LA JOLLA, Calif. — The 10th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team outlasted conference rival and 16th-ranked UC Irvine, 9-8, in a Big West battle at Canyonview Aquatic Center Friday evening.
The Tritons improved to 19-8 overall and 2-3 in the Big West. The Anteaters dropped to 14-11 and 2-3. It was the final conference match of the regular season for both teams.
With the Big West Championship coming up Nov. 21-23 at UC Irvine, the seedings for the six-team tournament are not yet fully set as conference games take place Saturday and Sunday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the first half, UC San Diego jumped out to a 4-1 lead by scoring four straight goals. Trailing 1-0 in the opening quarter, Triton
Finn Bugelli evened it up at 2:41 and struck again at 1:11 to put the home team up 2-1. With 19 seconds left in the first,
Bennett Axline found the back of the net and UC San Diego led 3-1. Early in the second stanza,
Grant Kurtz began working on his hat trick, scoring at 7:08 to make it 4-1.
UC Irvine responded well, scoring the game's next three goals. Wyley Dale's goal at 2:53 of the second quarter evened it up at 4-4. Dale struck again with a power play goal with 32 seconds left in the quarter, but it was answered with a single second remaining in the half when Kurtz scored his second of the night to knot it at 5-5 going into the third quarter.
An Alex Lopez power play goal gave the lead back to UC Irvine, 6-5, but it was short-lived. UC San Diego scored the game's next three goals to essentially seal the victory. Kurtz completed his hat trick at 5:38 of the third,
Christian Hammonds scored at 1:48 of the third, and Axline scored again at 6:07 of the fourth to put the Tritons ahead 8-6.
Dale kept it close by scoring another goal at 5:24 of the fourth, but with 1:24 remaining, Hammonds scored again to make it 9-7 in favor of the Tritons. That would prove to be the game-winning goal, the fourth of the season for Hammonds.
Axline, Bugelli, Hammonds, and Kurtz scored all nine Triton goals.
Felipe Ferreira and
Mark Laurlund had two assists each.
Alex Hegeman made six saves in goal for the Tritons. One of those came on a five-meter penalty shot.
In net for the Anteaters, Zayd Mahmoud racked up 10 saves, also turning aside a penalty shot.
GRANT KURTZ INTERVIEW
TRITON TIDBITS
• The three goals were a season high for
Grant Kurtz.
• Hammonds' four game-winning goals in 2025 are a team high.
• The Tritons held a 29-24 advantage in shots.
• As part of Homecoming Weekend, the 1981 UC San Diego men's water polo team was in the stands and was recognized for winning a conference championship as well as garnering the school's first top-10 national ranking.Â
UP NEXT
UC San Diego closes out its home slate Saturday with a noon tilt against Biola. It will also be Senior Day and 10 players will be celebrated prior to the first sprint at Canyonview Aquatic Center. Sunday, the regular season will be capped by a trip to Los Angeles to take on LMU. That game is also scheduled for a noon start.
Home game tickets are available for purchase online by visiting the linkÂ
HERE or by calling (858) 534-1430. For more ticket information, e-mail the box office atÂ
triton-tix@ucsd.edu.
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.
