2018 Season Kicks-Off With Top-Three Unbeaten
Photo: Vassilis Tzavaras, California (Courtesy: University of California)
MPSF Men's Water Polo Release # 1--PDF
VASSILIS TZAVARAS OF CALIFORNIA MPSF/KAP7 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
California senior
Vassilis Tzavaras (Athens, Greece) helped lead the No. 3 Bears to a 4-0 weekend at the Triton Invitational (Sept. 1-2) with a tremendous all-around effort. He finished the weekend with nine goals, 18 assists, nine steals, two field blocks, and three ejections earned as Cal beat No. 20 Air Force, Concordia, No. 9 UC Irvine and No. 10 UC Santa Barbara. Tzavaras' most impressive performance came against the highest-ranked team Cal played as he scored once and collected nine assists to go along with five steals and one block against UCI. He then posted a hat trick against UCSB to finish the invitational. This is the first career MPSF weekly award for Tzavaras.
Others Nominated: Marin Dasic (USC); Quinten Osborne (UCLA)...
ANDREW POPE OF AUSTIN COLLEGE MPSF/KAP7 NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Austin College freshman
Andrew Pope (Flower Mound, TX/Flower Mound HS) helped make the Kangaroos competitive in their first-ever week of NCAA action. Playing four games at Brown and Harvard (Sept. 1-2), three against ranked programs in No. 20 Bucknell, No. 15 Brown, and No. 11 Harvard, Pope led the scoring with nine goals on 13 shots (.692) while earning three exclusions in 15 quarters of action. He stepped up as the leader on both sides of the pool without Austin College having any upperclassmen to lean on for leadership or experience. This is the first-ever MPSF honor for the Kangaroos
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Others Nominated: Hannes Daube (USC); Peter Lovas (UCLA); Jack Deely (Cal)...
NATION'S TOP-THREE UNBEATEN ON OPENING WEEKEND, KANGAROOS UNDERWAY
NO. 1 UCLA (0-0 MPSF, 3-0 Overall) hosted the UCLA Mini-Invite to begin the 2018 season, breezing through wins over Fresno Pacific 17-7, No. 17 Pomona-Pitzer 18-10, and Whittier 20-5. Quinten Osborne recorded a pair of four-goal games against Pomona and Whittier, finishing the weekend with 10 goals, six exclusions drawn, and one assist. Felix Brozyna-Vilim had a four-goal outing against Fresno Pacific. Peter Lovas began his Bruin career with five goals (three vs. Pomona), three assists, and two steals. The defending national champions travel to the Princeton Invitational this weekend (Sept. 7-9) to face Wagner, St. Francis Brooklyn, Air Force, Brown, and the host Princeton.
NO. 2 USC (0-0 MPSF, 2-0 Overall) easily won a doubleheader Saturday (Sept. 1) at the UCLA Invitational to begin the season, 16-1 over No. 17 Pomona-Pitzer, and 25-4 over Whittier. Marin Dasic and Daniel Leong each scored four goals vs. Whittier, while former San Jose State Gold Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year Jacob Mercep put in a hat trick in his Trojan debut against Pomona. Dasic also scored a pair vs. Pomona to finish with six for the weekend. Hannes Daube debuted by going two-for-two on shots in each win. USC's home opener is Thursday (Sept. 6) against Concordia, before visiting the Inland Empire to take on Redlands, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Concordia, and La Verne (Sept. 8-9).
NO. 3 CALIFORNIA (0-0 MPSF, 4-0 Overall) swept through the UC San Diego Invitational to kick-off the season this past weekend. The Bears defeated No. 20 Air Force 16-5, Concordia 19-3, No. 9 UC Irvine 15-12, and No. 10 UC Santa Barbara 12-9. Odysseas Masmanidis totaled 12 goals, with highs of four each vs. CUI and UCI. Vassilis Tzavaras finished the weekend with nine goals, 18 assists, nine steals, two field blocks and three ejections earned. Nine of his assists and five of his steals came vs. UCI. Jack Deely accumulated four goals and six assists in his Cal weekend debut. Bernardo Carelli totaled 45 saves in 3.5 games in the cage, including a career-high and tying the MPSF third-most all-time of 21 vs. UCI. The Bears visit UC Davis Thursday (Sept. 6) and Pacific Saturday (Sept. 8).
AUSTIN COLLEGE (0-0 MPSF, 0-4 Overall) played its first four NCAA games in program history, competing in the Bruno Classic at Brown and Harvard (Sept. 1-2). The Kangaroos managed to score seven goals against No. 15 Brown in their first official game, before taking on No. 20 Bucknell, No. 11 Harvard, and MIT. Freshman Andrew Pope converted nine of 13 shots through the tournament, while drawing three ejections over 15 quarters of playing time. Austin College is next in action on Sept. 15 when it hosts an NCAA contest for the first time in a rematch with Brown.
PENN STATE BEHREND (0-0 MPSF, 0-3 Overall) faced Mercyhurst, Gannon, and Washington & Jefferson to open the season in Washington, PA. Matt Olimski totaled 45 saves in three outings, topping out with 19 against the host Presidents. In his debut weekend, Austin Hoff tallied a hat trick vs. Washington & Jefferson, while
Andre Sardaryzadeh recorded six steals and two assists in that game. The Lions play their home opener Friday (Sept. 7) against Salem International.
NO. 4 STANFORD (0-0 MPSF, 0-0 Overall) opens its season at the Princeton Invitational this weekend (Sept. 7-9). The Cardinal take on the host Tigers, followed by St. Francis Brooklyn, Johns Hopkins, and Navy.