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LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men's water polo team has hired Bruin standout Ryder Roberts to the post of assistant coach and has promoted Jason Falitz to associate head coach, head coach Adam Wright announced today. Roberts has spent the past two years as an assistant boy's coach at Harvard-Westlake HS, while Falitz has served the last two seasons (2015 and 2016) as an assistant coach under coach Wright.
Roberts, an attacker (Vista, Calif./Vista HS) for the Bruins from 2013-16, won two NCAA titles (2014 and 2015) and left UCLA ranking seventh on the career charts in scoring with 158 goals. A three-time All-American and a three-time All-MPSF selection, Roberts was named the 2015 Most Valuable Player of the NCAA Championship as the Bruins went 30-0.
During his four years as a Bruin, he helped lead his teams to arguably the best and most dominant seasons in UCLA men's water polo history. His senior class left UCLA as the all-time winningest class by percentage at 91.8% with an overall record of 112-10. The 112 career wins is the second-most in UCLA history -- only two behind the 2015 class, which had 114 career victories. He was a part of three teams that finished No. 1, No. 2 and tied for No. 3 in single season wins (30 in 2015; 29 in 2014 and 28 in 2013 and 2016). He also made three straight NCAA Final Four appearances, winning back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2014 and 2015. His teams won the 2015 MPSF Tournament title and three of four MPSF regular season titles (2013-14-15). They also won the NorCal Championship all four years (2013-14-15-16) and the win in 2013 was the first for the Bruins since 2004. Additionally the Bruins won the SoCal Championship in 2015. His senior class went 35-3 (92.1%) at home during their collegiate careers, which included hosting one NCAA Tournament, one MPSF Tournament and one SoCal Tournament. Impressively, his teams were a combined 26-2 (92.9%) in the MPSF and won an MPSF and UCLA record 26 straight league games from 2013 to 2016. His teams also set UCLA and NCAA all-time longest winning streaks in men's water polo at 57 games, which is also the second-longest streak in any sport in the history of UCLA. His teams also had a winning record against every team in the country, including going 10-4 vs. USC, 10-1 vs. California and 6-3 vs. Stanford. In 2015, the Bruins became one of only seven teams in the history of the sport to go undefeated (30-0). and since the MPSF started in 1992, the Bruins were one of only three teams to go undefeated.
"Ryder obviously was a very special player for our men's program," coach Wright said. "He helped to set the standard of how we approach the game as well as helped build upon the special culture of our UCLA men's water polo program. The impact he had on our program was so much more than the championships he won. His legacy shows today's and future Bruins who we strive to be. Over the course of his career, I learned that he was one of the special players who invested everything he could into becoming a student of the game."
I said at our year-end banquet that I hoped Ryder would go into coaching as he would undoubtedly have a bright future. Little did I know that I would be adding him to our staff eight months later. He will have a positive effect on our program as a coach and will continue to enhance our culture here at UCLA, this time from the pool deck. I am excited to see the legacy he will now leave behind as a coach."
In Falitz's two seasons assisting the men's program, the Bruins won the 2015 NCAA Championship and went a combined 58-3 overall (.951), a record unmatched in the collegiate game over the last two seasons. Additionally, he has helped produce 16 All-Americans, 15 All-MPSF selections, 23 All-Academic performers, one United States Olympian (Alex Roelse), two MPSF Players of the Year (Garrett Danner, 2015 and 2016) and one Cutino Award Winner (Garrett Danner, 2015).
"Jason has demonstrated over the last two-plus years that he is more than capable of leading a top program," Wright said. "We are very fortunate to have him on our staff and I am glad we have the opportunity to promote him to associate head coach. His ability to connect with our student-athletes has been incredible. I have been very lucky to have a coach of his caliber supporting me the way that he has."
UCLA opens the 2017 season at home when it hosts the UCLA Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 2. The Bruins will face Pomona-Pitzer at 9:00 a.m. and then take on Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 1:00 p.m. before facing USC in an exhbition game at 2:20 p.m. at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center.
The Bruins finished the 2016 season with a 25-3 record, finishing tied for third at the NCAA Championship and placing second at the MPSF Championship. In addition, the 2016 squad set the NCAA and UCLA all-time longest winning streak in men's water polo at 57 games, which is also the second-longest streak in any sport in the history of UCLA. Top Bruins returning include seniors Max Irving, Matt Farmer and Roelse. Irving was third last year in scoring with 30 goals and was named Second Team All-MPSF and as an Honorable Mention All-American. Farmer was seventh on the squad in scoring last year at 21 goals and garnered Honorable Mention All-MPSF acclaim. A 2016 Olympian for Team USA, Roelse was also an Honorable Mention All-MPSF selection and was also tabbed as an Honorable Mention All-American after finishing fourth on the team in scoring with 29 goals.
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