
No. 2 UCLA Set to Co-Host 2019 SoCal Invitational
September 25, 2019 | Men's Water Polo
LOS ANGELES โ No. 2 UCLA (6-0, 0-0ย MPSF) will co-host the 2019 SoCal Invitational this weekend with Loyola Marymount from Sept. 27-29. The Bruins open with Pomona-Pitzerย (5-1) on Friday, Sept. 27 at 1:00 p.m. PT in the first game of the day at UCLA's Spieker Aquatics Center. Fans can follow all of the action via live stats for all 32 games of the SoCal Invitational at both sites at the following website (SoCal Invitational Tournament Central). The site will be updated after each game with box scores and an updated schedule of games at both locations (UCLA and LMU). Each location is selling tickets to the games that are good only for that location. Ticket links are available on the Tournament Central website listed above, or you can purchase tickets at the gate.ย
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Friday, September 27 (SoCal Invitational โ UCLA Spieker Aquatics Center)
1:00 PM PT โ No. 2 UCLA vs. Pomona-Pitzerย (LIVE STATS)
2:20 PM PT โ No. 7 California vs. No. 10 UC Irvine (LIVE STATS)
3:40 PM PT โ No. 1 UC Santa Barbaraย vs. No. 20 San Jose State (LIVE STATS)
5:00 PM PT โ No. 6 Pepperdine vs. No. 11 UC San Diego (LIVE STATS)
Friday, September 27 (SoCal Invitational โ LMU Burns Aquatics Center)
1:00 PM PT โ No. 3 Stanford vs. Air Force (LIVE STATS)
2:20 PM PT โ No. 9 UC Davis vs. No. 8 Long Beach State (LIVE STATS)
3:40 PM PT โ No. 5 USC vs. No. 14 Princeton (LIVE STATS)
5:00 PM PT โ No. 4 Pacificย vs. No. 13 Loyola Marymount (LIVE STATS)
For the complete schedule of the 2019 SoCal Invitational, click here.
SERIES HISTORY
This is the 12th meeting all-time between UCLA and Pomona-Pitzer with the Bruins holding an 11-0 lead in the series. The Bruins opened the 2018 season by hosting the UCLA Invitational and faced three teams on opening day, Sept. 1. After defeating Fresno Pacific and Whittier, UCLA ended the day with an 18-10 win over the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens.
RECAPPING LAST WEEK
No. 2 UCLA (6-0) shook off a slow start and rallied for a 14-12 win at No. 6 Pepperdine (9-3) at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool on Saturday afternoon. The Bruins improved to 81-31-1 all-time against the Waves with their 19th-straight victory over Pepperdine.ย Juniorย Nicolas Saveljicย led the Bruins in scoring with a season-high and career-high-tying four goals against the Waves.ย Sophomore Ashworth Molthenย had three goals, four steals, two assists, and one field block. Redshirt seniorย Alex Wolfย played the entire game in the cage for the Bruins making a season-high 11 stops while surrendering 12 goals.
SUDDEN IMPACT
A total of seven different players scored their first goals as a Bruin two weeks ago 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.
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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.
UCLA 2019 OUTLOOK
UCLA returns five starters for the 2019 season and all five were All-Americans in 2018. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Alex Wolf and junior attacker Nicolas Saveljicย headline UCLA's veteran group as both were named firstย team All-Americans for the first time in their careers a year ago. Wolf, who spent the entire summer with the USA Senior Men's National Team, was also named First Team All-NCAA Tournament, First Team All-MPSF, and MPSF All-Tournament Team in 2018. He led the MPSF in goals against average (6.79) and was second in saves per game (11.05). Saveljic was also named Second Team All-MPSF, and MPSF All-Tournament Team. He finished ninth in the MPSF in scoring (led the team) with 51ย goals (1.82 gpg) and also led the Bruins in steals with 24 and in sprints won (23-8).
