UCLA Opens NCAA Tournament with George Washington

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LOS ANGELES – No. 2 UCLA (22-4, 1-2 MPSF) opens NCAA Tournament play on Thursday, Nov. 29 when it faces No. 16 George Washington (23-6, 9-3 MAWPC) at 2:45 p.m. PT at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center. Be sure to follow along on the Bruins' Twitter account (link provided above) for updates. Should the Bruins defeat GW, they will advance to the NCAA Semifinals to face second-seeded USC (28-3, 2-1) on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 5:00 p.m. PT. The championship game is set for Sunday, Dec. 2, at 3:00 p.m. PT and will include the semifinalist to advance from the other side of the bracket, which includes Long Beach State, UC San Diego, and Stanford. Both semifinals and the championship game will be streamed live and you can access them by clicking here. You can follow along during the NCAA Tournament and access schedules, box scores, rosters and the official NCAA Championship Program by clicking here.

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Thursday, November 29 (Avery Aquatic Center)
2:45 PM PT – No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 16 George Washington (LIVE STREAM)

Saturday, December 1 (Avery Aquatic Center)
5:00 PM PT – NCAA Semifinal (LIVE STREAM)

Sunday, December 2 (Avery Aquatic Center)
3:00 PM PT – NCAA Championship (LIVE STREAM)

Series History
This is just the third meeting all-time between UCLA and George Washington with the Bruins holding a 2-0 lead in the series. Last year the Bruins defeated George Washington, 20-4, in the first game of the Princeton Invitational on Sept. 8, 2017. UCLA also won the first meeting back on Sept. 8, 2012 in the second game of the Princeton Invitational by a score of 22-4.

UCLA leads the all-time series with the USC Trojans, 87-80-1. The Bruins went 3-1 last year against the Trojans, defeating USC 13-11 to win the Mountain Pacific Invitational at USC on Sept. 24 and then posting a 12-11 sudden victory in overtime on "Senior Day" at UCLA on Nov. 11. The Trojans got their win in the finals of the MPSF Championship at Stanford, 7-5, on Nov. 19. But the Bruins turned the tables on the Trojans, winning 7-5 at USC in the NCAA Championship game on Dec. 3. UCLA is 14-6 against the Trojans since 2013, defeating USC in the NCAA Championship game in 2014, 2015 and 2017. This season, USC won the regular season finale, 12-11, on Nov. 10 at USC, but the Bruins defeated the Trojans 7-4 in the third-place game of the MPSF Championship at USC on Nov. 18.

Stanford leads the all-time series with the Bruins, 85-73. The Cardinal won this year's first meeting, 8-7, at the buzzer in the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Invitational at Stanford. The Bruins returned the favor with a 10-8 win over Stanford at home on "Senior Day" on Nov. 3. The Cardinal then defeated UCLA 9-7 on Nov. 17 in the semifinals of the MPSF Tournament.

UCLA sports an all-time record of 101-21-1 against Long Beach State with a 9-7 win at LBSU earlier this year (Sept. 21).

The Bruins are also 58-1 all-time against UC San Diego, winning the last matchup in the 2016 season opener at UCSD, 13-6 (Sept. 3).

Recapping Last Week
The Bruins opened the 2018 MPSF Championship with an 18-1 win over Penn State Behrend on Friday, Nov. 16. Fourth-seeded UCLA fell to No. 1 Stanford, 9-7, in the semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 17. UCLA responded with its best defensive effort of the season, capturing third-place at the MPSF Tournament with a 7-4 win at No. 2 USC on Sunday, Nov. 18. Redshirt junior goalkeeper Alex Wolf (29 saves, 13 goals allowed) and sophomore attacker Nicolas Saveljic (six goals) were both named to the MPSF All-Tournament Team.

Six Bruins Earn All-MPSF Honors
Six UCLA Bruins earned All-MPSF accolades, led by redshirt junior goalkeeper Alex Wolf's first team selection, as announced by the league office on Nov. 15. Two Bruins were named to the second team All-MPSF and included sophomore attacker Nicolas Saveljic and sophomore utility Evan Rosenfeld. Three more Bruins, senior attacker David Stiling, sophomore center Quinten Osborne and freshman attacker Jake Cavano, garnered honorable mention All-MPSF accolades.

Saveljic Named MPSF/KAP7 Player of the Week
UCLA sophomore Nicolas Saveljic (Kotor, Montenegro/Maritime School Kotor) has been named the MPSF/KAP7 Player of the Week as announced by the league office today. The 6-foot-6-inch attacker led the Bruins to a home upset of No. 2 Stanford (Nov. 3) with a game-high and career-high-tying four goals, handing the Cardinal just its second loss of the year and its first in MPSF play. Saveljic scored the eventual game-winning goal in the third period and scored three of the Bruins' four goals in the second half (UCLA led 6-2 at the half). He also had one assist, drew one exclusion and won the only sprint he swam. This is Saveljic's first career MPSF Player of the Week award.

