Friday, October 11
Los Angeles, CA
7:00 PM
UCLA
vs
UC Santa Barbara
Freshman Andy Rodgers scored a season-high two goals in the last meeting against UCSB.
Photo by: Minette Rubin
No. 2 UCLA Hosts No. 5 UC Santa Barbara
October 09, 2019 | Men's Water Polo
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LOS ANGELES โ No. 2 UCLA (10-1, 0-0ย MPSF) hosts No. 5 UC Santa Barbara (15-3, 0-0 GCC) on Friday, Oct. 11 at 7:00 p.m. PT at Spieker Aquatics Center. The game marks the Bruins' sixth straight home game. Admission is free.
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Friday, October 11 (UCLA Spieker Aquatics Center)
7:00 PM PT โ No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 5 UC Santa Barbara (LIVE STATS)
Friday, October 18 (UCLA Spieker Aquatics Center)
7:00 PM PT โ No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 3 Pacificย (LIVE STATS)
Saturday, October 19 (UCLA Spieker Aquatics Center)
3:00 PM PT โ No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 20 Cal Baptist (LIVE STATS)
5:00 PM PT โ No. 2 UCLA vs. Whittier (LIVE STATS)
SERIES HISTORY
This is the 123rd meeting all-time between UCLA and UC Santa Barbara with the Bruins holding a 104-17-1 lead in the series. The Bruins defeated the Gauchos earlier in the year, handing UCSB it first loss of the season after a 15-0 start with a 9-8 win in the semifinals of the 2019 SoCal Invitational on Sept. 28. The Bruins have won the last 11 overall meetings in the series with the Gauchos last win coming in Santa Barbara on Sept. 30, 2012, by a score of 11-10.
RECAPPING LAST WEEK
No. 2ย UCLA (10-1) rebounded after its first loss of the season to post a solid 11-7 win over No. 8 Long Beach State (10-7) on Friday night atย Spieker Aquatics Center. The Bruins improved to 102-21-1 all-time against the 49ers with their 14th consecutive home win over LBSUย that dates back to 2003.ย The Bruins were led by freshmanย Tommy Gruwell, who had a hat trick and added one steal. Redshirt seniorย Alex Wolfย played the entire game in the cage, registering 12 saves while allowing seven goals.
SUDDEN IMPACT
A total of seven different players scored their first goals as a Bruin in the season-opener at the Navy Open. In fact, Bruin freshmen combined to score 44.9 percent of the team's goals on the opening weekend (31-of-69). They also contributed 63.6 percent of the assists (14-of-22), 46.9 percent (15-of-32) of the steals, and 62.9 percent (22-of-35) of the drawn exclusions.
FRESH FACES
UCLA welcomed in 10 true freshmen for the 2019 season that have joined six redshirt freshmen on the 29-man roster, comprising a total of 16 freshmen (or 55.2 percent of the team). The team also includes seven sophomores, five juniors and one senior (13 student-athletes in those three classes combined). Of the 16 freshmen on the roster, 13 of them have earned a cap and will be competing for playing time in 2019 with three of them (Giorgio Alessandria, Chase Honaker and Jack Larsen) slated to redshirt the season. Here's a look at the 13 freshmen that have earned a cap number and will be looking to make an immediate impact for the Bruins.
ย
MPSF/KAP7 PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Sept. 9)
Matthew Kacuraย (San Clemente, CA/Orange Lutheran HS) led the Bruins in scoring to kick-off a 4-0 start to the season at the Navy Open (Sept. 7-8). He scored a total of nine goals in four games, after scoring 13 goals in 28 games a year ago. He scored two goals on two shots with two steals in the win over No. 12 Princeton. He completed the tournament with a career and MPSF weekend-high-tying six goals on seven shots, along with one field block, in a win over La Salle. The six goals tied the most by a Bruin in two years (Max Irving-6; Sept. 24, 2017). For the week, he converted 81.8 percent of his shots (9-for-11), adding three steals, two field blocks, one assist and one drawn exclusion. This is Kacura's first career MPSF weekly award.