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The Bruins also return three other starters in junior utility Evan Rosenfeld and sophomore attackers Jake Cavano and Ashworth Molthen. Rosenfeldย was the only Bruin named second team All-American. He was also namedย Second Team All-NCAA Tournament and Second Team All-MPSF. He was tied for 9th on the team in scoring with 13 goals. He was seventh on the squad in steals (14) and was third on the team in both exclusions drawn (17) and penalties drawn (three).ย Cavano was the only third team All-American for UCLA in 2018. He was also named Honorable Mention All-MPSF after finishing 10th in the MPSF and tied for third on the team in scoring with 32 goals (1.78 gpg). He only played in 18 games (missed 10 games on the year), but he scored in 17 of those contests, including in a team-best 12 in a row. Despite the missed contests, he still finished third on the team in steals (18).ย Molthenย ranked 21st in the MPSF and third on the team in scoring with 32 goals (1.14 gpg). He also led the Bruins in assists (37) and field blocks (15) while finishing second in steals (19).
Also returning in 2019 and vying for more playing time is junior utility Felix Brozyna-Vilim (31 goals), junior attacker Chasen Travisano (21 goals), sophomore attacker Matthew Kacura (13 goals), redshirt sophomore defender Bailey Jarvis (10 goals), and sophomore attacker Michael Graner (eight goals).
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Arriving in Westwood this season and looking to make an immediate impact is Gabe Discipulo (6-3, CTR, Santa Cruz, Calif.), Tommy Gruwell (6-4, ATK, San Diego, Calif.), and Bernardo Maurizi (6-2, GK, Florence, Italy).
The Bruins lost starters David Stiling (graduation) and Quinten Osborne (transfer), both of whom were honorable mention All-Americans. Osborne was also named honorable mention All-MPSF while ranking 16th in the MPSF and second on the team in scoring with 39 goals (1.39 gpg). He led the Bruins in exclusions drawn (73) and penalties drawn (five) and was tied for fifth in field blocks (nine). Stiling was also named honorable mention All-MPSF, finishing the season with 10 goals, nine steals, seven exclusions drawn, and seven field blocks.
UCLA 100
UCLA will celebrate 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. UCLA men's water polo's Centennial game will take place on Oct. 4 at 7:00 p.m. PT against Long Beach State.
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 256-42 (.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 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.
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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 Sept. 25.
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ย 2019 MEN'S VARSITY TOP 20 (Week 3 - Sept. 25) |
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ย Rank | ย Team | ย Week Two Poll | ย Points |
ย 1 | ย UC Santa Barbara | ย 2 (T) | ย 99 |
ย 2 | ย UCLA | ย 2 (T) | ย 94 |
ย 3 | ย Stanford | ย 1 | ย 91 |
ย 4 | ย Pacific | ย 4 | ย 84 |
ย 5 | ย USC | ย 5 | ย 82 |
ย 6 | ย Pepperdine | ย 6 | ย 73 |
ย 7 | ย California | ย 8 | ย 71 |
ย 8 | ย Long Beach State | ย 9 | ย 65 |
ย 9 | ย UC Davis | ย 7 | ย 62 |
ย 10 | ย UC Irvine | ย 10 | ย 53 |
ย 11 | ย UC San Diego | ย 11 | ย 51 |
ย 12 | ย Harvard | ย 12 | ย 46 |
ย 13 | ย Loyola Marymount | ย 14 (T) | ย 32 |
ย 14 | ย Princeton | ย 14 (T) | ย 30 |
ย 15 | ย St. Francis College Brooklyn | ย 14 (T) | ย 25 |
ย 16 | ย Fordham | ย RV | ย 20 |
ย 17 (T) | ย Cal Baptist | ย 19 | ย 19 |
ย 17 (T) | ย Bucknell | ย 13 | ย 19 |
ย 19 | ย George Washington | ย 14 (T) | ย 16 |
ย 20 | ย San José State | ย 18 | ย 12 |
ย RV | ย Air Force | ย RV | ย 4 |
ย RV | ย Brown | ย 20 | ย 3 |
ย RV | ย Redlands | ย NR | ย 2 |
ย RV | ย Navy | ย RV | ย 2 |
ย RV | ย Santa Clara | ย NR | ย 1 |
ย RV | ย Pomona-Pitzer | ย RV | ย 1 |