MALIBU, California — An early claim to first place in the Golden Coast Conference will be on the line when the #10 Pepperdine men's water polo team visits #4 Pacific on Saturday. Then, four of the last five regular-season games are at home, beginning with next Tuesday's contest against #12 Princeton. Dennis Blyashov is the GCC Player of the Week.

GAME #21 — Saturday (Oct. 15) at Chris Kjeldsen Pool in Stockton, Calif.: #10 Pepperdine (11-9, 1-0) at #4 Pacific (16-3, 1-0) at 1 p.m.

GAME #22 — Tuesday (Oct. 18) at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool in Malibu, Calif.: #10 Pepperdine vs. #12 Princeton (13-4, at UC Santa Barbara on Sunday) at 2 p.m.

TICKETS — Tickets to all Pepperdine home men's water polo games will be available via e-ticket ONLY. Patrons must purchase tickets to any event prior to arrival. Pepperdine faculty, staff and students must show Pepperdine ID card for entry — no ticket purchase is required. To purchase e-tickets and read the spectator guidelines, visit: https://gowav.es/WavesTix. Due to campus construction, nearby parking may be limited and guests are advised to arrive early. There is also limited bleacher seating and fans may choose to bring chairs or blankets to sit on the hillside above the pool.

WATCH/ONLINE — Both the Pacific and Princeton games will be streamed on the WCC Network. Links to broadcasts and/or live stats can be found at PepperdineWaves.com.

OPPONENTS — Pepperdine is 57-36-1 all-time against Pacific, but the Tigers have won five straight, eight of the last nine and 14 of the last 16. Pepperdine's last win in Stockton came in 2016 ... Pepperdine is 2-1 all-time against Princeton. The Tigers won 14-9 in Malibu last season.

LAST WEEK — Facing a 9-5 deficit midway through the third quarter, the Waves ran off eight unanswered goals to beat #15 San Jose State 13-10 at home in the GCC opener. SJSU went ahead by four with 5:25 left in the third quarter, but Pepperdine held the Spartans scoreless for more than 14 minutes. Dennis Blyashov had three goals and three assists and Christian Hosea, Travis Reynolds and Nico Tierney each scored twice.

AWARDS — Dennis Blyashov earned the program's second consecutive GCC Player of the Week honor on October 13 after a three-goal, three-assist effort in the 13-10 comeback win over #15 San Jose State ... Adam Csapo received the program's first GCC Player of the Week award of the season on Oct. 6 after a 12-goal, six-assist output over five games, which included a 4-0 record at the Gary Troyer Tournament and a close home loss to #2 UCLA.

SEASON NOTABLES — Adam Csapo leads the GCC in goals (41) and is tied for second in points (61) and sixth in assists (20) ... Curtis Jarvis leads the GCC in assists (33) and is fourth in points (60) ... Dennis Blyashov leads the GCC in points (71) and is second in assists (31) and tied for second in goals (40) ... Sandor Gal is third in assists (29) and 10th in points (45) ... Nico Tierney is fifth in assists (25), sixth in points (55) and 10th in goals (30) ... Pepperdine's 34 goals against Whittier in the season opener was a school record, beating the previous high of 31 set against Occidental in the 1997 national championship season ... The Waves have won three games this season when they've been trailing entering the fourth quarter, and have won four times when they've been behind at halftime.

ROSTER NUMBERS — The Waves' 27-man roster breakdown is one graduate student, seven seniors, six juniors, five sophomores, two redshirt freshmen and six true freshmen. Sixteen of the 26 letterwinners from the spring season are back this fall, and they account for 58.0% of last year's goal-scoring (200/345). The top three goal-scorers from last year are gone, but the other nine who finished in double-figures have returned (led by 35 goals apiece from Nicholas Fichman and Nico Tierney). Pepperdine also got back 2020 All-American Curtis Jarvis, who sat out last year, and added Harvard grad transfer Dennis Blyashov, a two-time All-American.

SCHEDULE — The Waves will have eight home games in September and October. Three of the five GCC home games will be at home. In non-conference play, Pepperdine will get UCLA and USC at home, and will visit defending NCAA champion California and Stanford.

GCC TO WCC — This will be the seventh and final year for the Golden Coast Conference, as the West Coast Conference and Big West Conference will both begin play in 2023. Pepperdine and Pacific will move to the WCC, where most of their other athletic programs already reside, and they'll be joined by Loyola Marymount and Santa Clara of the WWPA, as well as affiliate members Air Force, California Baptist and San Jose State.

POLL — The GCC preseason poll, a vote of the league's coaches, went as follows: Pacific, Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara, San Jose State, Pepperdine and UC Irvine.

LAST SEASON — Pepperdine finished 14-13 in the fall of 2021 and tied for fifth place in the GCC. The highlight of the season was a 16-14 home victory over eventual national champion California. Balazs Kosa became just the fourth four-time All-American in program history, making the ACWPC second team. Kosa made the All-GCC first team, while Sean Ferrari, Nicholas Fichman and Nico Tierney were honorable mention.

WATER POLO HISTORY — Pepperdine won the NCAA title in 1997, which was the last time a school other than California, Stanford, UCLA or USC won the championship. The Waves' exceptional water polo history also includes 12 conference titles, a top-10 ranking in 45 of the last 46 years, and a top-five finish 21 times. Pepperdine has had 59 players earn All-American honors a total of 107 times. Three Waves — Mike Grier (1984), Geoffrey Clark (1991) and Alan Herrmann (1997) — were named the national player of the year. Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool hosted the 1984 Olympic water polo competition and the 2000 NCAA Championships.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY — Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports — one of just 20 schools to have accomplished this feat — and 10 overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 26 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2021-22). Located in scenic Malibu, California, the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #55 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.