CLAREMONT, Calif. — The 12th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team won both of its games Friday at the Gary Troyer Tournament hosted by Pomona-Pitzer at Haldeman Pool.
In the early game, the Tritons took down Redlands by a score of 15-5. In the second and final game, UC San Diego earned a 16-10 victory against Pomona-Pitzer.
Redlands is ranked No. 2 nationally in NCAA Division III while Pomona-Pitzer is ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division III. Both teams play in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC).Â
With the wins, UC San Diego improved to 11-4 overall on the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST POMONA-PITZER
Jackson Boettner scored four goals and
Christian Hammonds recorded a hat trick in the win.Â
The Tritons led 4-3 after one quarter but out-scored the Sagehens 9-4 over the next two frames to ice the victory.
Reef Lippa dished out four assists in the game, while Hammonds added an assist to his trick to finish with four points.
Mason Presley also racked up four points with two goals and two assists.
For the Sagehens, Alex Minton and Jaden Winters scored three goals each. Winters also assisted on two goals. Goalie Gregg Moore made five stops in net.
Both teams finished with 24 shots.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST REDLANDS
It was all Tritons from the start as they raced out to a 4-0 lead after eight minutes of play.
Mason Presley scored the opening goal two minutes in and was followed by a pair from
Jackson Boettner. FreshmanÂ
Bryan Shapirshteyn tallied a power play goal with a single second left in the first quarter to give UC San Diego the four-goal cushion.
The Bulldogs got on the board just seven ticks into the second period when Adam Lambert scored on a power play. The Tritons got goals from
Christian Hammonds, Presley again, and
Landon Akerstrom. It was Akerstrom's first action since September of 2025 as he has been out due to injury.
The score stood at 7-2 Tritons heading into the halftime break.
The third quarter saw UC San Diego score the first three goals of the period. Boettner completed his hat trick as did Presley.
Finn Bugelli scored the third and final Triton goal of the quarter on a power play at 4:54.
UC San Diego out-scored its opponent 5-2 in the fourth, backed by goals from
Lachlan Rossi,
Liam Amburgey,
Davidka Skov,
Kyson Becker, and Boettner.
Both Boettner and Presley finished with five points each - four goals and an assist for Boettner and three goals to go along with a pair of assists for Presley.
The Tritons held a 27-15 advantage in shots and had a 13-7 lead in steals. Seven of their 15 goals came during man-up situations.
Goalie
Alex Hegeman made three saves for the Tritons.
All five of Redlands' goals came from different players. Matias Sheridan made eight saves in the loss.
WHAT HEAD COACH MATT USTASZEWSKI HAD TO SAY
"It's always a great opportunity for us to play on the road and Pomona-Pitzer does an amazing job at its annual Gary Troyer Tournament of setting up an exciting environment. We were challenged by the elements and we were excited by the way the team responded. It was incredible to see
Landon Akerstrom back in the water with his teammates and we are thrilled about the opportunity to begin Big West play with him back in the lineup."
UP NEXT
UC San Diego opens its Big West season on Oct. 9 at reigning league champion Long Beach State. The next day, the Tritons take on USC in Los Angeles.
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.
