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What 2 Watch 4
- No. 6 nationally ranked and Big West conference champion Long Beach State matches up against T-No. 1 nationally ranked and No. 3 seed Fordham in the opening round of the 2024 NC Men's Water Polo Championship on Friday, Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. at Avery Aquatics Center in Stanford, Calif. All games will be livestreamed on NCAA.com with live stats to be followed on 6-8sports.com/scores.
The Beach enters the matchup as the eighth seed in the bracket after besting UC San Diego in the final of the 2024 Big West Men's Water Polo Championship, 10-8. LBSU secured the fifth seed heading into the postseason and earned three straight victories versus higher seeds on its path to being crowned as a champion. This is the first time since 2011 Long Beach State has notched a berth into the national postseason, but 14th overall appearance.
Fordham finds itself with an unblemished 31-0 overall record (14-0 MAWPC) and is now tied with UCLA and USC for the top spot in the latest edition of the CWPA rankings. The Rams took down No. 20 Navy in their conference title game, 18-11, earning automatic entry into the NCAA's.
The last time these two teams met, LBSU got the better of Fordham, 12-6 in Long Beach, Calif. This will be the second time these two teams clash in program history on the national stage.
Freshman center Gabi Acosta earned the league's Player and Freshman of the Year accolades after accounting for a league-high of 63 goals in 2024. Aaron Wilson was named the 2024 Championship MWP after an eight-save effort in the final. On the opposing end, Jacopo Parella of Fordham was named MWP of the MAWPC Championship after gathering two assists, and six steals in three games, while head coach Brian Bacharach was named the Coach of the Championship. Parella was joined by three other Rams on the All-Championship First Team with Thomas Lercari (27 saves), Barnabas Eppel (6 goals, 2 assists, 5 exclusions drawn) and Luca Silvestri (5 goals, 5 assists).
The winner of the matchup will face the winner of No. 2 Southern California and California Baptist on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 4 p.m.
Overall, The Big West celebrates three national championships in 1979, 1982 and 1989. UCSB claimed the conference's first national title in '79 while UCI captured a pair of championships '82 and '89.
Poll Position
- The Big West sees five of its six schools in the final edition of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) poll.
Big West champion Long Beach State sits at its highest ranking of the season at No. 6 overall.
UC San Diego caps off 2024 as the conference runner-up at No. 11 in the polls.
UC Davis right behind at No. 13 while UCSB is right behind at No. 14.
Regular season and 2023 champion UCI end 2024 at No. 15 overall.
We Host Champions!
- The Big West is proud to boast that both UC San Diego and UC Davis will host the NCAA Men's Water Polo National Collegiate Finals in back-to-back season. The Tritons will take hosting responsibilities in the year 2026 while the Aggies will welcome everyone in 2027. For the fourth time in its history, the NCAA conducted a comprehensive site selection process in 2024, putting most of its championships up for bid simultaneously.
The Association chose over 240 host sites for preliminary and final rounds of predetermined championships across Divisions I, II and III, primarily for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons. This cycle marked a shift from a four-year to a two-year site selection process.
The Tritons last hosted the event in 2014 as a Division II team. The 2026 National Collegiate Finals will be the first time they will host as a Division I squad.
For the fourth time in its history, the NCAA conducted a comprehensive site selection process in 2024, putting most of its championships up for bid simultaneously.
For the first time since 2006 at the NCAA National Women's Water Polo Championships and only the third time in history, Schaal Aquatics Center will play host to the NCAA National Men's Water Polo Championships, welcoming the nation's best to Davis in 2027.
Already a hosting venue, playing home to the 2024 Big West Men's Water Polo Tournament, Schaal Aquatics Center made its debut onto campus in 2003 and has already seen high-level action in its history. In the past, Davis hosted the 2005 United States Men's Water Polo Championships and in the 2004-05 seasons, the pool was used for the Western Water Polo Association Championships for both the men's and women's teams.
Preseason Prognostics
-The Beach were appointed the top spot following 22 points and three first-place votes after finishing with a 16-12, 2-3 BW record last season.
Coaches in the league also voted on a seven-person preseason team as Long Beach State saw a duo of student-athletes make the squad with senior attack Evan Cain and senior utility Bruno Chiappini. Cain contributed 60 goals and 21 assists for the Beach while Chiappini collected 47 tallies and 25 assists for the Beach a year ago. The duo also sports All-Big West First Team honors for their efforts in 2023.
Trailing right behind LBSU in the preseason rankings is defending Big West champion UC Irvine (18-10, 4-1 BW) with 21 points and two first-place votes. The Anteaters also placed a pair on the preseason team with junior attack Luka Krstic and graduate goalkeeper Jacob Pyle. Krstic compiled an Anteater high of 69 points last year and tallied two crucial goals in UCI's championship victory a year ago. Pyle is placed on the preseason team after earning Big West Tournament MVP for the goalkeeper's performance in the postseason.
UC San Diego sits in third place with 17 points and a lone first-place vote. Junior utility Bennett Axline represents the Tritons on the preseason team after leading UCSD a year ago in goals (59), shots (116), and drawn exclusions (83).
UC Davis (16-10, 3-2 BW) slides into the fourth spot at 13 votes while watching graduate utility Aleix Aznar Beltran earn preseason recognition. The Barcelona, Spain native led the Aggies in 2023 with 78 points across 48 goals and 30 assists.
Last year's runner-up UC Santa Barbara (17-13, 3-2 BW) sits in fifth place with 12 votes. The Gauchos return redshirt junior Levin Lentin in goal who stopped 188 shots at .449 save percentage to make way on the preseason list.
Cal State Fullerton rounds out the poll with five points. Last year, the Titans held their inaugural season in 2024 and finished the season with a .500 mark overall (16-16, 0-5 BW).
In the preseason addition of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), UC Irvine (No. 6), UC Davis (No. 8), Long Beach State (No. 10), UC Santa Barbara (No. 11), and UC San Diego (No. 12) all occupy national rankings ahead of 2024.
The first date of Big West men's water polo competition begins on Saturday, Sept. 7 in La Jolla, Calif. during the Triton Invitational on the campus of UC San Diego. A schedule of matchups held during opening week can be found here and on our Big West website.
Schaal Aquatics Center will serve as the host site for the 2024 Big West Men's Water Polo Championship from Nov. 22-24 on the campus of UC Davis. The winner of the championship will receive the league's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Championship.
Select regular-season contests are slated to be telecast on the ESPN family of networks. Please check ESPN listings for upcoming game schedules and additional information.
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