Saturday, November 11
Los Angeles, CA
1:00 PM
UCLA
vs
USC
The 2017 UCLA seniors (from left): Matt Farmer, Jesse Camou, Aleksandar Ruzic, Alex Roelse, Jack Grover, James Robinson and Max Irving.
Photo by: UCLA Athletics
No. 4 UCLA Hosts No. 2 USC on Saturday
November 09, 2017 | Men's Water Polo
The Bruins conclude the 2017 regular season with the Trojans at 1:00 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks.
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ON DECK THIS WEEK
The Bruins close out the regular season on "Senior Day" when No. 4 UCLA (17-3, 0-2 MPSF) hosts No. 2 USC (22-2, 1-1 MPSF) on Saturday, Nov. 11. The game will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks with Jim Watson and Adam Krikorian calling all of the exciting action, which will begin at 1:05 p.m. PT.
SERIES HISTORY
This is the 165th meeting between UCLA and USC with the Bruins leading the all-time series, 84-79-1. The Bruins and the Trojans have squared off 11 times in the last four years with the Bruins holding an 8-3 advantage. The Trojans swept the Bruins in 2016 (8-7, 9-6), but UCLA swept USC in 2015 (10-9, 11-6, 6-3, 10-7), winning its second straight NCAA title and completing a 30-0 season.
LAST TIME OUT VS. USC
In this year's earlier meeting, both teams sported the same ranking as they enter this week's contest, as fourth-ranked UCLA rallied from a 4-2 deficit at the end of the first period to win the Mountain Pacific Invitational title, 13-11, at No. 2 USC on Sept. 24. Senior Max Irving led the Bruins with a career-high six goals against the Trojans. Senior Alex Roelse also added four scores while freshman Nicolas Saveljic chipped in two more. Redshirt sophomore Alex Wolf played the entire game in goal, registering 10 saves, two steals and one assist while surrendering 11 goals. The Trojans were led by Grant Stein's three scores while McQuin Baron had nine saves.
REHASHING LAST WEEK
Third-ranked UCLA couldn't get its offense going and dropped an important road game at fourth-ranked Stanford (16-3, 1-1) by a count of 7-5 on Nov. 4 at the Avery Aquatic Center. Stanford snapped a four-game losing streak to UCLA in the process. Freshman Nicolas Saveljic led the Bruins in scoring with two goals while redshirt sophomore Alex Wolf made 13 stops in cage for the Bruins. The Bruins rebounded with a 14-6 win over No. 11 San Jose State at West Valley College on Nov. 5 to improve to 11-1 all-time against the Spartans. Senior Matt Farmer led the Bruins with three goals while freshman Luke Henriksson and senior Alex Roelse each scored twice. Redshirt sophomore Alex Wolf played the first half in goal for the Bruins and made three stops while giving up three goals. Senior Aleksandar Ruzic played the second half in the cage, also registering three saves while giving up three scores.
SUDDEN IMPACT
Two of UCLA's top four scorers are true freshmen through the first 20 games of the 2017 season. Nicolas Saveljic (6-7, ATK, Kotor, Montenegro) leads UCLA in scoring with 37 goals (2.06 goals per game), which ranks 4th in the MPSF. He has scored at least one goal in 18 of the 19 games he has played (played only one quarter in the 20-9 win over No. 17 Cal Baptist (Oct. 13) and failed to score on only one shot). He also leads the team in steals (27) and in sprints won (17-of-27). Chasen Travisano (6-2, ATK, Glendora, Calif., Damien HS), is tied for 4th on the team in scoring with 25 goals (1.25 goals per game), which ranks tied for 17th in the MPSF. He is third on the team in assists (23) and is also third in sprints won (7-of-15). He has scored at least one goal in nine of the last 10 games (was shut out at No. 4 Stanford on Nov. 4).
FARMER NAMED MPSF/KAP7 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
UCLA senior Matt Farmer (La Grange, IL/Fenwick HS) was named the MPSF/KAP7 Player of the Week as announced by the league office on Oct. 30, 2017. Farmer led the Bruins in scoring with a career- and season-high-tying four goals in a 12-11 win over No. 5 Pacific (Oct. 28). Farmer scored one power play goal in the first and second periods, and then helped UCLA pull away from a three-goal halftime lead with two goals in the third period. He added one steal and drew one exclusion against the Tigers. This is the first career MPSF weekly honor for Farmer.
BRUINS IN MPSF RANKINGS
Five Bruins currently rank in the top 17 in the MPSF in scoring with freshman Nicolas Saveljic leading the way in 4th (37 goals, 2.06 gpg). Senior Max Irving is 9th with 32 goals (1.60 gpg) while senior Matt Farmer is 15th with 26 goals (1.30 gpg). Freshman Chasen Travisano and senior Alex Roelse are tied for 17th with 25 goals (1.25 gpg). Redshirt Sophomore Alex Wolf is third in goals against average (6.92) and fifth in saves per game (10.57).
COACHING CHANGES
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 on Aug. 16, 2017.
THE WRIGHT STUFF
Adam Wright is in his ninth season as UCLA's head men's water polo coach in 2017 with an overall record of 223-35 (.864) and an MPSF mark of 50-12 (.806). His teams earned perfect APR (Academic Progress Rate) scores of 1,000 in 2014, 2015 and 2016 while winning the school's 112th and 113th NCAA Championships in 2014 and 2015. On July 20, 2017, UCLA Director of Athletics, Dan Guerrero, announced that Wright will now guide both the UCLA men's and women's water polo teams.
KEEPERS OF THE STREAK
During the 2016 season, UCLA set school, conference and national records for consecutive wins (57) in collegiate men's water polo. The 57-game winning streak was the second-longest streak among all sports at UCLA (men's basketball won 88 consecutive games from 1971-74). The Bruins finished the season 25-3 overall. The 57 straight victories dated back to the 2014 campaign, UCLA's first of two consecutive national titles. The Bruins also won an MPSF and UCLA record 26 straight league games dating back to the 2013 season.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
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ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
UTL
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GK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
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ATK
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