No. 1 UCLA Hosts Three Games on Oct. 1

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LOS ANGELES – No. 1 UCLA (15-0) returns home this weekend to host a pair of non-conference games in 13th-ranked UC Irvine (7-5) at Noon and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (3-8) at 2:00 p.m. at Spieker Aquatics Center. After both of those contests, the Bruins will host its Annual Alumni Game at 3:00 p.m.

Bruin Bash and Alumni Game is This Weekend!
The two-time defending NCAA championship men's water polo team will hold its annual Alumni Day and Bruin Bash with an Alumni Game at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1 at Spieker Aquatics Center. The Bruins would love to have your support this weekend for two exciting collegiate water polo contests, followed by the Annual Alumni Game. After those contests, the Bruin Bash will begin at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1 at the W Hotel in Westwood, Calif., at the STK Patio of the W Hotel in Westwood at 930 Hilgard Ave., Los Angeles, Calif., 90024. To play in the Alumni Game, or attend the Bruin Bash or to simply make a donation to support your UCLA men's water polo program, click here.

Series Records
The Bruins are 75-59-1 all-time against UC Irvine and 15-0 all-time vs. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Last year, the Bruins defeated the Anteaters 13-4 in the quarterfinals of the SoCal Invitational (Oct. 10) and 15-8 in MPSF play at UC Irvine (Oct. 25). The Bruins also posted a 12-4 win at home over CMS last season (Sept. 26).

UCLA Off to Hot Start
UCLA is 15-0 in 2016, running its winning streak to 48 games, the second-longest in school history. With two wins this weekend, the Bruins will tie the all-time UCLA men's water polo record for consecutive victories at 50 (1964-68) and will pull to within one of the all-time NCAA record of 51, set by Stanford from 1985-87. Next week, UCLA travels to No. 4 Pacific for a chance to match the all-time national record with a game at Noon on Saturday, Oct. 8. Should the Bruins win all three aforementioned contests, they will attempt to break the NCAA record on Sunday, Oct. 9 at No. 11 UC Davis at Noon.

Fellner Named MPSF/Kap7 Player of the Week
UCLA senior Patrick Fellner (Orinda, CA/Miramonte HS) was named the MPSF/Kap7 Player of the Week today as announced by the league. He scored nine goals and added two assists as the Bruins went 4-0 in winning the Mountain Pacific Invitational (Sept. 23-25). Fellner scored four goals in the 11-5 win over No. 10 Pepperdine and in the 8-5 semifinal win over No. 4 Pacific. Three of his goals against Pacific were in the third quarter, after UCLA trailed 4-3 at the half. Fellner once again rose to the occasion to close the tournament, scoring the final goal of the 10-7 championship win over No. 3 California, as the defense went to work after that to secure the Bruins' 48th-consecutive win. This is Fellner's first career MPSF weekly honor.

Ruzic Named MPSF/Kap7 Player of the Week
UCLA junior Aleksandar Ruzic (Rolling Hills, CA/Palos Verdes HS) was named the MPSF/Kap7 Player of the Week today as announced by the league. He totaled 21 saves while allowing nine goals over two wins last week, including a career-high and MPSF season-high 17 saves in the Bruins' 8-6 overtime win at No. 7 Long Beach State (Sept. 17). Ruzic more than doubled his previous career-best of eight saves, established three other times, while also tallying a career-high five steals to go with one assist against the 49ers.

Freshmen Making Immediate Impact
Two UCLA true freshmen have earned caps and are making immediate impacts with the Bruins in 2016. Jake Simpson is currently eighth on the team in scoring after 12 games with 11 goals. He already has three multiple-goal games and has scored in eight of the 12 games he has played. He has tallied six assists, six steals and has won three sprints so far this season. James Vlachonassios has scored seven goals (15th on the squad) in his first 13 games, including a hat trick in the win over Redlands (Sept. 4). He has registered 12 assists (tied for fifth) and seven steals on the year.

Fellner On Fire
Senior Patrick Fellner is currently leading the team in scoring with 24 goals (5th in the MPSF) and has played in 12 of 15 games with seven starts. He is eighth on the team in assists (10) and is tied for third on the squad in steals (12). Fellner ranks fifth in exclusions (nine) and has won six sprints (fourth on the team). He has scored at least one goal in each of the last 10 games he has played, the longest active streak on the team.

