Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool
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Golden Coast Conference Postpones Water Polo Season
7/31/2020 9:51:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine men's water polo team will not be able to defend its 2019 Golden Coast Conference championship until 2021, as the conference office announced the postponement of the season until at least January due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The pandemic has had a major impact in the state of California over the last few weeks which has forced us to make some tough decisions in collegiate athletics," said Commissioner Mike Daniels. "We are hopeful this will enable us to have a full season come January."
The move does not prohibit teams from practice or other training opportunities as allowed by state and local guidelines, NCAA guidelines and each individual campus' procedures.
"While this decision was extremely difficult and will be incredibly challenging for our student-athletes, coaches and administrators, the GCC Men's Water Polo Executive Committee focused on the importance of the safety, health and well-being of our campus communities," said GCC Men's Water Polo Executive Committee Chair and Long Beach State Director of Athletics Andy Fee. "COVID-19 has challenged each of us in ways we could never have imagined, and we are proud that our student-athletes and coaches are handling this difficult time with resiliency and determination. We are hopeful that creative thinking and science will emerge to mitigate and reduce risk to allow competition in spring 2021. The GCC Executive Committee will continue to monitor trends and discuss possible competitive scenarios as we move forward."
The Waves won the 2019 conference tournament and reached the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 1997 championship season, reaching the semifinal round.
A revised schedule will be released at a later date after the NCAA solidifies its plan for the national championship.
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"The pandemic has had a major impact in the state of California over the last few weeks which has forced us to make some tough decisions in collegiate athletics," said Commissioner Mike Daniels. "We are hopeful this will enable us to have a full season come January."
The move does not prohibit teams from practice or other training opportunities as allowed by state and local guidelines, NCAA guidelines and each individual campus' procedures.
"While this decision was extremely difficult and will be incredibly challenging for our student-athletes, coaches and administrators, the GCC Men's Water Polo Executive Committee focused on the importance of the safety, health and well-being of our campus communities," said GCC Men's Water Polo Executive Committee Chair and Long Beach State Director of Athletics Andy Fee. "COVID-19 has challenged each of us in ways we could never have imagined, and we are proud that our student-athletes and coaches are handling this difficult time with resiliency and determination. We are hopeful that creative thinking and science will emerge to mitigate and reduce risk to allow competition in spring 2021. The GCC Executive Committee will continue to monitor trends and discuss possible competitive scenarios as we move forward."
The Waves won the 2019 conference tournament and reached the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 1997 championship season, reaching the semifinal round.
A revised schedule will be released at a later date after the NCAA solidifies its plan for the national championship.
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