2019 Men's Water Polo Roster
Roster
Saveljic, Nicolas
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Jersey Number 21
Nicolas Saveljic
- Position:
- Attacker
- Height:
- 6-6
- Weight:
- 212
- Class:
- Junior
- Hometown:
- Kotor, Montenegro
- High School:
- Maritime School Kotor
Bio
UCLA CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
โข Peter J. Cutino Award (2020)
โข 2-time Peter J. Cutino Award Finalist (2020, 2021)
โข ACWPC National Player of the Year (2020)
โข 4-time ACWPCย All-American (First Team - 2018, 2020, Second Team - 2017, 2021)
โข 5-time All-MPSF (First Team - 2020, Second Team - 2018, 2019, 2021, Honorable Mention - 2017)
โข 3-time NCAA All-Tournament Team (First Team - 2020, Second Team - 2017, 2021)
โข NCAA Tournament MVP (2020)
โข 3-time MPSF All-Tournament Team (First Team - 2018, 2019, 2020)
โข CoSIDA Academic All-American (First Team - 2020)
โข 3-time ACWPC All-Academic Honors (Outstanding - 2020, 2021, Excellent 2019)
โข 4-time MPSF All-Academic Team (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
โข 2-time Pac-12 Fall All-Academic Team (2020, 2021)
โข 12-time UCLA Athletic Director's Honor Roll (Fall 2017, Winter 2018, Spring 2018, Winter 2019, Fall 2019, Winter 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Winter 2022)
โข 2-time MPSF/KAP7 Player of the Week (Nov. 5, 2018, Feb. 8, 2020)
โข 2-time MPSF/KAP7 Newcomer of the Week (Sept. 11, 2017, Sept. 18, 2017)
โข 3-time UCLA Student-Athlete of the Week (Sept. 11, 2018, Sept. 18, 2018, Mar. 23, 2021)
โข Maggie Gilbert Academic Perseverance Award (2019)
2021
Played in 17ย games (missed the first seven games of the season due to an undisclosed injury) โฆ led the team in scoring withย 33 goalsย on 83 shots, converting at a 39.8 percent rate โฆ his 1.8 goals per game led the team and ranked tied for 7th in the MPSF โฆ scored in 15 of the 17 games he played in, including a season-high eight consecutive games (Oct. 2 to Nov. 20)ย โฆ was sixth on the team in assists (14) to finish tied for second on the squad in total points (47)ย โฆ also led the team and ranked fourth in theย MPSF in steals (26) and ranked second in the MPSF in steals per game (1.4)ย โฆ won 20 sprints which led UCLA and ranked tied for secondย in the MPSFย โฆ won .800 of his sprints (20-5) during the season, which led the MPSF and ranked eighth in the NCAAย โฆ also drew six exclusions and added five field blocks on the year.
2020
Played in all 16 games โฆ named MPSF/KAP7 Player of the Week (Feb. 8, 2021) when he led all MPSF players in goals (11) and total points (12) at the USC Round Robin as the Bruins finished the weekend with victories over No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 USC and had an overtime loss to No. 2 California โฆ wrote himself into the MPSF record books, tying the all-time MPSF record for goals in a conference game and was one shy of tying the single-game record by an MPSF player in any game with a career-high eight goals (on 11 shots) in the win over No. 1 Stanford โฆ only two other players have scored eight goals in a game in league play (Ben Hallock, Stanford vs. California on 11/9/19 and Jeff Colyer, Long Beach State vs. UC Santa Barbara on 11/3/96) โฆ additionally, it was the most-ever goals by a Bruin since Ryder Roberts scored seven goals in a win at No. 9 Pepperdine on Oct. 22, 2015 โฆย also named the UCLA Student-Athlete of the Week on Feb. 9, 2021 for his efforts that weekย โฆ scored in 15 of the 16 games he played in, including a season-high 10 consecutive games to begin the season โฆ led the team in scoring withย 37 goals (led the MPSF, second in NCAA) on 97 shots, converting at a 38.1 percent rate โฆ his 2.3 goals per game ranked tied for the lead in the MPSF and tied for fourth in the NCAAย โฆ was third on the team in assists (10) to finish as the team's overall scoring leader with 47 points โฆ also led the team, the MPSF, and the NCAA in steals (30)ย โฆ won 15 sprints which ranked tied for first on the team, tied for secondย in the MPSF, and tied for fifth in the NCAAย โฆ won .682 of his sprints (15-7) during the seasonย โฆ also drew six exclusions and added three field blocks on the year.