MPSF/KAP7 NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK (Sept. 9)
Bernardo Maurizi (Florence, Italy/Salesiani Firenze)ย helped the Bruins go 4-0 to kick-off the season at the Navy Open (Sept. 7-8). He racked up 40 saves (16.00 SPG), while recording a goals-against average of 4.00. Maurizi tallied 13 saves while allowing three goals in his debut vs. Fordham. He played the second half of the win over Navy, registering eight stops with five allowed. He then made a record-setting appearance in a win over La Salle, recording a UCLA freshman record 19 saves, while giving up just two scores. It marked the most saves by a Bruin in four years (Garrett Danner-21; Nov. 22, 2015), and was the most for a UCLA regulation game in a decade (Chay Lapin-21; Nov. 1, 2009). This is the first career MPSF award for Maurizi.
MAURIZI SETS UCLA FRESHMAN RECORD
Behind a record-setting performance from freshman goalkeeperย Bernardo Maurizi, No. 2 UCLA cruised to a 20-2 win over La Salle in the Bruins' final game of the Navy Open on Sept. 8ย at Lejeuneย Hall. This was the first-ever meeting between UCLA and the Explorers as the La Salle program is in its fourth year of existence.ย Maurizi set a UCLA freshman record with 19 saves playing the entire game in the cage for the Bruins. It marked the most saves sinceย Garrett Dannerย recorded 21 in a 12-11 overtime win over California in the MPSF Championship game on Nov. 22, 2015. It was also the most saves in a game ending in regulation since Chay Lapin registered 21 in a 9-3 win at Long Beach State on Nov. 1, 2009.
During the offseason, UCLA men's water polo hired Bret Lathrope to the post ofย assistant coach (replacing Jack Grover) and has added Michael Hull to the post of Director of Operations for men's and women's water polo. These changes are following the 2017 promotion ofย Jason Falitzย to associate head coach.
THE WRIGHT STUFF
Adam Wright is in his 11th season as UCLA's head men's water polo coach in 2019 with an overall record of 260-43 (.858) 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 Wrightย will guide both the UCLA men's and women's water polo teams. Wright was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame on June 20, 2019.
ย
RECAPPING 2018
Overall Record: 23-5 |ย Final Ranking: 3rd | NCAA Finish: T-3rd |ย MPSFย Tournament Finish: 3rd
The Bruins finished the season with third-place finishes at both the MPSF and NCAA Championships. UCLA's team had a school-record 11 student-athletes earn MPSF All-Academic accolades, while eight Bruins also earned All-America acclaim (headlined by first-team selections Alex Wolf and Nicolas Saveljic). Evan Rosenfeld picked up second-team All-America honors, while freshman Jake Cavano was named a third-team honoree. Securing honorable mention All-America honors were freshmen Danny Roland and Ashworth Molthen, as well as senior David Stiling and sophomore Quinten Osborne. Bruins' head coach Adam Wright was also inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.
POLLING THE BRUINS
UCLA, which finished third in the MPSF and NCAA Championships last year, is second in this week'sย CWPAย National Men's Varsity Top 20 Poll (94 points), released on Oct. 9.
ย
LOS ANGELES โ No. 2 UCLA (10-1, 0-0ย MPSF) hosts No. 5 UC Santa Barbara (15-3, 0-0 GCC) on Friday, Oct. 11 at 7:00 p.m. PT at Spieker Aquatics Center. The game marks the Bruins' sixth straight home game. Admission is free.
