LA JOLLA, Calif. – A ten-goal second half propelled the 13th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team to a commanding 19-7 conference win against Fresno Pacific Friday evening on Senior Night at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
Five Triton seniors,
Jack Ranj,
Aram Nordanyan,
Karlo Krmek,
Calder Hilde-Jones, and
Alex Zamanian, alongside their respective families were honored before the match.
The Tritons improve to 11-8 overall and 4-2 in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The Sunbirds dropped to 6-19 and 2-4.
"Senior night is always an emotional night for me and the entire team," said UC San Diego water polo head coach
Denny Harper. "I could feel from the start that the vibe was good... and I'm totally stoked that we won on Senior Night."
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HOW IT HAPPENED
With just a one goal advantage (3-2) after the opening quarter, UC San Diego netted six goals in the second period and held Fresno Pacific to just one goal to take a 9-3 lead at halftime.
The Tritons out-scored the Sunbirds 4-1 in the third period, again holding the Sunbirds to a single goal, bringing the score to 13-4. They added six more goals in the fourth quarter to account for the 19-7 win.
All five seniors started in the pool for the UC San Diego. Redshirt Sophomore
Max Carrillo and freshman
Rhys Bugelli led UC San Diego offensively, with three goals apiece. Redshirt freshman
Miles Wilson lead the team in points with five- 2 goals, 3 assists. Buggelli tallied four points and a three-point trifecta was in order for junior
Vedran Latkovic (2 goals, 1 ast), Carrillo (3 goals) and redshirt freshman
Max Abravanel (1 goal, 2 ast).
In total, 12 Tritons scored in the game as the team held a 43-24 advantage in shots.
UC San Diego won all four sprints, with four different sprinters in
Kaden Likins,
Brendan Nugent,
Manuel Augusto, and Bugelli.
Three Triton goalkeepers checked into the match on Friday evening. Sophomore
Alexander Nemeth totaled three saves, three steals and an assist in the first half.
Bennett Kienast and
Logan Estes split time in the second half, each with two saves. Kienast also recorded one steal and one assist.
Fresno Pacific got three goals from Bodhi Bowden with three other Sunbirds scoring. Keeper Clay Maroney finished with 16 saves.
UP NEXT
The Tritons head back out on the road after a month of home matchups, traveling to Santa Clara for a faceoff with the Broncos Thursday, November 4 at 2 p.m.
Later in November, UC San Diego will compete in the WWPA tournament in Davis.
For the team's full season schedule, click
here.
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About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.