2019
Played in 18 games, making eight starts โฆ earned the Maggie Gilbert Academic Perseverance Award (given to student-athletes who have shown tremendous growth throughout their academic career and demonstrated relentless perseverance and commitment to their academic endeavors) โฆ found the back of the net a team-high four times in a 14-12 win over No. 6 Pepperdine (Sept. 21) โฆ finished third on the team in scoring with 31 goals on 57 shots, converting at a 54.4 percent rate โฆ scored in 14 of the 18 contests he played in, including in seven of the last eight games of the season โฆ registered 10 multiple-goal games including four contests with a hat trick or more โฆ logged a career-high five goals in a 16-15 overtime loss to No. 1 Stanford in the semifinals of theย MPSFย Championship (Nov. 23) โฆ finished second on the team in steals (22), which ranked tied for eighth in the MPSF โฆ finished tied for first on the team in field blocks (10) and third in assists (17) โฆ led the team in sprints won for the third consecutive season, going 21-6 on the year, which was good for fifth-best in the league โฆ also logged eight exclusions drawn.
2018
Played in 28 games, making 14 starts โฆ was named MPSF/KAP7 Player of the Week on Nov. 5 after leading the Bruins to a home upset of No. 2 Stanford (Nov. 3) with a game-high and career-high-tying four goals โฆย 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) โฆ he also had one assist, drew one exclusion and won the only sprint he swam โฆ named the UCLA/Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week on Sept. 11 after leadingย UCLA in scoring with 13 goals in five games at the Princeton Invitational (Sept. 7-9) as the Bruins went undefeated to improve to 8-0 on the year โฆ he scored at least one goal in every game, including tying his career high of four goals in wins over Wagner and at No. 13 Princeton โฆ he also had a hat trick against Air Force and scored one goal each in wins over St. Francis Brooklyn and No. 17 Brown โฆ Saveljic also recorded four steals, three field blocks and two assists during the tournament โฆย led the team in scoring with 51 goals (1.82 gpg) to rank ninth in the MPSF ... took 109 shots, converting at a 46.8 percent rate โฆ also scored a season- and career-high-tying four goals in a 12-11 loss at No. 1 USC (Nov. 10) โฆ he scored at least one goal in 22 of the 28 games he played, including 16 multiple goal games and had a season-best streak of 11 consecutive games with at least one goal โฆ also had 24 steals (led the team for the second straight year), won 23 sprints (led the team for the second straight season), 10 assists, drew 11 exclusions (tied for fifth on the team) and had nine field blocks.
2017
Played in 24 games, making 23 starts โฆ was named MPSF/KAP7ย Newcomer of the Week on Sept. 11 after scoring a total of 12 goals at the Princeton Invitational (four goals in a win over No. 11 Princeton, four goals in a win over No. 14 Brown, two goalsย in a win over No. 16 Bucknell, one goalย in a win over No. 18 St. Francis Brooklyn and one goal in a win over No. 17 George Washington) ... also named MPSF/KAP7 Newcomer of the Week on Sept. 18 after scoring four goals for the third-straight game in a win over No. 7 UC Santa Barbara, becoming the first player in league history to ever win back-to-back Newcomer of the Week awards ... led the team in scoring with 45 goals (1.75 gpg) to rank fourth in the MPSF ... took 105 shots, converting at a 42.9 percent rate โฆ scored a season- and career-high four goals in an 18-2 win over No. 14 Brown (Sept. 9, in a 14-8 win over No. 11 Princeton (Sept. 10) and in a 10-5 win over No. 7 UCSB (Sept. 15) โฆ he scored at least one goal in 22 of the 24 games he played, including 13 multiple goal games and had a personal-best and team-best stretch of 13 consecutive games with at least one goal โฆ also had 31 steals (led the team), won 25 sprints (led the team), 19 assists (5th on the team), five field blocks and earned three earned exclusions.