Cavano Named MPSF/KAP7 Player of the Week
UCLA freshman Jake Cavano (Huntington Beach, CA/Huntington Beach HS) was named the MPSF/KAP7 Player of the Week as announced by the league office on Monday, Sept. 17. The true freshman made a stellar debut last week, leading the Bruins in scoring with 10 goals in three games to help keep the team unbeaten. After missing the first eight games of the season, Cavano scored his first collegiate goal in a win at No. 7 UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 13). He then had a team-high and MPSF season-high-tying five goals (on six shots) in a 16-10 home win over No. 10 Pepperdine, followed by a team-best four goals (on four shots) in a 14-8 win over Loyola Marymount in game two of Saturday's doubleheader (Sept. 15). He was 10-for-14 on shots for the week, while recording three assists, three steals and one field block over the three wins. This is the first career MPSF honor for Cavano. He was also named the UCLA/Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week.

Coaching Changes
During the offseason, UCLA men's water polo hired three-time NCAA Champion and Bruin standout Jack Grover to the post of assistant coach (replacing Ryder Roberts) and has added U.S. Olympian and former UCLA All-American Alex Roelse as an undergraduate assistant coach. These changes are following the 2017 promotion of Jason Falitz to associate head coach.

Wright on Deck
Adam Wright is in his 10th season as UCLA's head men's water polo coach in 2018 with an overall record of 249-41 (.859) and an MPSF mark of 52-14 (.788). His teams earned perfect APR (Academic Progress Rate) scores of 1,000 in 2014, 2015 and 2016 while winning the school's 112th, 113th and 114th NCAA Championships in 2014, 2015 and 2017. On July 20, 2017, UCLA Director of Athletics, Dan Guerrero, announced that Wright will guide both the UCLA men's and women's water polo teams.

Recapping 2017
Overall Record: 21-4 | Final Ranking: 1st | NCAA Finish: 1st | MPSF Tournament Finish: 2nd

The Bruins finished the 2017 season by winning the program's 11^th NCAA Championship and the school's 114^th overall with a 7-5 victory at USC. UCLA finished the year with a 21-4 record, culminating in its third NCAA title in the last four years. Adam Wright was named MPSF and ACWPC National Coach of the Year. Six Bruins were named All-Americans with seniors Alex Roelse and Max Irving being named to the first team. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Alex Wolf was named to the second team after being selected as the NCAA Tournament MVP. Also chosen as a second team All-American was the Bruins' leading scorer, freshman Nicolas Saveljic.

UCLA In The CWPA Poll
The Bruins, who claimed the 2017 NCAA Championship, is in a tie for second place in the Week 12 CWPA National Men's Varsity Top 20 Poll (93 points), released on Nov. 21.

2018 MEN'S VARSITY TOP 20 (Week 12 - Nov. 21)
Rank	Team	Last Week's Poll	Points
1	Stanford	3	100
2 (T)	UCLA	2	93
2 (T)	USC	1	93
4	California	4	86
5 (T)	UC Santa Barbara	5	77
5 (T)	Long Beach State	6	77
7	UC San Diego	10	69
8	Pacific	9	65
9	Pepperdine	7	60
10	UC Davis	8	54
11	Loyola Marymount	13	44
12	Princeton	18	43
13	Harvard	12	34
14	UC Irvine	14	33
15	Cal Baptist	11	26
16 (T)	Bucknell	15	19
16 (T)	George Washington	RV	19
18	Santa Clara	17	17
19	Pomona-Pitzer	20	15
20	St. Francis Brooklyn	RV	14
RV	Brown	16	10
RV	San José State	19	3
RV	Wagner	RV	3

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UCLA Opens NCAA Tournament with George Washington

2018 MEN'S VARSITY TOP 20 (Week 12 - Nov. 21)

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Players Mentioned

Jake Cavano

Jack Grover

Max Irving

Quinten Osborne

Ryder Roberts

Alex Roelse

Evan Rosenfeld

Nicolas Saveljic

David Stiling

Alex Wolf

University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics

UCLA Opens NCAA Tournament with George Washington

2018 MEN'S VARSITY TOP 20 (Week 12 - Nov. 21)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jake Cavano

Jack Grover

Max Irving

Quinten Osborne

Ryder Roberts

Alex Roelse

Evan Rosenfeld

Nicolas Saveljic

David Stiling

Alex Wolf

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