
Finn Bugelli, Jr., Utility	Davidka Skov, Fr., Utility	Collin Tournat, Attacker
Ante Buzov, Sr., Utility		Nikita Valajev, Goalie
Felipe Ferreira, Grad, Attacker		Matthew Wastila, Attacker
Brendon Fezzey, Sr., Utility
Christian Hammonds, So., Attacker
Cole Harman, RS-Fr., Attacker
Alex Hegeman, RS-Fr., Goalie
Eamon Hennessey, Sr., Utility
Grant Kurtz, So., Attacker
Mark Laurlund, Jr., Utility
Reef Lippa, RS-Jr., Attacker
Mason Presley, Jr., Attacker
Luca Rago, Sr., Utility
Nolan Roberts, Jr., Attacker
Lucas Romaguera, Sr., Attacker
Lachlan Rossi, So., Utility

---

BIG WEST MEN'S WATER POLO
In 2023, the Big West began sponsoring men's water polo again following a 32-year hiatus. The conference previously offered the sport from 1984-91. Joining the Tritons in the conference are Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, UC Davis, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Barbara. With six teams, the conference qualifies for an automatic berth in the NCAA's National Collegiate Championship. UC San Diego hosted the first Big West Championship in 2023, which was won by UC Irvine. Original members of the Big West included Fresno State, Long Beach State, Pacific, Pepperdine, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Barbara. Two Big West programs boast national championships while competing in the conference, with UC Santa Barbara claiming the Division I men's water polo title in 1979 while UC Irvine took home the top prize in 1982 and 1989.

---

Team	Big West	%	Overall	%
Long Beach State	4-0	1.000	14-8	.636
UC Davis	3-1	.750	12-11	.522
UC Irvine	2-2	.500	14-10	.583
UC Santa Barbara	2-2	.500	16-12	.571
UC San Diego	1-3	.250	18-8	.682
Cal State Fullerton	0-4	.000	16-13	.552

 

---

TRITONS AMONG BIG WEST LEADERS (through 11/6)

Stat	Triton	Rank	Number
Goals	Eamon Hennessey	8th	46
Goals/Game	Eamon Hennessey	8th	1.8
Assists	Mark Laurlund	2nd	35
	Christian Hammonds	5th	30
	Felipe Ferreira	9th	26
Assists/Game	Mark Laurlund	2nd	1.4
	Christian Hammonds	7th	1.2
Steals	Alex Hegeman	2nd	30
	Lucas Romaguera	7th	23
Steals/Game	Alex Hegeman	3rd	1.2
	Lucas Romaguera	5th	1.0
Field Blocks	Grant Kurtz	2nd	11
Sprint Win Percentage	Felipe Ferreira	2nd	.729 (35-13)
Sprint Wins	Felipe Ferreira	1st	35
Saves	Alex Hegeman	2nd	170
Saves/Game	Alex Hegeman	5th	6.5
Save Percentage	Alex Hegeman	5th	.398
Goals Against Average	Alex Hegeman	1st	10.08

 

---

2025 ACWPC NATIONAL POLL (10/30)	2025 CWPA NATIONAL POLL (11/5)	2025 BIG WEST COACHES' PRESEASON POLL
1. USC	1. USC	1. Long Beach State, 29 (5)
2. UCLA	2. UCLA	2. UC San Diego, 20 (1)
3. Stanford	3. Stanford	3. UC Irvine, 18
4. California	4. California	4. UC Davis, 13
5. Fordham	5. Fordham	5.UC Santa Barbara, 9
6. San Jose State	6. Pacific	6. Cal State Fullerton, 6
7. UC Davis	7. San Jose State
t-8. UC San Diego	8. UC Davis	2025 BIG WEST COACHES' PRESEASON TEAM
t-8. Long Beach State	9. Long Beach State	Gabi Acosta, Long Beach State
10. Princeton	t-10. UC San Diego	Landon Akerstrom, UC San Diego
11. Pacific	t-10. UC Santa Barbara	Felipe Ferreira, UC San Diego
12. LMU	12. Pepperdine	Caleb Francisco, Long Beach State
t-13. Pepperdine	13. LMU	Thomas Kiesling, UC Davis
t-13. UC Irvine	14. Princeton	Luka Krstic, UC Irvine
15. California Baptist	15. California Baptist	Jack Stevens, UC Irvine
16. UC Santa Barbara	16. UC Irvine	Brock Zamanian, UC Santa Barbara
17. Harvard	t-17. Harvard
t-18. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps	t-17. Santa Clara
t-18. Santa Clara	19. Brown
20. Brown	20. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
UCSD: 12,13,13,8,7,6,7,8,8	UCSD: 12,13,13,14,7,7,6,7, 10,10,10

---

POLL POSITION
UC San Diego has been ranked as high as No. 6 this season in both the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) and Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) national polls. The last time the Tritons were slotted higher was in 2018 when they came at No. 5.