High School/Club
Attended Maritime School Kotorย โฆ played his club ball forย VK Primorac Kotor, which is located in Kotor, Montenegroย โฆ he led his club team in scoring in each of the last three seasons, scoring 38 goals in 14 games in 2014-15; 22 goals in 14 games in 2015-16 and 26 goals in 14 games during the 2016-17 campaignย โฆ he has been a regular figure on the Montenegro National Team, including playing in the European and World Championships โฆ ย in the World Championships, he was on the U18 team in 2014 (Istanbul, Turkey), on the U20 team in 2015 (Almaty, Kazakhstan), on the U19 team in 2016 (Podgorica, Montenegro) and on the U20 team in 2017 (Belgrade, Serbia)ย โฆ at the European Championships, he was on the U20 team in 2014 (Tbilisi, Georgia), on the U18 team in 2015 (Baku, Azerbaijan) and on the U19 team in 2016 (Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands).
Personal
Full name: Nicolas Saveljicย โฆ born in Bordeaux, Franceย โฆ his father is Niša Saveljicย and his mother isย Dijanaย Dikaย Saveljicย โฆ has one older sister, Silvanaย โฆ his father was born in Yugoslavia and played professional soccer for eight different teams as a sweeper, spanning a total of 22 years (1988-89 to 2006-07) โฆ his father also played on the Yugoslavian National Team (1995-2000), earning 32 caps, representing the country at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and at the UEFAย Euro 2000 โฆ saysย he chose to attend UCLA because, "it is one of the greatest colleges in the USA and I can get a great education while playing water polo at a high level" โฆ majoring in education.
ย
โข Peter J. Cutino Award (2020)
โข 2-time Peter J. Cutino Award Finalist (2020, 2021)
โข ACWPC National Player of the Year (2020)
โข 4-time ACWPCย All-American (First Team - 2018, 2020, Second Team - 2017, 2021)
โข 5-time All-MPSF (First Team - 2020, Second Team - 2018, 2019, 2021, Honorable Mention - 2017)
โข 3-time NCAA All-Tournament Team (First Team - 2020, Second Team - 2017, 2021)
โข NCAA Tournament MVP (2020)
โข 3-time MPSF All-Tournament Team (First Team - 2018, 2019, 2020)
โข CoSIDA Academic All-American (First Team - 2020)
โข 3-time ACWPC All-Academic Honors (Outstanding - 2020, 2021, Excellent 2019)
โข 4-time MPSF All-Academic Team (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
โข 2-time Pac-12 Fall All-Academic Team (2020, 2021)
โข 12-time UCLA Athletic Director's Honor Roll (Fall 2017, Winter 2018, Spring 2018, Winter 2019, Fall 2019, Winter 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Winter 2022)
โข 2-time MPSF/KAP7 Player of the Week (Nov. 5, 2018, Feb. 8, 2020)
โข 2-time MPSF/KAP7 Newcomer of the Week (Sept. 11, 2017, Sept. 18, 2017)
โข 3-time UCLA Student-Athlete of the Week (Sept. 11, 2018, Sept. 18, 2018, Mar. 23, 2021)
โข Maggie Gilbert Academic Perseverance Award (2019)
2021
Played in 17ย games (missed the first seven games of the season due to an undisclosed injury) โฆ led the team in scoring withย 33 goalsย on 83 shots, converting at a 39.8 percent rate โฆ his 1.8 goals per game led the team and ranked tied for 7th in the MPSF โฆ scored in 15 of the 17 games he played in, including a season-high eight consecutive games (Oct. 2 to Nov. 20)ย โฆ was sixth on the team in assists (14) to finish tied for second on the squad in total points (47)ย โฆ also led the team and ranked fourth in theย MPSF in steals (26) and ranked second in the MPSF in steals per game (1.4)ย โฆ won 20 sprints which led UCLA and ranked tied for secondย in the MPSFย โฆ won .800 of his sprints (20-5) during the season, which led the MPSF and ranked eighth in the NCAAย โฆ also drew six exclusions and added five field blocks on the year.
