Waves Play Host to No. 2 USC Saturday
9/27/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
This Week: The No. 9 Pepperdine men's water polo team plays host to No. 2 USC on Saturday.
Game #19: Saturday (Sept. 30) vs. No. 2 USC at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool in Malibu, Calif.: No. 9 Pepperdine (13-5, 0-0 GCC) vs. No. 2 USC (13-1, 1-0 MPSF) at 12:00 p.m.
Series vs. USC: USC 64-21-2 - The Waves and Trojans have met each year since 1976. The Trojans have won each meeting since 2005.
Last Week: Last Week, the Waves were at the MPSF Invite and finished in 8th place. They won their first game, a 4OT thriller against No. 10 UC Davis, avenging their loss from the previous week's Aggie Roundup. They lost the next three games, playing then-No. 1 Cal all the way to the last second, falling 12-10, losing to No. 5 Pacific, 12-5, and falling to No. 7 UC Irvine in a heartbreaking, 8-7 3OT game.
GCC Preseason Poll: Pepperdine was selected to finish tied for fourth in the Preseason GCC poll, alongside UC Santa Barbara. Pacific was selected to win the conference, with Long Beach State selected to finish behind them.
CWPA Rankings: The Waves are currently ranked No. 9 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association rankings. Pepperdine has been ranked as high as No. 8 on the year.
2017 Roster: Pepperdine returns 16 players from its 2016 roster and brings in an eight-man freshman roster, along with two players who haven't played in college, but have been in school.
GCC Title: Pepperdine won the inaugural GCC Tournament in 2016. After finishing fourth in the regular season, the Waves went on a three-game hot streak in which they defeated UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and Pacific to capture the title.
Terry Schroeder: Terry Schroeder picked up the GCC Coach of the Year to go along with the inaugural title in 2016. This is his third overall Conference Coach of the Year honor, grabbing the PCAA honor in 1989, and the MPSF honor in 1998. He was also the NCAA National Coach of the year in 1997.
