Saturday, October 28
Los Angeles, CA
5:00 PM
UCLA
vs
Pacific
Senior Matt Farmer led the Bruins with three goals in this year's earlier win over Pacific.
Photo by: Don Liebig, UCLA Photography
No. 3 UCLA Hosts No. 5 Pacific on Saturday
October 26, 2017 | Men's Water Polo
The Bruins defeated Pacific earlier in the year, 9-8, at the Mountain Pacific Invitational.
SOCIAL MEDIA: MWP on Twitter | MWP on Facebook | MWP on Instagram
ON DECK THIS WEEK
For the second-straight week, third-ranked UCLA (15-2) is involved in the biggest game of the week in collegiate water polo, when it hosts No. 5 Pacific (14-3) on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 5:00 p.m. PT at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center.
SERIES HISTORY
This is the 52nd meeting between UCLA and Pacific with the Bruins dominating the all-time series, 47-4. UCLA has won the last six meetings, including a 9-8 thriller earlier this year in the quarterfinals of the Mountain Pacific Invitational at USC on Sept. 23. Pacific's last win was in the third-place game of the 2013 MPSF Tournament at Pacific, 10-9, on Dec. 1, 2013.
LAST TIME OUT VS. PACIFIC
The fourth-ranked UCLA Bruins staved off an upset bid from No. 5 Pacific, to record a 9-8 victory at USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center in the quarterfinals of the Mountain Pacific Invitational (Sept. 23). The Bruins improved to 10-0 while the Tigers dropped to 9-2 on the year. Seniors Matt Farmer and Alex Roelse and freshman Evan Rosenfeld led the Bruins in scoring with two goals apiece. Redshirt sophomore Alex Wolf played the entire game in goal, registering 11 saves, one steal and one assist while surrendering eight goals. Luke Pavillard led the Tigers with four goals against the Bruins. Later that same day, UCLA stunned No. 1 Cal by an identical 9-8 score in overtime in the semifinals. The Bruins would go on to win the title with an explosive 13-11 victory at No. 2 USC the following day.
REHASHING LAST WEEK
Third-ranked California (16-1, 1-0) used a strong third quarter to power past No. 2 UCLA (15-2, 0-1) in the MPSF opener for both teams on Saturday morning, winning 12-9 on the Pac-12 Networks at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center. UCLA fell to 85-67-1 all-time against California. Senior Matt Farmer tied for game-high scoring honors, leading the Bruins with a hat trick. Freshman Nicolas Saveljic scored twice for UCLA while redshirt sophomore Alex Wolf played the entire game in goal, registering eight saves while surrendering 12 goals. Odysseas Masmanidis led the Golden Bears with a hat trick.
COACHING CHANGES
The UCLA men's water polo team has hired Bruin standout Ryder Roberts to the post of assistant coach and has promoted Jason Falitz to associate head coach, head coach Adam Wright announced on Aug. 16, 2017.
SUDDEN IMPACT
Two of UCLA's top three scorers are freshmen through the first 17 games of the 2017 season. True freshman Nicolas Saveljic (6-7, ATK, Kotor, Montenegro) leads UCLA in scoring with 33 goals (2.20 goals per game), which ranks 4th in the MPSF. He has scored at least one goal in 15 of the 16 games he has played (played only one quarter in the 20-9 win over No. 17 Cal Baptist (Oct. 13) and failed to score on only one shot). He also leads the team in steals (22) and in sprints won (15-of-22). True freshman Chasen Travisano (6-2, ATK, Glendora, Calif., Damien HS), is third on the team in scoring with 23 goals (1.35 goals per game), which ranks 15th in the MPSF. He is third on the team in assists (18) and is also third in sprints won (6-of-12).
THE WRIGHT STUFF
Adam Wright is in his ninth season as UCLA's head men's water polo coach in 2017 with an overall record of 221-34 (.867) and an MPSF mark of 50-11 (.820). His teams earned perfect APR (Academic Progress Rate) scores of 1,000 in 2014 and 2015 while winning the school's 112th and 113th NCAA Championships. On July 20, 2017, UCLA Director of Athletics, Dan Guerrero, announced that Wright will now guide both the UCLA men's and women's water polo teams.
KEEPERS OF THE STREAK
During the 2016 season, UCLA set school, conference and national records for consecutive wins (57) in collegiate men's water polo. The 57-game winning streak was the second-longest streak among all sports at UCLA (men's basketball won 88 consecutive games from 1971-74). The Bruins finished the season 25-3 overall. The 57 straight victories dated back to the 2014 campaign, UCLA's first of two consecutive national titles. The Bruins also won an MPSF and UCLA record 26 straight league games dating back to the 2013 season.
Players Mentioned
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATK
/ Men's Water PoloUCLA Men's Water Polo Ring Reveal
Wednesday, August 27
2024 UCLA Men's Water Polo NCAA Champions
Thursday, December 12
Highlights - UCLA M. Water Polo Celebrates NCAA Title
Sunday, December 08
Highlights - UCLA M. Water Polo vs. USC, NCAA Championship (Dec. 8, 2024)
Sunday, December 08