LA JOLLA, Calif. — The No. 12 UC San Diego men's water polo team scored 40 goals en route to winning a pair of games on the opening day of its own Triton Invitational Friday at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
The Tritons kicked off their 2026 season with a 19-9 morning victory against Bucknell before returning to the pool in the afternoon to take down Mercyhurst by a 21-4 count.
UC San Diego had 17 players that scored at least once and 10 of those found the back of the net multiple times.
Christian Hammonds led the way, contributing 12 total points off eight goals and four assists. All three of those numbers established new career-highs for the junior.
The Tritons also had three different goalies get time between the pipes including returner
Alex Hegeman and newcomers
Jack Elder and
Boston Frost.Â
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST BUCKNELL
UC San Diego scored five of the game's first six goals in the opening quarter and never looked back. The Tritons added five more goals in the third frame and outdid themselves in the fourth, out-scoring Bucknell 7-1. The Bison did manage to come out on top in one quarter as they held a 3-2 advantage in the third.
Interestingly enough, the Bison would wind up with a 34-31 advantage in shots and an 8-4 edge in steals.
Hammonds racked up 11 of his 12 points on the day with seven goals and four helpers. His well-rounded outing also included a drawn exclusion, a steal, and a field block.
Jack Wright had a strong debut for the Tritons with two goals and two assists.
Three other Tritons finished with three points including returners
Jackson Boettner,
Finn Bugelli, and
Reef Lippa, as well as freshman
Bryan Shapirshteyn.
Returner
Alex Hegeman and newcomer
Boston Frost split time in net, making seven and three saves, respectively.
Jack Dillane had a hat trick for Bucknell.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST MERCYHURST
The Tritons kept the pedal to the metal in their second game of the day.
UC San Diego scored early and often, racing out to an 8-0 lead after one quarter. The Tritons won the second frame 6-1 giving them a 14-1 advantage heading into halftime. They threw another shutout in the third, winning the quarter 4-0. The final period was even at 3-3.
A pair of Tritons had hat tricks including
Lachlan Rossi, who finished with four goals, and
Davidka Skov. It was Skov's first trick and Rossi's four-spot equaled his career-high.
Five other Tritons had two goals each.
Nolan Anderson and Shapirshteyn both ended up with four points on two goals and two assists.
Hegeman, Frost, and Elder combined to hold the Lakers to four goals.Â
TRITON TIDBITS
• Five players scored their first career goal as a Triton including
Nolan Anderson,
Caleb Harrison,
Lucas Pearce,
Michael Rodgers, and
Bryan Shapirshteyn
• Both Bucknell and Mercyhurst are out of the Mid Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC)
UP NEXT
UC San Diego plays another two Triton Invitational games Saturday, taking on La Verne at 10:40 a.m. and fourth-ranked Cal at 2:40 p.m. Both games can be followed by a live broadcast from
Overnght as well as
FOSH Live Stats.
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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.