2020
Played in all 16 games โฆ named MPSF/KAP7 Player of the Week (Feb. 8, 2021) when he led all MPSF players in goals (11) and total points (12) at the USC Round Robin as the Bruins finished the weekend with victories over No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 USC and had an overtime loss to No. 2 California โฆ wrote himself into the MPSF record books, tying the all-time MPSF record for goals in a conference game and was one shy of tying the single-game record by an MPSF player in any game with a career-high eight goals (on 11 shots) in the win over No. 1 Stanford โฆ only two other players have scored eight goals in a game in league play (Ben Hallock, Stanford vs. California on 11/9/19 and Jeff Colyer, Long Beach State vs. UC Santa Barbara on 11/3/96) โฆ additionally, it was the most-ever goals by a Bruin since Ryder Roberts scored seven goals in a win at No. 9 Pepperdine on Oct. 22, 2015 โฆย also named the UCLA Student-Athlete of the Week on Feb. 9, 2021 for his efforts that weekย โฆ scored in 15 of the 16 games he played in, including a season-high 10 consecutive games to begin the season โฆ led the team in scoring withย 37 goals (led the MPSF, second in NCAA) on 97 shots, converting at a 38.1 percent rate โฆ his 2.3 goals per game ranked tied for the lead in the MPSF and tied for fourth in the NCAAย โฆ was third on the team in assists (10) to finish as the team's overall scoring leader with 47 points โฆ also led the team, the MPSF, and the NCAA in steals (30)ย โฆ won 15 sprints which ranked tied for first on the team, tied for secondย in the MPSF, and tied for fifth in the NCAAย โฆ won .682 of his sprints (15-7) during the seasonย โฆ also drew six exclusions and added three field blocks on the year.
2019
Played in 18 games, making eight starts โฆ earned the Maggie Gilbert Academic Perseverance Award (given to student-athletes who have shown tremendous growth throughout their academic career and demonstrated relentless perseverance and commitment to their academic endeavors) โฆ found the back of the net a team-high four times in a 14-12 win over No. 6 Pepperdine (Sept. 21) โฆ finished third on the team in scoring with 31 goals on 57 shots, converting at a 54.4 percent rate โฆ scored in 14 of the 18 contests he played in, including in seven of the last eight games of the season โฆ registered 10 multiple-goal games including four contests with a hat trick or more โฆ logged a career-high five goals in a 16-15 overtime loss to No. 1 Stanford in the semifinals of theย MPSFย Championship (Nov. 23) โฆ finished second on the team in steals (22), which ranked tied for eighth in the MPSF โฆ finished tied for first on the team in field blocks (10) and third in assists (17) โฆ led the team in sprints won for the third consecutive season, going 21-6 on the year, which was good for fifth-best in the league โฆ also logged eight exclusions drawn.
2018
Played in 28 games, making 14 starts โฆ was named MPSF/KAP7 Player of the Week on Nov. 5 after leading the Bruins to a home upset of No. 2 Stanford (Nov. 3) with a game-high and career-high-tying four goals โฆย 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) โฆ he also had one assist, drew one exclusion and won the only sprint he swam โฆ named the UCLA/Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week on Sept. 11 after leadingย UCLA in scoring with 13 goals in five games at the Princeton Invitational (Sept. 7-9) as the Bruins went undefeated to improve to 8-0 on the year โฆ he scored at least one goal in every game, including tying his career high of four goals in wins over Wagner and at No. 13 Princeton โฆ he also had a hat trick against Air Force and scored one goal each in wins over St. Francis Brooklyn and No. 17 Brown โฆ Saveljic also recorded four steals, three field blocks and two assists during the tournament โฆย led the team in scoring with 51 goals (1.82 gpg) to rank ninth in the MPSF ... took 109 shots, converting at a 46.8 percent rate โฆ also scored a season- and career-high-tying four goals in a 12-11 loss at No. 1 USC (Nov. 10) โฆ he scored at least one goal in 22 of the 28 games he played, including 16 multiple goal games and had a season-best streak of 11 consecutive games with at least one goal โฆ also had 24 steals (led the team for the second straight year), won 23 sprints (led the team for the second straight season), 10 assists, drew 11 exclusions (tied for fifth on the team) and had nine field blocks.