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Friday, October 11 (UCLA Spieker Aquatics Center)
7:00 PM PT โ No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 5 UC Santa Barbara (LIVE STATS)
Friday, October 18 (UCLA Spieker Aquatics Center)
7:00 PM PT โ No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 3 Pacificย (LIVE STATS)
Saturday, October 19 (UCLA Spieker Aquatics Center)
3:00 PM PT โ No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 20 Cal Baptist (LIVE STATS)
5:00 PM PT โ No. 2 UCLA vs. Whittier (LIVE STATS)
SERIES HISTORY
This is the 123rd meeting all-time between UCLA and UC Santa Barbara with the Bruins holding a 104-17-1 lead in the series. The Bruins defeated the Gauchos earlier in the year, handing UCSB it first loss of the season after a 15-0 start with a 9-8 win in the semifinals of the 2019 SoCal Invitational on Sept. 28. The Bruins have won the last 11 overall meetings in the series with the Gauchos last win coming in Santa Barbara on Sept. 30, 2012, by a score of 11-10.
RECAPPING LAST WEEK
No. 2ย UCLA (10-1) rebounded after its first loss of the season to post a solid 11-7 win over No. 8 Long Beach State (10-7) on Friday night atย Spieker Aquatics Center. The Bruins improved to 102-21-1 all-time against the 49ers with their 14th consecutive home win over LBSUย that dates back to 2003.ย The Bruins were led by freshmanย Tommy Gruwell, who had a hat trick and added one steal. Redshirt seniorย Alex Wolfย played the entire game in the cage, registering 12 saves while allowing seven goals.
SUDDEN IMPACT
A total of seven different players scored their first goals as a Bruin in the season-opener at the Navy Open. In fact, Bruin freshmen combined to score 44.9 percent of the team's goals on the opening weekend (31-of-69). They also contributed 63.6 percent of the assists (14-of-22), 46.9 percent (15-of-32) of the steals, and 62.9 percent (22-of-35) of the drawn exclusions.
FRESH FACES
UCLA welcomed in 10 true freshmen for the 2019 season that have joined six redshirt freshmen on the 29-man roster, comprising a total of 16 freshmen (or 55.2 percent of the team). The team also includes seven sophomores, five juniors and one senior (13 student-athletes in those three classes combined). Of the 16 freshmen on the roster, 13 of them have earned a cap and will be competing for playing time in 2019 with three of them (Giorgio Alessandria, Chase Honaker and Jack Larsen) slated to redshirt the season. Here's a look at the 13 freshmen that have earned a cap number and will be looking to make an immediate impact for the Bruins.
ย
| 2 | Will Morgan | ATK | 6-1 | R-Fr. | Pebble Beach, Calif. / Stevenson School |
| 9 | Brock Petersen | ATK | 6-2 | R-Fr. | Dana Point, Calif. / Santa Margarita Catholic HS |
| 10 | Ryan Sawyer | ATK | 6-1 | R-Fr. | Palm Desert, Calif. / Palm Desert HS |
| 18 | Henry Wilde | ATK | 6-3 | R-Fr. | Newport Beach, Calif. / Corona del Mar HS |
| 20 | Tega Cheishvili | DEF | 6-2 | R-Fr. | Tbilisi, Georgia / Tbilisi American High School |
| 25 | Chase Petersen | DEF | 6-1 | R-Fr. | Dana Point, Calif. / Santa Margarita Catholic HS |
| 1A | Bernardo Maurizi | GK | 6-2 | Fr. | Florence, Italy / Salesiani Firenze |
| 3 | Gabe Discipulo | CTR | 6-3 | Fr. | Santa Cruz, Calif. / Bellarmine College Preparatory |
| 6 | Andy Rodgers | ATK | 6-2 | Fr. | Coronado, Calif. / Coronado HS |
| 7 | Jack White | ATK | 6-1 | Fr. | Newport Beach, Calif. / Newport Harbor HS |
| 8 | Cameron Reagan | DEF/UTL | 6-2 | Fr. | Huntington Beach, Calif. / Mater Dei HS |
| 14 | Max Berg | ATK | 5-10 | Fr. | Seal Beach, Calif. / Long Beach Wilson HS |
| 24 | Tommy Gruwell | ATK | 6-4 | Fr. | San Diego, Calif. / Cathedral Catholic HS |
MPSF/KAP7 PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Sept. 9)
Matthew Kacuraย (San Clemente, CA/Orange Lutheran HS) led the Bruins in scoring to kick-off a 4-0 start to the season at the Navy Open (Sept. 7-8). He scored a total of nine goals in four games, after scoring 13 goals in 28 games a year ago. He scored two goals on two shots with two steals in the win over No. 12 Princeton. He completed the tournament with a career and MPSF weekend-high-tying six goals on seven shots, along with one field block, in a win over La Salle. The six goals tied the most by a Bruin in two years (Max Irving-6; Sept. 24, 2017). For the week, he converted 81.8 percent of his shots (9-for-11), adding three steals, two field blocks, one assist and one drawn exclusion. This is Kacura's first career MPSF weekly award.
