SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Two days ago, the UC Davis men's water polo team wrapped up its third victory over Loyola Marymount in as many tries this season. On Saturday afternoon, the Aggies made sure that UC San Diego wouldn't do the same to them.
Led by a pair of goals from senior
Eric Martel and a three-point day by classmate
Holden Tamblyn, UC Davis wrapped up an undefeated Western Water Polo Association season and clinched the top seed for the league tournament thanks to a 9-7 victory over the reigning conference champion Tritons at the Canyonview Aquatic Center.
The No. 11-ranked Aggies won their sixth straight contest, improving to 13-7 overall and 7-0 in the WWPA, holding the opposition to single-digit goals for the sixth straight match. It marks the fourth time in the last five years that UC Davis has finished the WWPA undefeated, posting a combined 32-1 record in league during that run.
Receiving a pair of goals each from Connor Turnbow-Lindenstadt and Calder Hilde-Jones, No. 10 UC San Diego fell to 18-7 overall and 6-1 in the WWPA, securing the tournament's No. 2 seed. The Tritons had twice defeated the Aggies earlier this year, posting a 12-8 win at the Triton Invitational on Sept. 8, and a 13-12 win in sudden victory over UC Davis at the MPSF Invitational on Sept. 29.
Hosted by California Baptist, the Aggies will open this year's WWPA Tournament against No. 8-seeded Fresno Pacific at 9 a.m. on Nov. 22 at the Lancer Aquatics Center. The tournament continues with the fifth- and seventh-place games, as well as the two championship semifinals on Saturday (Nov. 23), with the third-place and championship game on Sunday (Nov. 24).
A complete schedule is below.
Hilde-Jones opened the scoring on Saturday with his first goal just two minutes in before
Michael Plastino answered 42 seconds later to make it 1-1. Martel and Tamblyn then scored back-to-back goals for the Aggies — the latter on a 5-meter penalty — for a 3-1 lead before Hilde-Jones found the back of the cage to make it 3-2 at the end of the first.
Senior
Max Somple won the sprint to start the second quarter and the Aggies immediately converted as sophomore
Nir Gross netted his team-best 48th goal of the year and senior
Yurii Hanley added another at the 5:43 mark. Turnbow-Lindenstadt got a goal back for UCSD, but Somple responded 90 seconds later, building the lead back to three.
Karlo Krmek for the Tritons and Martel for the Aggies then scored 30 seconds apart to close out the second quarter with UC Davis up 7-4.
Ian Ambidge wasted no time in scoring off another sprint win by Somple, giving the Aggies their largest lead of the game at 8-4 just 25 seconds into the second half, but the Tritons began to reel UC Davis back in, getting goals from Kaden Likins and Skyler Munatones to make it 8-6 after three, but that would be as close as UC San Diego would come.
Junior
George Kuesis scored on the powerplay to open the scoring in the fourth and Turnbow-Lindenstadt added his second of the day at the 6:09 mark of the quarter as the two teams played to a stalemate the rest of the way.
Junior goalkeeper
Jonah Addington finished with three of his 10 saves in the final quarter as the Aggies' defense forced a pair of shot clock violations and Hanley came up with a key field block in the final 30 seconds to help seal the win. Addington finished with 10 stops and a steal on the day, out-dueling UCSD's Jack Turner, who stopped 14 shots.
#11 UC DAVIS 9, #10 UC SAN DIEGO 7
UCD — 3-4-1-1 — 9
UCSD — 2-2-2-1 — 7
UC DAVIS GOALS: Eric Martel 2,
George Kuesis 1,
Ian Ambidge 1,
Nir Gross 1,
Yurii Hanley 1,
Max Somple 1,
Holden Tamblyn 1,
Michael Plastino 1
UCSD GOALS: Connor Turnbow-Lindenstadt 2, Calder Hilde-Jones 2, Skyler Munatones 1, Karlo Krmek 1, Kaden Likins 1
SAVES: Jonah Addington (UCD) - 10; Jack Turner (UCSD) - 14
2019 WESTERN WATER POLO ASSOCIATION TOURNAMENT
Hosted by California Baptist (Lancer Aquatics Center)
Friday, November 22, 2019
Game #1 — 9 a.m. #1 UC Davis vs. #8 Fresno Pacific
Game #2 — 11 a.m. #4 California Baptist vs. #5 Concordia
Game #3 — 1 p.m. #2 UC San Diego vs. #7 Air Force/Santa Clara
Game #4 — 4:30 p.m. #3 Loyola Marymount vs. #6 Air Force/Santa Clara
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Game #5 — 8:30 a.m. 7th Place: Two lowest seeds that did not advance
Game #6 — 10:30 a.m. 5th Place: Two highest seeds that did not advance
Game #7 — 12:30 p.m. Semifinal #1: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game #8 — 4:30 p.m. Semifinal #2: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Game #9 — 10 a.m. 3rd Place: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8
Game #10 — 12 p.m. 1st Place: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8
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.
