Shocked; and not in a good way.

Being tased in this fashion is new territory for the Waves and their fifth-year head coach, who oversees a program that has won a national title and eight conference crowns, lists Olympians Terry Schroeder, Merrill Moses and Jesse Smith among its notable alumni, and finished No. 2 in the national rankings just two seasons ago.

And now the Waves are being picked to finish ninth in their conference? Well, if you think Pepperdine is going to take this snub lightly, then you don't know Jack.

"This poll will serve as a motivation tool that's going to challenge us to play to the best of our abilities." Kocur said. "Yes, we're going to have ups and downs being a team that hasn't spent much time together but as a Yankee fan familiar with Mr. October Reggie Jackson, I want all of my guys to be Mr. November because that's when we're going to hit our peak."

Pepperdine certainly hit its stride during November of last season as it captured five of its last contests and finished a game above .500 at 13-12 - its third consecutive winning season and ninth over the previous decade. But a handful of players who regularly led the Waves to victory - guys like All-Americans JP MacDonell and Clayton Snyder and seniors Brett Auer and Christian Cardey, who netted the game-winner in overtime at UC Irvine - are no longer with the club and their absence likely loomed large in pollsters' voting.

Overall, the Waves have lost their top-five scorers and nine of their top 11 from last season. Senior team captain Andrew Milcovich is the club's top returning scorer with 17, so he'll certainly be asked to contribute more, as will sophomore Danny White who chipped in 11 during a solid rookie campaign.

Kocur said he's expecting breakout seasons from all his sophomores, in particular, White, James Perry and Spencer Hamby. White and Perry recently completed their stay at the UANA U20 Jr. Pan American Championships in Florida, where the U.S. team finished as the runner-up to Canada following a 9-8 overtime loss. Hamby, meanwhile, was to have joined his classmates out east but was instead recovering from shoulder surgery.

"I can't wait to get that kid back in the pool," Kocur said of Hamby, who scored four times in 2009. "He is the heart of this team. He's determined to win and it's my hope the rest of the team feeds off his excitement."

With Hamby supplying the fun and energy, it will be up to White, Perry and Milcovich to level the emotional scales with a large dose of experience and professionalism. Playing on a national team has influenced White's and Perry's preparations in and out of the pool as they took on everything from learning new formations to knowing how much to eat and when to exercise. Now, they're coming back to Pepperdine with a more disciplined approach that will nourish the program.

As for Milcovich, Kocur said he wants his captain to first make sure the team gets better through his actions and words before he concentrates on himself. "It's his responsibility to have his teammates always giving their best efforts. Verbal communication will be key."

To offset the number of departures, Kocur and third-year assistant coach Gary O'Brien brought in four junior college transfers, including Nathan Castillo and Rex Learmouth who led Golden West to consecutive state championships in 2008 and 2009. Castillo, a member of the Youth National Team from 2002 to 2004, looks to be one of the Waves' most promising newcomers as he comes to Pepperdine carrying a slew of MVP awards and all-conference citations earned at the collegiate and scholastic levels.

The two-man coaching tandem also recruited seven additional freshmen to join the team this fall and have been working with winter high school graduate Kolby Krystofik since January. Krystofik, who has been playing water polo at the club level since 2003, has a unique high school background since it was his parents, Bob and Debbie, who helped established, run and organize one of the first high school water polo teams in all of Arizona.

Krystofik and his Highland High teammates won two state titles in three years as he led the Hawks in goals, assists and steals from 2007 to 2009, earning MVP honors along the way. And to keep improving his skills during the summer, Krystofik would travel for several months each year to Southern California to compete for Ventura County Premier.

"Kolby's a hard-working kid and he's really built up his level of experience by coming to play with us for the last six months," Kocur said. "He's a lefty that possesses a fast-twitch shot and gives us speed on the counterattack."

Two other recruits Kocur has high hopes for are Hungarian goalkeeper Bence Valics and true freshman Nicholas Cooper.

"Coop has one of the most explosive arms in all of Northern California," Kocur said, "he is a classic speed shooter that's really going to compliment what we're already receiving offensively from Andrew and the rest of the upperclassmen."

Valics is a true unknown in every sense of the word since he hadn't practiced alongside the Waves until late this week, but he brings with him several years of national team experience, and in 2008, led his hometown squad to an unblemished record and Hungarian Junior Championship.

Valics has won a total of three junior championships as well as a pair of Hungarian U22 titles in 2008 and 2009. His skills also have taken him to several European Championships located in Malta, Turkey and Greece.

The addition of Valics raises the Waves' goalkeeping roster to four, not counting sophomore Colin Carroll who being moved to a field position. Valics will be competing for time in the cage with sophomore Matthew Carter and senior Bryce McLain who combined for 67 stops through 11 appearances.

The Waves have spent all summer transferring from one goalie to the next, but Kocur is optimistic that one or two of them will soon separate themselves from the pack. Right now it's a pretty tight race between the two returning goalkeepers as all have displayed unique characteristics that are part of the total package.

"Bryce has the most experience and possesses tremendous game awareness skills, and Matt is just a physical specimen with great size and reach," Kocur said, "He can visually take over an entire cage. And if I could find a way to combine all our goalkeepers into one, we'd have ourselves a heck of an athlete."

Whichever goalkeeper Kocur and O'Brien decide on in net will ultimately determine the team's level of success. That's how important this position is to Pepperdine in 2010. The coaches have already set an objective for their team to establish a goal differential average of less than five per game, and they're confident they can reach this goal so long as the netminder and his defense are working together.

"Whenever and wherever we win a championship this season, it's going to be because of our defense," Kocur said. "And I want to ride one goalkeeper all the way to a title - one leader for our defensive efforts. He has to be that guy that's calling all the shots from when and where they're taken in addition to communicating every single thing else he sees."

Though Pepperdine is being looked down upon for the moment, the Waves can make up serious ground in the early season polls by capturing exhibition games vs. UCSB and UCLA in Los Angeles, winning the Inland Empire Tournament at LaVerne, and defeating home opponents Golden West, Claremont and rival Loyola Marymount.

Should the Waves win all the games they should and pull a few upsets along the way at the NorCal and SoCal Tournaments, the only ones still feeling shocked will be the remaining eight MPSF schools.