Picking Up Where He Left Off
Senior Ryder Roberts is currently second on the team in scoring with 18 goals (tied for 10th in the MPSF) and has played in 12 of 15 games with nine starts. He is tied for second on the team in assists (18) and has won eight sprints (2nd on the squad). Roberts has also been key on defense for the Bruins, leading the team in steals (22) and field blocks (9). Roberts led UCLA in scoring a year ago with 57 goals. He has 141 career goals and he will crack the UCLA all-time Top 10 list on his next goal (Ben Hohl, Daniel McClintick and Chris Kellerman are all tied with 142).

Fuentes A Force
Senior Joey Fuentes is tied for third on the squad in scoring with 17 goals and has played in all 15 games, making three starts. Last week he led the Bruins in scoring with four goals in the 18-7 win over Pomona-Pitzer (Sept. 23). Fuentes leads the team in assists (21) and has also registered 12 steals (tied for 3rd) and won seven sprints (3rd on the team). He has scored at least one goal in 10 of the 15 games he has played in.

Ramirez Surging
Senior Chancellor Ramirez is currently sixth in scoring for the Bruins with 13 goals and has played in 12 of 15 games with five starts. He recently led the Bruins in scoring with five goals including a hat trick in the 9-3 win over No. 9 Pepperdine (Sept. 16). He has also registered seven assists, five steals and three field blocks on the year.

The Irving Impact
Junior Max Irving is tied for third on the team with 17 goals and has played in 11 of 15 games with eight starts. Last weekend he led the Bruins in scoring with a hat trick in the 10-7 win over No. 2 Cal in the championship game of the Mountain Pacific Invitational (Sept. 25). Irving has also registered 18 assists (tied for 2nd on the team), five steals and three field blocks. He has registered four hat tricks on the year, a team high.

Bruins Solid In The Cage
In the early going of 2016, the Bruins have used three different goalkeepers, including Cutino Award winner and last year's league (MPSF) and National Player of the Year, Garrett Danner. So far with just 18.44 quarters (4.61 games) played, he is averaging 11.71 saves per game while holding a 4.99 goals against average. Junior Aleksandar Ruzic has spent the most time in the cage, playing 38.56 quarters (9.64 games) while averaging 8.20 saves per game to go with a 5.29 goals against average. Redshirt freshman Jonathan Van De Velde played the second half of the Bruins' win over Chapman and has a saves average of 10.0 per game to go with his team-best 2.00 goals against average.

Adjustments Made
UCLA has only allowed 16 goals in the third period over the first 15 games, its best defensive period, outscoring its opposition 63-16 in that span.

Hat Tricks Galore
UCLA has had at least one hat trick in 14 of 15 games and multiple hat tricks in five of the fifteen contests. Additionally, the Bruins had four hat tricks in the 16-5 win over St. Francis Brooklyn as Ryder Roberts, Matt Farmer, Max Irving and Patrick Fellner each scored three goals against the Terriers.

Wright on Deck
UCLA Head Coach Adam Wright, the 2014 and 2015 ACWPC Coach of the Year, is in his eighth season in 2016 at the helm of the Bruins' program, sporting an overall record of 196-30 (.867), including a 48-9 (.842) mark in MPSF action. He was won two NCAA titles as a coach (2014 and 2015) and two as a player (1999 & 2000).

Recapping 2015
The Bruins ended the year with a 30-0 record and went a perfect 9-0 in the MPSF for its second-consecutive undefeated league season. UCLA went 4-0 on the year against USC, including a 10-7 victory in the NCAA Championship game to win its second straight NCAA title, the program's 10th overall and the school's 113th. The undefeated season was the first for UCLA since the 1969 team went 19-0, marking the fourth undefeated season all-time in NCAA men's water polo history. The Bruins enter 2016 with a 33-game winning streak (second-longest in school history) and a 24-game winning streak in the MPSF, a school record. The school record for consecutive overall wins is 50 (1964-68).

