Sept. 3, 2010
MALIBU, Calif. - The No. 8 Pepperdine men's water polo team begins its 36th season of competition this weekend with several exhibitions before playing host to Claremont in an official match as part of its mini one-day tournament Sunday at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool. Games start at 1 p.m.
The Waves will play nine times through Saturday and Sunday, beginning with four exhibitions at UCLA's Spieker Aquatics Center against the No. 2 Bruins and No. 7 UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos will then head up the Pacific coastline to Malibu Sunday for a non-conference showdown vs. Claremont before batting the Waves a second time in a three-quarter contest.
Pepperdine's first game Sunday is vs. Golden West Junior College at 2:10 p.m. followed by its match with the Gauchos. The Pepperdine and Claremont game concludes the mini-tournament at 5:40 p.m.
Claremont received one vote in the Collegiate Water Polo Association's (CWPA) Varsity Top 20 Preseason poll.
Pepperdine newcomers and juniors Nathan Castillo (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor HS) and Rex Learmouth (Orange, Calif./Villa Park HS) both played for Golden West the previous two seasons and helped lead the Rustlers to back-to-back state crowns in 2008 and 2009 and extended the program's consecutive conference title streak to 21.
As for Pepperdine, the Waves return 11 letterwinners from a 2009 team that posted an overall record of 13-12, placed fifth in the MPSF at 4-4 and finished with a No. 6 national ranking. Senior team captain Andrew Milcovich (Walnut Creek, Calif./De La Salle HS), who registered 17 goals in 23 games last season, is the Waves' leading returning scorer.
Other Waves to watch this weekend include sophomores and US Junior National Team competitors Danny White (Oxnard, Calif./Rio Mesa HS) and James Perry (Orinda, Calif./Miramonte HS), and freshman goalkeeper Bence Valics (Eger, Hungary), who played two years each with the Hungarian U18 and U20 National Teams.
Pepperdine Mini-Tournament Schedule
UC Santa Barbara vs. Claremont - 1 p.m.
Pepperdine vs. Golden West - 2:10 p.m.
Pepperdine vs. UC Santa Barbara (3QTR) - 3:20 p.m.
UC Santa Barbara vs. Golden West JC (3QTR) - 4:30 p.m.
Pepperdine vs. Claremont - 5:40 p.m.
