LA JOLLA, Calif. — The 10th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team opens its Big West season this week as the Tritons take on the No. 7 and the No. 3 squads in the nation on the road.

First up is seventh-ranked Long Beach State Friday. Riding a modest two-game win streak, the Tritons bring an 11-4 record to the Beach. UC San Diego's win at Pomona-Pitzer last week was the 80th victory for head coach Matt Ustaszewski.

Long Beach State is also 11-4 and also has won its last two games.

It will be the first Big West game for both teams.

Saturday, the Tritons face No.3 USC. The Trojans are 12-2 on the season, most recently dropping a 16-12 decision against top-ranked Stanford in Los Angeles.

Both games will be covered by FOSH live stats. The game against USC will also be live streamed. Coverage links are below.

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INSIDE THE GAMES
Game 16 - Big West
• #10 UC San Diego (11-4, 0-0) at #7 Long Beach State (11-4, 0-0)
• Friday, October 9, 6 p.m.
• Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center - Long Beach, Calif.
• Live Stats

Game 17 - Non-Conference
• #12 UC San Diego (9-4) at #4 USC (12-2)
• Saturday, October 10, 1 p.m.
• Uytengsu Aquatics Center - Los Angeles, Calif.
• Watch Live
• Live Stats

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2026 SEASON ON THE TABLE

Date	Opponent	H/A/N	W/L	Score	Media
10/2	Pomona-Pitzer	A	W	16-10	Box Score | Recap
10/2	Redlands	N	W	15-5	Box Score | Recap
9/23	No. 11 LMU	H	L	9-10	Box Score | Recap | Ustaszewski Interview
9/20	No. 6 Long Beach State	N	L	16-17 SV	Box Score | Recap
9/19	No. 13 UC Irvine	N	W	11-9	Box Score | Recap
9/19	No. 1 UCLA	N	L	8-16	Box Score | Recap
9/18	No. 11 Pepperdine	N	W	10-9	Box Score | Recap
9/11	Cal State Fullerton	A	W	16-9	Box Score | Recap
9/11	Chapman	N	W	19-8	Box Score | Recap
8/28	Bucknell	H	W	19-9	Box Score | Recap
8/28	Mercyhurst	H	W	21-4	Box Score | Recap
8/29	La Verne	H	W	23-6	Box Score | Recap
8/29	No. 4 California	H	L	11-15	Box Score | Recap
8/30	McKendree	H	W	21-7	Box Score | Recap
8/30	No. 8 Pepperdine	H	W	17-15 OT	Box Score | Recap

 

	TRITON ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Returners (16)	Newcomers (9)	Lost (10)
Landon Akerstrom, Sr., Utility	Nolan Anderson, Fr., Attacker	Bennett Axline, Utility
Razvan Alistar, Jr., Utility	Jack Elder, Fr., Goalie	Ante Buzov, Utility
Liam Amburgey, Jr., Attacker	Boston Frost, Jr., Goalie	Felipe Ferreira, Attacker
Kyson Becker, So. Attacker	Chase Marsolf, Jr., Utility	Brendon Fezzey, Utility
Jaime Bhattacharyya, Sr. Attacker	Orlando Mina, Fr., Attacker	Cole Harman, Attacker
Jackson Boettner, So., Utility	Lucas Pearce, Fr., Center	Eamon Hennessey, Utility
Finn Bugelli, Sr., Center	Michael Rodgers, Jr., Defender	Mark Laurlund, Utility
Dusan Djordjevic, So., Utility	Bryan Shapirshteyn, Fr., Utility	Winston Loh, Goalie
Christian Hammonds, Jr., Attacker	Jack Wright, Jr., Attacker	Nolan Roberts, Attacker
Caleb Harrison, So., Defender		Lucas Romaguera, Attacker
Alex Hegeman, Jr., Goalie
Grant Kurtz, Jr. Attacker
Reef Lippa, 5th Year, Attacker
Mason Presley, Sr., Utility
Lachlan Rossi, Jr., Center
Davidka Skov, So., Attacker

 

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Team	Big West	%	Overall	%
California Baptist	0-0	-	19-4	.826
UC Irvine	0-0	-	14-5	.737
Long Beach State	0-0	-	11-4	.733
UC San Diego	0-0	-	11-4	.733
UC Santa Barbara	0-0	-	18-8	.692
Cal State Fullerton	0-0	-	17-8	.680

 

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TRITONS AMONG BIG WEST LEADERS (through 10/8)

Stat	Triton	Rank	Number
Goals	-	-	-
Goals/Game	Jackson Boettner	4th	2.6
	Christian Hammonds	5th	2.4
Assists	-	-	-
Assists/Game	Christian Hammonds	5th	1.5
	Reef Lippa	8th	1.3
Points	Christian Hammonds	6th	58
Points/Game	Christian Hammonds	3rd	3.9
Sprint Wins	Jackson Boettner	2nd	24
Sprint Win %	Jackson Boettner	1st	.750
Steals	Christian Hammonds	3rd	21
Steals/Game	Christian Hammonds	1st	1.4
Saves	Alex Hegeman	9th	50
Saves/Game	Alex Hegeman	7th	3.8
Goals Against Average	Alex Hegeman	4th	10.53

