March 9, 2011

MALIBU, Calif. - Pepperdine water polo won two of three games last weekend at an offseason tournament hosted by UCLA. The Waves beat the host Bruins, 11-9, and Long Beach, 7-3, but were edged by USC, 11-10.

"January and February have been good months for us in terms of getting back into playing shape and I thought that showed over the weekend," assistant coach Gary O'Brien said. "We played really well. The team is bonding, which brought a great energy to the pool, and our guys were assertive and confident."

The Waves enter this preseason with two goalkeepers (Bence Valics and Matthew Carter) and 18 field players, including 6-foot-6 driver and Diablo Valley Junior College transfer Matt Detrane who scored five times with three assists in three tournament games.

Sophomore center Spencer Hamby (Granite Bay, Calif./Granite Bay HS) led Pepperdine with seven goals, including a hat trick vs. USC, while redshirt senior Andrew Milcovich (Walnut Creek, Calif./De La Salle HS) contributed a team-high five assists.

Valics (Eger, Hungary/Szilagyi Erzsebet Secondary) played all four quarters vs. the Trojans and the first half against UCLA and left the cage with 13 saves. Carter (Princeton, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) stopped four second-half shots vs. the Bruins and made four of his seven saves in the fourth quarter against Long Beach.

Pepperdine's next spring games are scheduled to take place at USC the weekend of April 16 and 17.