2017
Played in 24 games, making 23 starts โฆ was named MPSF/KAP7ย Newcomer of the Week on Sept. 11 after scoring a total of 12 goals at the Princeton Invitational (four goals in a win over No. 11 Princeton, four goals in a win over No. 14 Brown, two goalsย in a win over No. 16 Bucknell, one goalย in a win over No. 18 St. Francis Brooklyn and one goal in a win over No. 17 George Washington) ... also named MPSF/KAP7 Newcomer of the Week on Sept. 18 after scoring four goals for the third-straight game in a win over No. 7 UC Santa Barbara, becoming the first player in league history to ever win back-to-back Newcomer of the Week awards ... led the team in scoring with 45 goals (1.75 gpg) to rank fourth in the MPSF ... took 105 shots, converting at a 42.9 percent rate โฆ scored a season- and career-high four goals in an 18-2 win over No. 14 Brown (Sept. 9, in a 14-8 win over No. 11 Princeton (Sept. 10) and in a 10-5 win over No. 7 UCSB (Sept. 15) โฆ he scored at least one goal in 22 of the 24 games he played, including 13 multiple goal games and had a personal-best and team-best stretch of 13 consecutive games with at least one goal โฆ also had 31 steals (led the team), won 25 sprints (led the team), 19 assists (5th on the team), five field blocks and earned three earned exclusions.
High School/Club
Attended Maritime School Kotorย โฆ played his club ball forย VK Primorac Kotor, which is located in Kotor, Montenegroย โฆ he led his club team in scoring in each of the last three seasons, scoring 38 goals in 14 games in 2014-15; 22 goals in 14 games in 2015-16 and 26 goals in 14 games during the 2016-17 campaignย โฆ he has been a regular figure on the Montenegro National Team, including playing in the European and World Championships โฆ ย in the World Championships, he was on the U18 team in 2014 (Istanbul, Turkey), on the U20 team in 2015 (Almaty, Kazakhstan), on the U19 team in 2016 (Podgorica, Montenegro) and on the U20 team in 2017 (Belgrade, Serbia)ย โฆ at the European Championships, he was on the U20 team in 2014 (Tbilisi, Georgia), on the U18 team in 2015 (Baku, Azerbaijan) and on the U19 team in 2016 (Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands).
Personal
Full name: Nicolas Saveljicย โฆ born in Bordeaux, Franceย โฆ his father is Niša Saveljicย and his mother isย Dijanaย Dikaย Saveljicย โฆ has one older sister, Silvanaย โฆ his father was born in Yugoslavia and played professional soccer for eight different teams as a sweeper, spanning a total of 22 years (1988-89 to 2006-07) โฆ his father also played on the Yugoslavian National Team (1995-2000), earning 32 caps, representing the country at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and at the UEFAย Euro 2000 โฆ saysย he chose to attend UCLA because, "it is one of the greatest colleges in the USA and I can get a great education while playing water polo at a high level" โฆ majoring in education.
ย
| Nicolas Saveljic's Career Statistics | ||||||||
| Year | GP | GOALS | SHOTS | PCT | AST | STL | BLK | EE |
| 2017 | 24 | 45 | 105 | .429 | 19 | 31 | 5 | 3 |
| 2018 | 28 | 51 | 109 | .468 | 10 | 24 | 9 | 11 |
| 2019 | 18 | 31 | 57 | .544 | 17 | 22 | 10 | 8 |
| 2020 | 16 | 37 | 97 | .381 | 10 | 30 | 3 | 6 |
| 2021 | 17 | 33 | 83 | .398 | 14 | 26 | 5 | 6 |
| Totals | 103 | 197 | 451 | .437 | 70 | 133 | 32 | 34 |
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