RIVERSIDE, Calif. — For the third time in the last four years, the UC Davis men's water polo team are champions of the Western Water Polo Association.
Kyle Reilly finished with two goals and a pair of assists, while senior
Holden Tamblyn finished with a goal and three assists for a four-point day, as the top-seeded and No. 10-ranked Aggies sprinted past No. 11 UC San Diego for a 14-5 victory in the title match on Sunday afternoon at the Lancer Aquatics Center in Riverside, Calif.
UC Davis won its ninth consecutive match, improving to 16-7 overall and earning a berth to the National Collegiate Championship. The Aggies won back-to-back conference crowns in 2016 and 2017, dropping a pair of one-goal decisions in the national tournament to Harvard and Pacific, respectively, in each of those years.
The Tritons finished the year at 20-8 overall, led by a pair of first quarter goals from Karlo Krmek.
Reilly, an all-tournament second-team selection, was one of five UC Davis players to finish with a pair of goals on the day, joined by
Spencer Towill,
Nir Gross,
Yurii Hanley, and
Max Somple — just a small part of a group of nine Aggies to find the back of the cage.
Junior goalkeeper and Tournament Most Valuable Player
Jonah Addington paced a UC Davis defense that limited the preseason favorite Tritons to just 5-of-25 (.200) shooting on the day, making 14 saves and adding a steal on the day. Tamblyn and
Jack Stafford were named the all-tournament first team to complete the Aggies' award haul on the day.
Both teams were feeling each other out in a tight first quarter as UCSD's Jack Turner made three stops in net before the Aggies finally broke the seal on a goal by Towill at the 5:21 mark for the 1-0 lead.
Ian Ambidge added another 40 seconds later for the two-goal advantage before the Tritons evened things up on Krmek's two scores at 4:28 and 2:12.
Reilly then found the back of the cage for the first time on the day with under a minute to play in the opening quarter for the 3-2 lead.
Just 54 seconds into the second quarter, Jackson Ranj brought UC San Diego level with his only score of the day, but that would by as close as the Tritons would come the rest of the day.
Ambidge fed
Michael Plastino for the go-ahead score at the 6:23 mark and the Aggies were off to the races, outscoring UCSD, 5-1, in the second quarter en route to an 8-3 halftime advantage and UC Davis never looked back.
Somple and Gross scored 50 seconds apart to start the third quarter, with the latter adding his second with 2:23 to play in the period, and Addington stopped his second five-meter shot of the day just before the end of the third to maintain an 11-3 advantage heading into the final eight minutes.
There, Somple and Hanley found the back of the cage to start the fourth, and Reilly added the bow on top with 3:25 to play to cap the scoring.
UC Davis shot 54 percent (14-for-26) for the day, while holding UC San Diego to just 1-for-8 on the powerplay and denying the Tritons twice on five-meter penalties.
The Aggies now await the pairings for the National Collegiate Water Polo Championship, which will be hosted by Pacific on Dec. 7-8 at the Chris Kjeldsen Aquatic Center in Stockton, Calif.
#10 UC DAVIS 14, #11 UC SAN DIEGO 5
UCSD — 2-1-1-1 — 5
UCD — 3-5-3-3 — 14
UC DAVIS GOALS: Kyle Reilly 2,
Spencer Towill 2,
Nir Gross 2,
Yurii Hanley 2,
Max Somple 2,
George Kuesis 1,
Ian Ambidge 1,
Holden Tamblyn 1 (3 assists),
Michael Plastino 1
UCSD GOALS: Karlo Krmek 2, Jackson Ranj 1, Konstantin Karlov 1, Alex Zamanian 1
SAVES: Jonah Addington (UCD) - 14; Jack Turner (UCSD) - 9, Sam Thompson (UCSD) 0
2019 WWPA ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS
First Team
MVP: Jonah Addington, Jr., UC Davis
Mac Carey, Sr., Santa Clara
PJ McDonough, Jr., California Baptist
Gabe Thorne, Sr., California Baptist
Jack Turner, R-Sr., UC San Diego
Skyler Munatones, Sr., UC San Diego
Holdyn Tamblyn, Sr., UC Davis
Jack Stafford, Jr., UC Davis
2nd Team
Josh Ramage, Sr., Fresno Pacific
Mike Miller, Sr. Air Force
Austin Barton, Sr., Concordia
Joey Cavazos, Fr., Loyola Marymount
Patrick Kirk, Sr., Santa Clara
Joseph Galgani, Jr., California Baptist
Calder Hilde-Jones, Jr., UC San Diego
Kyle Reilly, Jr., UC Davis
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, and among the top 15 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.
AGGIE EVO
Launched in 2017-18, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.
MARYA WELCH INITIATIVE
Named after the former physical education instructor, coach and Dean of Women who founded women's sports on the campus 25 years before the passage of Title IX, the Marya Welch Initiative for Women's Athletics provides comprehensive support for UC Davis' 16 women's athletics programs. Through the support of the Marya Welch Initiative and its group members, student-athletes are provided the best possible opportunity to succeed inside the classroom, and in competition, through special project gifts and by increasing visibility and participation at women's events throughout the year. All gifts to the Marya Welch Initiative are matched 1:1, doubling the impact on our women's programs. Visit https://give.ucdavis.edu/ATHG/324041 for more information.