MPSF/KAP7 NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK (Sept. 9)
Bernardo Maurizi (Florence, Italy/Salesiani Firenze)ย helped the Bruins go 4-0 to kick-off the season at the Navy Open (Sept. 7-8). He racked up 40 saves (16.00 SPG), while recording a goals-against average of 4.00. Maurizi tallied 13 saves while allowing three goals in his debut vs. Fordham. He played the second half of the win over Navy, registering eight stops with five allowed. He then made a record-setting appearance in a win over La Salle, recording a UCLA freshman record 19 saves, while giving up just two scores. It marked the most saves by a Bruin in four years (Garrett Danner-21; Nov. 22, 2015), and was the most for a UCLA regulation game in a decade (Chay Lapin-21; Nov. 1, 2009). This is the first career MPSF award for Maurizi.
MAURIZI SETS UCLA FRESHMAN RECORD
Behind a record-setting performance from freshman goalkeeperย Bernardo Maurizi, No. 2 UCLA cruised to a 20-2 win over La Salle in the Bruins' final game of the Navy Open on Sept. 8ย at Lejeuneย Hall. This was the first-ever meeting between UCLA and the Explorers as the La Salle program is in its fourth year of existence.ย Maurizi set a UCLA freshman record with 19 saves playing the entire game in the cage for the Bruins. It marked the most saves sinceย Garrett Dannerย recorded 21 in a 12-11 overtime win over California in the MPSF Championship game on Nov. 22, 2015. It was also the most saves in a game ending in regulation since Chay Lapin registered 21 in a 9-3 win at Long Beach State on Nov. 1, 2009.
UCLA 100
UCLA is celebratingย its first 100 years with a year-long university-wide Centennial Celebration. UCLA Athletics has several Centennial Celebration plans and giveaways in store for designated home events, including a set of 13 Centennial Pins highlighting each sport, as well as a souvenir mosaic poster that features personal photos submitted by UCLA fans. The Bruins men's water polo team posted an 11-7 win over No. 8 Long Beach State on Oct. 4, 2019, UCLA's firstย Centennial game win after football and men's and women's soccer failed to post victories in their Centennial games.
UCLA IS NO. 1
For the third consecutive year UCLA has been selected as the No. 1 public institution in the nation in theย Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings.ย In addition, of the more than 800 public and private institutions that were assessed, UCLA placed fifth among all public and private colleges in the area of environment, No. 11 overall in the engagement category, No. 16 in terms of outcomes, and No. 25 overall.ย The rankings focus on student success and learning in four key areas: student resources, student engagement, educational outcomes and learning environments. The results are based on data from the Times Higher Education U.S. Student Survey, which collected the opinions of more than 170,000 current university students, government data sources and findings from the Times Higher Education Academic Reputation Survey.
UCLA consistently performs well inย multiple rankingsย regardless of methodology or criteria. In 2018, UCLA was named the No. 1 U.S. public university in both the U.S. News & World Report'sย Best Collegesย ranking andย Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education survey. UCLA was also named the No. 2 U.S. public university (17 overall) by Times Higher Education in itsย 2019 World University Rankingsย and No. 2 (No. 9 overall) in itsย 2019 World Reputation Rankings.
