Nov. 26, 2003

MALIBU, Calif. -- For the fourth time this season, the Pepperdine Waves and UCLA Bruins will face-off in the water when the two teams meet in the opening round of the 2003 MPSF Tournament on Friday at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach. The Bruins, seeded No. 3, finished conference action with a 7-1 record and an 18-6 overall performance. The sixth-seeded Waves completed the regular season 17-7 and 3-5 in MPSF play.

The team's leading scorer, Jesse Smith, missed the last four games of conference due to an injury but is expected to play this weekend.

The two cross-town rivals have met up on three previous occasions this season with the Waves owning a 2-1 advantage. UCLA claimed the latest victory with a 7-6 win on November 15th.

Pepperdine and UCLA will square off at 4:30 on Friday and the winner will play on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. versus the winner of No. 2 Stanford and No. 7 UC Irvine. The loser will participate in a 4:30 p.m. match against the loser of the Cardinal or Anteaters.

The Waves are led by on the offensive front by Smith who recorded 47 goals in only 19 matches this season. Michael Hausmann slightly trails with 46 total points.