DAVIS, Calif. — Following a Big West home win last Friday, UC Davis water polo heads back to Southern California for games against #10 UC San Diego and Golden West. The matchup with the Tritons is set for Saturday, Oct. 25, at 12:00 p.m. PT, with the game against the Rustlers taking place the next day at 9:00 a.m. PT.
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN/FOLLOW
Oct. 25 — at #10 UC San Diego |
Watch Live |
Live Stats | @ucdavismwp (X/Instagram)
Oct. 26 — at Golden West | @ucdavismwp (X/Instagram)
GAME NOTES
- Last Time Out: The Aggies are 9-10 on the season and 2-0 in conference play. Back home against Cal State Fullerton last Friday, the team set a new season-high with a 22-11 win over the Titans.
- Top Goal Scorers: Securing a hat trick last Sunday in Stanford, former Big West All-Freshman selection Thomas Kiesling sits at the top of the Aggie scoring list with 47 goals, also adding 10 assists for 57 points. Close behind him with 55 points is Oleg Shatskikh. Freshman Oriol Vinas acts as the top distributor for the team, dishing out 24 assists.
- Best in the (Big) West: With 168 saves, Baxter Chelsom has climbed to the top of the Big West leaderboard in his first season as primary goalkeeper for the Aggies, also ranking top three in save percentage at .433.
- 2024 Recap: UC Davis went 10-14 and finished their season with a Big West Semifinals defeat to UC San Diego.
- 2025 Poll: The Aggies were picked fourth in the Big West preseason coaches' poll, receiving 13 points.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
- UC San Diego is 17-7 on the season and 0-2 in the Big West. The Tritons are coming off a home win against Princeton last Saturday.
- Offensively, Eamon Hennessey leads the way with 43 goals. Bennett Axline (35) and Lucas Romaguera (32) round out the 30+ goal scorers for UCSD.
- Alex Hegeman, who ranks second in the conference with 159 saves, is his team's primary goalkeeper, playing nearly 750 minutes this season.
- UC Davis is 0-2 all-time against UC San Diego, with both teams last playing each other at the MPSF Invitational earlier this year.
- Golden West College is 24-1 on the season and is the No. 1 team at the junior college level, playing in the GWC Tournament on Friday and Saturday before facing the Aggies on Sunday.
- In Friday's double-header against Sierra and American River College, the Rustlers were led offensively by Jack Wright with four goals and Joao Gonclaves with three goals.
- Sunday marks the first time UC Davis and Golden West have played each other.
SEASON NOTES
- This season marks year 13 for UC Davis head man Daniel Leyson.
- Leyson's coaching staff features the return of assistants Nick Alden and Joey Frantz. Alden, a 4th-year coach out of Southern Oregon, works as the primary operations and recruiting coach. Frantz, who returns for his sixth season, acts as the goalkeepers' coach.
- The roster blends a strong returning core of players, including Thomas Kiesling, Andrew Hitchcock, Brody Crouch, William Fosselman, and Adam Ting.
- Additionally, the team has built a strong 2025 recruiting class, with 10 players coming out of places such as Spain, Croatia, and Canada. The new players include Mateo Ruano, Oriol Viñas, Luka Palavra, Jacob Carrera, Jaden Joemtree, Lyle Weitz, Max Prokhin, Oliver Wilmink, William McKeon, and Cassius Wolf.
- With UC Davis making the move to the West Coast Conference in 2026, this year marks its last in the Big West.