COACH/STAFF CHANGESDuring the offseason, UCLA men's water polo hired Bret Lathrope to the post ofย assistant coach (replacing Jack Grover) and has added Michael Hull to the post of Director of Operations for men's and women's water polo. These changes are following the 2017 promotion ofย Jason Falitzย to associate head coach.
THE WRIGHT STUFF
Adam Wright is in his 11th season as UCLA's head men's water polo coach in 2019 with an overall record of 260-43 (.858) 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 Wrightย will guide both the UCLA men's and women's water polo teams. Wright was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame on June 20, 2019.
ย
RECAPPING 2018
Overall Record: 23-5 |ย Final Ranking: 3rd | NCAA Finish: T-3rd |ย MPSFย Tournament Finish: 3rd
The Bruins finished the season with third-place finishes at both the MPSF and NCAA Championships. UCLA's team had a school-record 11 student-athletes earn MPSF All-Academic accolades, while eight Bruins also earned All-America acclaim (headlined by first-team selections Alex Wolf and Nicolas Saveljic). Evan Rosenfeld picked up second-team All-America honors, while freshman Jake Cavano was named a third-team honoree. Securing honorable mention All-America honors were freshmen Danny Roland and Ashworth Molthen, as well as senior David Stiling and sophomore Quinten Osborne. Bruins' head coach Adam Wright was also inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.
POLLING THE BRUINS
UCLA, which finished third in the MPSF and NCAA Championships last year, is second in this week'sย CWPAย National Men's Varsity Top 20 Poll (94 points), released on Oct. 9.
ย
ย 2019 MEN'S VARSITY TOP 20 (Week 4 - Oct. 9) |
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| ย Rank | ย Team | ย Week Two Poll | ย Points |
| ย 1 | ย Stanford | ย 3 | ย 98 |
| ย 2 | ย UCLA | ย 2 | ย 94 |
| ย 3 | ย Pacific | ย 3 | ย 88 |
| ย 4 | ย USC | ย 5 | ย 87 |
| ย 5 | ย UC Santa Barbara | ย 4 | ย 82 |
| ย 6 | ย California | ย 7 | ย 74 |
| ย 7 | ย Pepperdine | ย 6 | ย 70 |
| ย 8 | ย Long Beach State | ย 8 | ย 65 |
| ย 9 | ย UC San Diego | ย 9 | ย 58 |
| ย 10 | ย Harvard | ย 12 | ย 54 |
| ย 11 | ย Loyola Marymount | ย 10 (T) | ย 51 |
| ย 12 | ย UC Davis | ย 10 (T) | ย 41 |
| ย 13 | ย UC Irvine | ย 13 | ย 37 |
| ย 14 | ย George Washington | ย 15 | ย 29 |
| ย 15 | ย Bucknell | ย 14 | ย 27 |
| ย 16 | ย St. Francis College Brooklyn | ย 17 | ย 23 |
| ย 17 | ย Fordham | ย RV | ย 21 |
| ย 18 | ย Pomona-Pitzer | ย 18 (T) | ย 20 |
| ย 19 | ย Princeton | ย 18 (T) | ย 13 |
| ย 20 | ย Cal Baptist | ย 16 | ย 10 |
| ย RV | ย San José State | ย RV | ย 6 |
| ย RV | ย Whittier | ย 20 | ย 4 |
| ย RV | ย Santa Clara | ย NR | ย 2 |
| ย RV | ย Navy/Brown | ย NR/RV | ย 1 |
Players Mentioned
UTL
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK/UTL
/ Men's Water Polo
DEF
/ Men's Water Polo
GK
/ Men's Water Polo
CTR
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
GK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
GK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
C
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
DEF
/ Men's Water Polo
DEF/UTL
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
GK
/ Men's Water Polo
UTL
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
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