No. 1 Bears Make Home Debut
FRIDAY, SEPT. 9
NO. 5 PACIFIC AT NO. 1 CAL | 5 P.M. PT | SPIEKER AQUATICS COMPLEX | BERKELEY, CALIF.
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
SATURDAY, SEPT. 10
NO. 13 UC SAN DIEGO AT NO. 1 CAL | 10 A.M. | SPIEKER AQUATICS COMPLEX | BERKELEY, CALIF.
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
SUNDAY, SEPT. 11
NO. 9 PEPPERDINE AT NO. 1 CAL | 1 P.M. | SPIEKER AQUATICS COMPLEX | BERKELEY, CALIF.
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
The No. 1 Cal men's water polo team makes its home debut this weekend when it hosts a trio of games, beginning Friday night against No. 5 Pacific at Spieker Aquatics Complex. The Bears will also entertain No. 13 UC San Diego on Saturday followed by a matchup against No. 9 Pepperdine on Sunday. Cal is coming off a dominant season-opening weekend at the Navy Open in which the Bears outscored four opponents by a combined 102-26. Included in that performance was a 22-7 victory over No. 11 Princeton.
BEAR NECESSITIES
SZATMARY NAMED MPSF NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Cal freshman Marton Szatmary was named MPSF Newcomer of the Week on Monday after a memorable college debut over the weekend at the Navy Open. Szatmary tallied a whopping 24 points in four games with 11 goals and 13 assists, helping the Bears outscore their opponents by a combined 102-26. Szatmary was especially productive on the second day of the tournament, registering six goals, nine assists and two steals in victories over No. 11 Princeton and Navy.
PAPA BEAR
Center Nikolaos Papanikolaou won the Cutino Award as the top player in NCAA water polo last season while also taking home ACWPC National Player of the Year honors, and didn't look like he had any plans to slow down at the Navy Open. Papanikolaou led all scorers with 13 goals in four games while also recording three steals and seven earned ejections, all in limited playing time after the Bears' built big leads in each game. The three-time All-American and two-time MPSF Player of the Year led the MPSF last season with 68 goals and 35 steals.
FINE WEIN
Goalie Adrian Weinberg was an ACWPC Second Team All-American last season and is coming off a summer playing with the U.S. National Team. Weinberg saw time for Team USA at both the FINA World Championships and FINA World League Super Final, and is back in Berkeley as arguably the top returning goalie in the nation. Weinberg led the MPSF last season with 230 saves.
MORE THAN A SUPPORTING CAST
Nikolaos Papanikolaou was the National Player of the Year last season, but the Bears featue extensive depth and talent that led them to the NCAA crown in 2021. Along with Papanikolaou and Weinberg, ACWPC First Team All-American Jack Deely, who led the MPSF in points and assists last season, is also back in Berkeley. Roberto Valera, the 2021 MPSF Newcomer of the Year, also returns along with fellow ACWPC Second Team All-American Max Casabella. Cal features 10 players who scored at least 10 goals last year.
CAL TO HOST 2022 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
Cal's Spieker Aquatics Complex will host the 2022 NCAA Championship on Dec. 3-4. The Bears last hosted the NCAA Championship in 2016, when they defeated USC in overtime in the national championship game. More details - including ticket information - will be announced at a later date.
ABOUT NO. 5 PACIFIC
• Tigers outscored five opponents 84-39 at Bruno Classic at Brown last weekend
• UOP was the preseason pick to win the Golden Coast Conference
• SO Reuel D'Souza was named the 2021 GCC Newcomer of the Year
ABOUT NO. 13 UC SAN DIEGO
• Two of three losses last weekend were in overtime against top-10 opponents
• SR Vedran Latkovic leads the Tritons with 13 goals and five assists
• Latkovic and goalie Alexander Nemeth were each named to the All-WWPA Second Team
ABOUT NO. 9 PEPPERDINE
• Waves' two losses last weekend came against top-10 opponents
• FR Adam Csapo and GR Dennis Blyashov lead Pepperdine with 17 points apiece
• Blyashov was a two-time All-American at Harvard before transferring to Pepperdine