|
What 2 Watch 4
- The 2024 men's water polo season is here! All six Big West squads will open play from Saturday, Sept. 7-Sunday, Sept. 8 at the Triton Invitational at Canyonview Aquatic Center hosted by and on the campus of UC San Diego. The 18-team field features 10 teams ranked within the nation's Top 13, five of which reside in The Big West. A full schedule can be found here.
Long Beach State and UC San Diego both start the action of the 2024 season with 8 a.m. starts against Westcliff and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, respectively. UC Santa Barbara's first test of the season comes against No. 1 UCLA at 9:15 a.m. while UC Irvine clashes with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at the same time. UC Davis starts their season off in the lone 10:30 match on the Big West slate with a game versus Redlands.
The Beach are back for their second contest against No. 4 USC during a noon tilt. Cal State Fullerton's season opener comes against (RV) Pomona-Pitzer at 2:30 before also clashing with No. 4 USC at 6:30 p.m. Two games will start at 4 p.m. with CUI versus UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego sporting home pool advantage against Bucknell. A pair of nationally ranked matchups wrap up Saturday with UC Irvine versus defending national champion No. 2 California and UC Davis versus No. 3 Stanford.
Sunday's slate sees five matchups versus nationally ranked foes. The Titans start things off at 9:15 a.m. against the No. 2 Golden Bears. UC Davis battles Westcliff at 10:30 a.m. while Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara battle (RV) Bucknell and UC Merced, both at noon. UC Irvine will be put to its second nationally ranked test against No. 3 Stanford at 1:15 p.m. The Aggies and Tritons take on No. 4 USC and Pomona-Pitzer at 2:30 p.m. Another pair of games will be played at 4 p.m. with Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara battling Redlands and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
The Titans face No. 13 Pepperdine while UC Irvine simultaneously takes on CUI at 5:15 p.m. Host-site UC San Diego concludes the Big West slate at the Triton Invitational with a big-time matchup versus No. 2 UCLA.
Poll Position
- The Big West proudly boasts five of its six institutions in the preseason edition of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA). UC Irvine (6), UC Davis (8), Long Beach State (10), place within the top 10 while UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego sit at the 11 at 12 spots heading into the 2024 campaign.
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.
|