---

ACTIVE SCORING STREAKS (through 11/6)
• Eamon Hennessey, 5
• Jackson Boettner, 4
• Bennett Axline, 3
• Jaime Bhattacharyya, 3
• Felipe Ferreira, 3

---

GAME WINNING GOALS (through 11/6)
• Felipe Ferreira, 3 (George Washington, La Verne, Pomona-Pitzer)
• Eamon Hennessey, 3 (UC Davis 1, Concordia 2, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps)
• Bennett Axline, 2 (LMU 1, Princeton 2)
• Christian Hammonds, 3 (Cal State Fullerton, Princeton 1, McKendree)
• Luca Rago, 2 (Cal Lutheran, Occidental)
• Ante Buzov, 1 (LMU 2)
• Grant Kurtz, 1 (Biola 1)
• Mark Laurlund, 1 (Concordia 1)
• Luca Rago, 1 (California Baptist)
• Lucas Romaguera, 1 (Chapman)

---

TOP TRITON SCORERS GOAL BREAKDOWN (through 11/6)

Player	Total Goals	Games Scored In	Multi-Goal Games
Eamon Hennessey	46	24	15
Bennett Axline	39	18	12
Jackson Boettner	32	16	10
Lucas Romaguera	32	17	9
Christian Hammonds	29	18	8
Ante Buzov	27	15	8
Finn Bugelli	20	14	6
Felipe Ferreira	20	16	5

---

TRITON RECORDS (through 11/6)

Overall	18-8
Big West	1-3
Non-conference	17-5
At home	5-6
On the road	5-1
At at neutral site	8-1
In overtime	1-1
Scoring 0-3 goals	0-1
Scoring 4-6 goals	0-1
Scoring 7-9 goals	0-3
Scoring 10-12 goals	2-3
Scoring 13-15 goals	7-0
Scoring 16-18 goals	3-0
Scoring 19-20 goals	3-0
Scoring 21-plus goals	3-0
More shots than opponent	16-5
Opponent has more shots	2-2
Shots are even	0-1
More steals than opponent	14-5
Opponent has more steals	2-3
Steals are even	2-0
More exclusions than opponent	8-1
Opponent has more exclusions	8-7
Exclusions are even	2-0
On Wednesdays	1-0
On Thursdays	2-0
On Fridays	8-2
On Saturdays	5-4
On Sundays	2-2

---

WIN STREAK STOPPED AT SEVEN
With UC San Diego's loss at UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 11, the Tritons had their season long seven game win streak snapped. It was the team's longest run since 2019 when it won 11 straight. This season's streak began on Sept. 20 at LMU and also featured wins against UC Davis, LMU for a second time, Biola, California Baptist, McKendree, and Pomona-Pitzer.

---

AXLINE EARNS FIRST BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
On September 24, Bennett Axline  was named the Big West Men's Water Polo Player of the Week. Over five games the previous week, the senior led UC San Diego to a 4-1 record with all four victories coming against teams ranked in the national top-20. Axline totaled 14 points off 13 goals and an assist while also ringing up 19 drawn exclusions. He scored multiple goals in four of five outings with his five against Princeton one short of his career-high. In addition, he netted the game-winner against LMU. Axline's performances helped the Tritons finish fifth in the 16-team Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Invitational in Los Angeles. It is the first career Big West Player of the Week honor for Axline.

---

HOW MANY GOALS?!?!?!
UC San Diego defeated Chapman, 26-7, on September 12 in Orange County. The 26 goals are the most scored by the Tritons since Sept. 22, 2012, when they downed Occidental 27-1.

---

UC SAN DIEGO ACCEPTS OFFER TO JOIN WEST COAST CONFERENCE
On Sept. 3, 2025, UC San Diego accepted a formal invitation to join the West Coast Conference (WCC) and will begin competing in the conference starting with the 2027-28 season. In 2027-28, the WCC membership will consist of: University of California San Diego, Loyola Marymount University, University of the Pacific, Pepperdine University, University of Portland, Saint Mary's College, University of San Diego, University of San Francisco, Santa Clara University, and Seattle University. UC San Diego will become the first public institution in the West Coast Conference since the departure of the University of Nevada-Reno in 1979. Read the complete press release here

