No. 2 UCLA Set to Compete at Stanford Invitational

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LOS ANGELES – No. 2 UCLA (4-0, 0-0 MPSF) heads to the Bay Area to compete in the Stanford Invitational this weekend. The Bruins will have only one countable game when they face No. 18 San José State (0-1, 0-0 GCC) on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 9:00 a.m. PT at Avery Aquatic Center. The Bruins will then face Pro Recco, the top professional team in Italy at 10:30 a.m. PT and again at 6:30 p.m. PT in exhibition play. The Bruins will also play in two more exhibition games on Sunday, Sept. 15, when they face the Olympic Club at 10:00 a.m. PT and conclude play with Pro Recco again at 3:00 p.m. PT. The Bruins and the Spartans kick off the Invitational on Saturday with the gates opening at 8:00 a.m. PT. Admission is $25 for adults, and $15 for Youth/Seniors.

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Saturday, September 14 (Stanford Invitational – Avery Aquatic Center)
9:00 AM PT – No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 18 San José State
10:30 AM PT – No. 2 UCLA vs. Pro Recco (Exhibition)
6:30 PM PT – No. 2 UCLA vs. Pro Recco (Exhibition)

Sunday, September 15 (Stanford Invitational – Avery Aquatic Center)
10:00 AM PT – No. 2 UCLA vs. Olympic Club (Exhibition)
3:00 PM PT – No. 2 UCLA vs. Pro Recco (Exhibition)

SERIES HISTORY
This is the 14th meeting all-time between UCLA and San José State with the Bruins holding a 12-1 lead in the series. The Bruins won the first meeting in the series in 1965, 13-6. The Spartans picked up their only win in the series in 1968, 6-2. The Bruins have won the last eight meetings, including last year's encounter at UCLA, 11-8 (Oct. 6).

SUDDEN IMPACT
A total of seven different players scored their first goals as a Bruin last week 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 welcomes 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.

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 Kacura (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) 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 Saveljic headline UCLA's veteran group as both were named first 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 51 goals (1.82 gpg) and also led the Bruins in steals with 24 and in sprints won (23-8).

The Bruins also return three other starters in junior utility Evan Rosenfeld and sophomore attackers Jake Cavano and Ashworth Molthen. Rosenfeld was the only Bruin named second team All-American. He was also named 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). 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). Molthen 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).

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 the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings. 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. 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 in multiple rankings 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's Best Colleges ranking and 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 its 2019 World University Rankings and No. 2 (No. 9 overall) in its 2019 World Reputation Rankings.

COACH/STAFF CHANGES
During the offseason, UCLA men's water polo hired Bret Lathrope to the post of 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 of Jason Falitz 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 254-42 (.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 Wright 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.

RECAPPING 2018
Overall Record: 23-5 | Final Ranking: 3rd | NCAA Finish: T-3rd | MPSF 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's CWPA National Men's Varsity Top 20 Poll (94 points), released on Sept. 11.

2019 MEN'S VARSITY TOP 20 (Week 1 - Sept. 11)
Rank	Team	2019 Preseason Poll	Points
1	USC	1	96
2	UCLA	2 (T)	94
3	Stanford	2 (T)	93
4	UC Santa Barbara	7 (T)	87
5	California	4	77
6	Pacific	5 (T)	76
7	Long Beach State	5 (T)	71
8	Pepperdine	7 (T)	66
9 (T)	UC Irvine	13	58
9 (T)	UC San Diego	9	58
11	UC Davis	10	51
12 (T)	Harvard	11	42
12 (T)	Princeton	12	42
14	Bucknell	16 (T)	34
15	George Washington	15	29
16	Loyola Marymount	14	28
17	St. Francis College Brooklyn	RV	14
18	San José State	18	13
19	Brown	20	11
20	Cal Baptist	16 (T)	6
RV	Pomona-Pitzer	19	5
RV	Santa Clara	RV	3
RV	Air Force	RV	2

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No. 2 UCLA Set to Compete at Stanford Invitational

2019 MEN'S VARSITY TOP 20 (Week 1 - Sept. 11)

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Players Mentioned

Giorgio Alessandria

Max Berg

Felix Brozyna-Vilim

Jake Cavano

Tega Cheishvili

Garrett Danner

Gabe Discipulo

Michael Graner

Jack Grover

Tommy Gruwell

Chase Honaker

Max Irving

Bailey Jarvis

Matthew Kacura

Jack Larsen

Bernardo Maurizi

Ashworth Molthen

Will Morgan

Quinten Osborne

Brock Petersen

Chase Petersen

Cameron Reagan

Andy Rodgers

Danny Roland

Evan Rosenfeld

Nicolas Saveljic

Ryan Sawyer

David Stiling

Chasen Travisano

Jack White

Henry Wilde

Alex Wolf

University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics

No. 2 UCLA Set to Compete at Stanford Invitational

2019 MEN'S VARSITY TOP 20 (Week 1 - Sept. 11)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Giorgio Alessandria

Max Berg

Felix Brozyna-Vilim

Jake Cavano

Tega Cheishvili

Garrett Danner

Gabe Discipulo

Michael Graner

Jack Grover

Tommy Gruwell

Chase Honaker

Max Irving

Bailey Jarvis

Matthew Kacura

Jack Larsen

Bernardo Maurizi

Ashworth Molthen

Will Morgan

Quinten Osborne

Brock Petersen

Chase Petersen

Cameron Reagan

Andy Rodgers

Danny Roland

Evan Rosenfeld

Nicolas Saveljic

Ryan Sawyer

David Stiling

Chasen Travisano

Jack White

Henry Wilde

Alex Wolf

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