Oct. 21, 2015 DAVIS, Calif. - Standard is the two-day, four-game tournament in the first month of the collegiate water polo season, but rarely does such a weekend arise once October rolls around. Nonetheless, the 10th-ranked UC Davis men gear up for precisely that environment as it heads to Santa Clara's annual Rodeo tournament.
The Aggies will face four straight top-20 opponents at Sullivan Aquatic Center this Saturday and Sunday: No. 11 Brown, No. 14 Bucknell, No. 17 St. Francis and No. 19 Harvard.
For third-year head coach Daniel Leyson, this weekend stands as a major test for his team. In the two previous visits, UC Davis went 2-2 at the tournament. In 2013, Leyson's rookie year with UC Davis, the team suffered upsets to Harvard and Brown on the Sunday portion of the tournament. Last year, the Aggies lost a Saturday upset to Brown then opened Sunday with a one-goal setback to then-unranked Bucknell.
Furthermore, Leyson knows his team cannot take any team for granted. In last Saturday's Western Water Polo Association game against Santa Clara, the Aggies trailed by as much as 7-4 in the second quarter before a huge third quarter propelled them to a 15-10 victory. UC Davis then tied a season high for goals in Sunday's 20-7 win over Concordia.
Offensively, the Aggies had their 'A' game going. Senior Sean Grab and freshman Sasa Antunovic scored six goals each for the weekend. Freshman lefty Ido Goldschmidt assisted on 10 of the team's 35 goals, plus he scored the equalizer in the comeback run against the Broncos. Junior Lyle Kipp tied his career high of four goals against CUI while redshirt freshman Brock Gordon recorded his first collegiate hat trick. However, Leyson was not satisfied with the defensive effort against Santa Clara, particularly in the first half.
"I definitely think our mental approach and our focus were not there, and that includes following out scouting report and our game plan," said Leyson. "But above everything else, our commitment to exerting the amount of energy required to play well was not there at all. They were beating us all over the pool and they were passing the ball easily. We're going to lose games if we play that way, so that has to get better."
Thus, the upcoming Rodeo tournament provides another test to see if the Aggies can sustain a consistent effort for four games. With the likes of those four CWPA teams, there are no breaks. There is no "gimmie" game. The Bears, who climbed into a tie for No. 10 in the national poll last week, have won nine straight games. The Bison upset Brown at its own tournament earlier in the year. The Crimson knocked then-No. 10 Princeton out of the Ivy League Championship on Sunday. The Terriers have played each of the other opponents close, including a 12-11 win over Harvard in conference play.
While similar in strength, each brings a unique style of play, from a region of the country that already has a different brand of water polo to what UC Davis is accustomed to. "These are all really good, strong, physical teams," said Leyson. "They're not always the most experienced players but they play hard. This will be a big test for us and a good opportunity for us to get better. Hopefully, this will get us ready to knock out the last three games of the season."
Indeed, the Rodeo also marks the home stretch to the regular season. After this tournament are three conference games: the home finale against Fresno Pacific on October 30, then tough road games at UC San Diego and Loyola Marymount the following weekend. Leyson looks for his team to continue polishing its game so that it will be at its strongest when the WWPA Championship arrives on November 20. This tournament provides an excellent arena for the Aggies to elevate their game.
"There are some areas of our game that I want to continue to improve, and our players need to be dedicated to improve everyday at practice. There is still a lot to work on, so we'd better be ready to go," said Leyson.
Each day of the Rodeo tournament features a morning contest followed by a short rest before a 1:20 afternoon start. Brown and Bucknell make up the Saturday slate while St. Francis and Harvard represent the Sunday foes.
SKIP SHOTS: Freshman Sasa Antunovic scored five goals in the Aggies' win at Air Force on Oct. 3, then matched that against Santa Clara last Saturday, becoming the first UC Davis player to post back-to-back five-goal games since Mike Gotelli scored eight vs. Pomona-Pitzer and six vs. SCU in October of 1997... How long ago was that? Antunovic was roughly 16 months old when it happened... Gotelli is the only player in the program's recorded era (since 1993) to score 100 or more goals in a two-year career... The next should be senior Sean Grab, who enters the upcoming weekend with 97... The Golden West College transfer scored 64 last year and has a team-high 33 this year... Speaking of milestones, sophomore GK Spencer Creed surpassed his 400th save over the weekend... He now has 411 for his career, fourth in the program's recorded era (since 1993)... Freshman Ido Goldschmidt has a team-high 55 points, mostly due to 32 assists... He needs three to pass Russell Hampton (2011) for fifth, six to pass Matt Richardson (2009) for fourth on the school season list... The remaining targets: Grab (2014) and Matt Vowell (2012) tied for second with 43, then Grant Meunter's school record of 44 (2008).
UP NEXT: No. 11 BROWN (15-3) has not lost a game since falling to Pacific, 16-5, back on September 13... With 24 scores, junior Yahel Murvitz-Lahav leads four Bears with 20 or more goals this year... Murvitz was a teammate of the Aggies' Goldschmidt on the Israel National Team... No. 14 BUCKNELL (11-5) slipped a spot in the national rankings after losing to unranked Navy last Saturday... Senior attacker Stefan Aleksic, the Bison's leading scorer with 37, had three goals and three assists in the loss to the Mids... Sophomore center Jeff Hagen has shot 31-for-59 (.525) with 44 drawn exclusions... The most familiar face on the Bucknell bench will be assistant coach Bret Lathrope, who served as a volunteer assistant coach for UC Davis last year... No. 17 ST. FRANCIS (8-5) snapped its five-game win streak to Brown last Saturday in a 14-11 loss... Juniors Bora Dimitrov and Ilija Djuretic combined for nine of those goals... Djuretic and freshman Bogdan Kostic - two of five Serbian players on the roster - share the Terrier team lead with 27 goals each... No. 19 HARVARD (9-8) came the closest to interrupting Brown's nine-game winning streak with a 10-9 overtime thriller back on September 19... Senior attacker Noah Harrison leads the Crimson with 36 goals, 27 assists and 34 steals.... Goalies Anthony Ridgley and Colin Woolway have split the netminding duties with 73 and 66 saves, respectively... If the name Woolway rings a bell to UC Davis fans, it is due to work in front of a different tyle of net: Colin's cousin Jenny Woolway holds the Aggie volleyball career record for assists.