 

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2026 ACWPC NATIONAL POLL (10/1)	2026 CWPA NATIONAL POLL (10/7)	2026 BIG WEST COACHES' PRESEASON POLL
1. UCLA	1. Stanford	1. Long Beach State, 24 (4)
2. Stanford	2. UCLA	2. UC Irvine, 19 (1)
3. USC	3. USC	t-3. UC San Diego, 16 (1)
4. California	4. California	t-3. California Baptist, 16
5. Fordham	5. Fordham	5.UC Santa Barbara, 10
6. UC Irvine	6. UC Irvine	6. Cal State Fullerton, 5
7. Pacific	7. Long Beach State
8. Long Beach State	8. Pacific	2026 BIG WEST COACHES' PRESEASON TEAM
9. Princeton	9. Princeton	Gabi Acosta, Long Beach State
10. UC San Diego	10. UC San Diego	Landon Akerstrom, UC San Diego
11. San Jose State	11. LMU	Cole Francisco, UC Irvine
12. LMU	12. UC Santa Barbara	Alex Hegeman, UC San Diego
13. Navy	13. San Jose State	Charlie Johnson, UC Santa Barbara
14. Pepperdine	14. Pepperdine	Andrea Nuzzo, California Baptist
15. UC Santa Barbara	15. Navy	Corbin Stanley, Long Beach State
16. California Baptist	16. California Baptist
17. UC Davis	17. Santa Clara
18. Santa Clara	18. UC Davis
19. Brown	19. Brown
20. Concordia	t-20. Concordia
	t-20. Saint Mary's
UCSD: 8,8,8,7,10	UCSD: 12,8,8,9,7,12,10

 

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ACTIVE SCORING STREAKS (through 10/8)
15 - Christian Hammonds
14 - Jackson Boettner
5 - Lachlan Rossi
3 - Finn Bugelli
2 - Mason Presley

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GAME WINNING GOALS (through 10/8)
2 - Jack Wright (Bucknell, Pepperdine 1)
2 - Christian Hammonds (Pomona-Pitzer, Cal State Fullerton 1)
2 - Mason Presley (Redlands, UC Irvine 1)
1 - Liam Amburgey (La Verne)
1 - Finn Bugelli (Pepperdine 2)
1 -  Nolan Anderson (Mercyhurst)
1 - Caleb Harrison (Chapman)
1 - Davidka Skov (McKendree)

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TOP TRITON SCORERS GOAL BREAKDOWN (through 10/8)

Player	Total Goals	Games Scored In	Multi-Goal Games	Hat Tricks
Jackson Boettner	36	14	11	7
Christian Hammonds	36	15	7	6
Finn Bugelli	19	10	6	2
Mason Presley	19	13	5	1
Jack Wright	19	9	6	2
Lachlan Rossi	15	10	2	2
Liam Amburgey	10	5	3	2

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RECORDS (through 10/8)

Overall	11-4
Big West	0-0
Non-conference	11-4
At home	5-2
On the road	2-0
At at neutral site	4-2
In overtime	1-1
Scoring 0-3 goals	0-0
Scoring 4-6 goals	0-0
Scoring 7-9 goals	0-2
Scoring 10-12 goals	2-1
Scoring 13-15 goals	1-0
Scoring 16-18 goals	3-1
Scoring 19-20 goals	2-0
Scoring 21-plus goals	3-0
On Wednesdays	0-1
On Fridays	7-0
On Saturdays	2-2
On Sundays	2-1

 

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DEBUT REVIEW
Nine players made their debut for the Tritons during the season-opening Triton Invitational.
• Nolan Anderson (Bucknell, 8/28)
• Jack Elder (Mercyhurst, 8/28)
• Boston Frost (Bucknell, 8/28)
• Caleb Harrison (Buckell, 8/28)
• Chase Martsolf (Bucknell, 828)
• Lucas Pearce (Bucknell, 8/28)
• Michael Rodgers (Bucknell, 8/28)
• Bryan Shapirshteyn (Bucknell, 8/28)
• Jack Wright (Bucknell, 8/28)

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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

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THEY CALL HIM USHA
UC San Diego is led by fifth-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.
2026	11	4	.733	Big West	0	0	-
2025	21	10	677	Big West/4th	2	3	.400
2024	17	12	.586	Big West/2nd	3	2	.600
2023	17	13	.567	Big West/3rd	3	2	.600
2022	14	13	.519	WWPA/3rd	6	2	.750
Totals	80	52	.606	-	-	-	-

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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.

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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!

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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 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.