---

TRITONS TO HOST 2026 NCAA NATIONAL COLLEGIATE MEN'S WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIP
In October of 2024 the NCAA announced that UC San Diego will serve as host of the 2026 National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championship at Canyonview Aquatic Center. The Tritons last hosted in 2014 as a Division II team. The 2026 event will be the first time they will host as a Division I squad. The NCAA received more than 1,200 bids from member schools, conferences, cities, and sports commissions across 47 states and Washington, D.C., all competing to host predetermined rounds for 87 of the NCAA's 90 championships. The respective NCAA sports committees selected the sites, with final approval from the divisional competition oversight and championships committees. Read the complete press conference here

---

HOME COOKING FOR USTASZEWSKI
On September 21 in La Jolla, UC San Diego defeated LMU, 14-9, in the annual Battle of the Kings. That win was the 60th of head coach Matt Ustaszewski's career. With a 20-3 win against Occidental on August 30 during the Triton Invitational in La Jolla, Ustaszewski picked up his 50th career victory. Coming into the 2025 campaign he owned 48 wins, collecting 17 in both 2024 and 2023 and 14 in 2022.

---

DEBUT REVIEW
Nine UC San Diego players made their career debuts during the season-opening Triton Invitational in La Jolla - Razvan Alistar (returner), Liam Amburgey (returner), Kyson Becker (first-year), Jackson Boettner (first-year), Dusan Djordjevic (first-year), Cole Harman (returner), Alex Hegeman (returner), Winston Loh (first-year), and Davidka Skov (first-year). The nine Tritons accounted for 27 points, scoring 13 goals and adding 14 assists over six games. In addition, senior walk-on goalie Winston Loh made five saves in 17 minutes of action over three games.

---

AKERSTROM ON THE NATIONAL STAGE
Landon Akerstrom,a 2024 All-Big West First Team and ACWPC All-America Honorable Mention performer, was a member of the Team USA squad that won a silver medal in June at the 2025 U20 World Championship in Croatia. It was the highest finish for a USA Men's National Team in World Championship play at any age group.    

---

2024 LOOKBACK
UC San Diego is coming off a 2024 season that saw it go 17-12 overall and 3-2 in Big West action. As the second seed at the conference championship, the Tritons came within a single win of taking the Big West title and an automatic berth in the NCAA's National Collegiate Championship. Landon Akerstrom, Bennett Axline, and Lucas Romaguera garnered ACWPC All-America Honorable Mention accolades. Akerstrom and Romaguera also earned All-Big West First Team recognition. Eamon Hennessey was selected to the conference's second team, while Axline, Logan Estes, and Felipe Ferreira were All-Big West Honorable Mention. All players mentioned except Estes are returners this season.

---

THEY CALL HIM USHA
UC San Diego is led by fourth-year head coach Matt "Usha" Ustaszewski, who took over in 2022 when Denny Harper retired after 42 years at the helm. Ustaszewski earned his first victory as head coach on Sept. 3, 2022, as the Tritons defeated La Verne, 22-8, in the team's season opener during the Triton Invitational. In 2021, Ustaszewski completed his ninth season as associate head coach and 12th season overall on the UC San Diego men's water polo staff. Usha is no stranger to the La Jolla campus. He was a co-captain of the fifth-ranked Triton water polo team as a senior in 2003 under the tutelage of Harper. He graduated in 2004, completing his bachelor's degree in history (Europe emphasis) with a 3.5 grade-point average. For Usha's complete bio, click here.
 

Season	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Conference/Finish	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Highest NCAA Rank
2025	18	8	.692	Big West	1	3	.250	6 ACWPC/6 CWPA
2024	17	12	.586	Big West/2nd of 6	3	2	.600	11 ACWPC/10 CWPA
2023	17	13	.567	Big West/3rd of 6	3	2	.600	9 ACWPC/9 CWPA)
2022	14	13	.519	WWPA/3rd of 8	6	2	.750	10 CWPA
Totals	66	46	.589	-	-	-	-	-

---

HARPER NAMED TO USA WATER POLO HALL OF FAME
Former UC San Diego water polo coach Denny Harper was officially inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame on June 14, 2025. Harper was one of five enshrined in the 41st class during a ceremony in Brea, Calif. The honorees represent international athletic excellence as well as gifted coaches and referees who have dedicated their lives to water polo. Harper, who announced his retirement from UC San Diego in July of 2022, spent 42 years at the helm of the UC San Diego men's program. He also led the Triton women's team from 1985 until 1999. His teams combined for 942 victories. Read the full press release here

---

WHY THE TRITONS
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became UC San Diego's mascot in 1964.

---

FOR THE YOUNGER FANS
Have some young Triton fans in your family? If they are in 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!

---

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 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.