Picked to Win MPSF
For the second-straight year, UCLA has finished on top of the MPSF Men's Water Polo Preseason Coaches' poll, collecting the maximum possible 16 points and four first-place votes. Taking second in this year's poll is USC with 13 points and one first-place vote. National runners-up the last two years, the Trojans have reached the NCAA Championship game the last 11 seasons, winning seven titles in that span. They return their top seven scorers from last year, including All-Americans Blake Edwards (68 goals; No. 3 MPSF), Grant Stein, Lachlan Edwards, and Matteo Morelli. Olympians Thomas Dunstan (newcomer) and goalkeeper McQuin Baron are also on the roster. Finishing in the middle of the poll was California with 10 points, coming off a third-place finish at the NCAA Championship in 2015. U.S. Olympian Luca Cupido returns for the Bears, named first-team All-American and NCAA All-Tournament last year. Also back is the reigning MPSF Newcomer of the Year Johnny Hooper (74 goals; No. 2 MPSF), as well as all-conference performers Odysseas Masmanidis (66 goals) and goalkeeper Lazar Andric. Stanford placed fourth in the poll with seven points. Back is All-American Goalkeeper Drew Holland. He enters 2016 with 742 career saves, two away from the school record and 12 away from breaking into the MPSF's all-time top-10. While three of its top-four scorers have graduated (including MPSF all-time leading scorer Bret Bonanni), the Cardinal welcome back Reid Chase (38 goals), Cody Smith, and Connor Stapleton, along with U.S. Olympian Ben Hallock as part of a six-member incoming class. Rounding out the poll of the five-team conference is first-year member Penn State Behrend. The Lions will solely compete in the MPSF Championship Tournament, not in the MPSF's regular season conference schedule. They return All-American Grant Garcia along with Troy Valkusky, and bring in top newcomers Andre Sardaryzadeh, Isaak Hatopp, and Greg Levet. Located in Erie, Pa., NCAA Division III Penn State Behrend comes to the MPSF from the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA).

UCLA Hosting 2016 MPSF Championship
UCLA is this year's site of the 2016 MPSF Championship Tournament, November 18-20, where all five teams will compete for entry to the NCAA Tournament. California will host NCAA's December 3-4. Since its inaugural season of 1992, the MPSF has captured all 24 NCAA titles in men's water polo.

Polling UCLA
The UCLA Bruins, which have been ranked at No. 1 for 22 consecutive weeks, dating back to week 13 of the 2014 poll (Dec. 3, 2014), were tabbed as the top-ranked team entering the 2016 season in the Collegiate Water Polo Association's (CWPA) Preseason Poll. The Bruins retained top billing this week (Sept. 28) and have owned that spot in 28 of the last 34 weekly polls.

2016 Men's Varsity Top 20 (Week 4/Sept. 28)
Rank	Team	Last Week	Points
1	UCLA	1	100
2	California	3	95
3	USC	2	90
4	Pacific	4	85
5	Stanford	5	80
6	Long Beach State	7	74
7	UC Santa Barbara	6	67
8	Harvard	8	66
9	Pepperdine	10	58
10	UC Davis	11	49
10	Bucknell	13	49
12	UC San Diego	14	42
13	UC Irvine	8	35
14	Princeton	11	34
15	Brown	15	31
16	Cal Baptist	16	27
17	George Washington	16	24
18	Air Force Academy	RV	18
19	Pomona-Pitzer	NR	9
20	Santa Clara	19	7

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No. 1 UCLA Hosts Three Games on Oct. 1

2016 Men's Varsity Top 20 (Week 4/Sept. 28)

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Players Mentioned

Garrett Danner

Matt Farmer

Patrick Fellner

Joey Fuentes

Max Irving

Daniel McClintick

Chancellor Ramirez

Ryder Roberts

Aleksandar Ruzic

Jake Simpson

Jonathan Van De Velde

James Vlachonassios

University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics

No. 1 UCLA Hosts Three Games on Oct. 1

2016 Men's Varsity Top 20 (Week 4/Sept. 28)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Garrett Danner

Matt Farmer

Patrick Fellner

Joey Fuentes

Max Irving

Daniel McClintick

Chancellor Ramirez

Ryder Roberts

Aleksandar Ruzic

Jake Simpson

Jonathan Van De Velde

James Vlachonassios

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