MALIBU, Calif. — The #4 Pepperdine men's water polo team heads to #1 UCLA on Friday, then the Waves will face off against Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps — two top-three teams in Division III — in the Gary Troyer Tournament on Saturday.
 
In a contest between two top-four-ranked teams, Pepperdine will face UCLA for the second time this season. The Waves will look to bounce back from their matchup last when the Waves fell to the Bruins 15-12 last Saturday.
 
Saturday's game also marks the second time the Waves will take on the nation's top-ranked team this season. Earlier this month, Pepperdine took then-No.1 California to the wire in a 10-9 double-overtime loss.
 
GAME #15 — #4 Pepperdine (12-2) vs. #1 UCLA (13-0) | Friday, Sept. 29 | 5 p.m. | Spieker Aquatics Center | Los Angeles, Calif.
 
GAME #16 — #4 Pepperdine (12-2) vs. Pomona-Pitzer (2-8) | Saturday, Sept. 30 | 11:40 a.m. | Haldeman Pool | Claremont, Calif.
 
GAME #17 — #4 Pepperdine (12-2) vs. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (7-4) | Saturday, Sept. 30 | 3:40 p.m. | Axelrood Pool | Claremont, Calif.
 
WATCH/ONLINE — If available, links to broadcasts and/or live stats can be found at PepperdineWaves.com.
 
OPPONENTS — Pepperdine is 31-82-1 all-time against UCLA. The Waves are 19-0 all-time against Pomona-Pitzer, having won the last matchup 17-10 in 2022. Pepperdine is a perfect 27-0 against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
 
LAST WEEK —  The #4 Pepperdine men's water polo beat #9 UC San Diego 15-12 Friday afternoon in a hard-fought battle. Late in the fourth quarter, back-to-back goals from Jon Carcarey gave the Waves a four goal advantage to seal the game.
 
Pepperdine dropped the contest against #2 UCLA in the quarterfinals of the MPSF Invite on Saturday morning 15-11, but bounced back with a big win against #8 UC Davis 15-11. In a game that saw four ties, the Waves pulled away with four straight goals in the third quarter thanks to a pair of goals by Ryan Brosnan and goals by Christian Hosea and Nico Tierney.
 
On Sunday morning, Pepperdine took down #4 Princeton 15-11. In a game where the Waves were trailing 9-7 late in the third quarter, Pepperdine went on late, 4-0 run bolstered by goals from Tierney, Brosnan and Sandor Gal.
 
 
AWARDS — Pepperdine has won the last three WCC Player of the Week awards. Nico Tierney earned the WCC Player of the Week award on Sept. 26 after posting a total of ten goals and seven assists in four games all against top-10 teams at the MPSF Invite. He also posted a .625 shooting percentage.
 
Curtis Jarvis earned the program's second WCC Player of the Week of the season on Sept. 19 after having a total of seven goals with an efficient shooting percentage of .875. He also tacked on seven assists for a total of 14 points over four games.
 
Antonio Knez received the program's first WCC Player of the Week award of the season on Sept. 12 after 35 saves and posting a .686 save percentage over two games.
 
SEASON NOTABLES — Antonio Knez leads the WCC in saves (146), save percentage (.549) and steals (26). Ryan Brosnan is second in the WCC in points (46) and is third in the WCC in assists (22). Matty Walsh is second in the WCC in field blocks (6).
 
ROSTER NUMBERS — The Waves' 28-man roster breakdown is four graduate students, five seniors, four juniors, eight sophomores and seven freshmen. Pepperdine returns 19 players from last year's roster, including 2022 All-American honorable mention Adam Csapo. The Waves also add 10 newcomers, including an All-American graduate transfer in Antonio Knez and a sharp-shooting graduate transfer in Ryan Brosnan.
 
SCHEDULE — The Waves will have five home games in October, including three of the six WCC contests against Loyola Marymount, Air Force and Pacific.
 
WCC — This will be the first year in the West Coast Conference for the Waves. Pepperdine and Pacific are moving into the WCC, where most of their other athletic programs already reside, and they'll be joined by Loyola Marymount and Santa Clara of the Western Water Polo Association, as well as affiliate members Air Force, California Baptist and San Jose State. Pepperdine will host the inaugural WCC Men's Water Polo Conference Tournament at the Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool.
 
POLL —The WCC preseason poll, as decided by the league's coaches, went as follows: Pacific, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, San Jose State, Santa Clara, California Baptist and Air Force.
 
LAST SEASON — Pepperdine finished 13-14 in the fall of 2022 and tied for fourth place in the Gold Coast Conference. The highlight of the season was upsetting #8 UC Santa Barbara 13-12 on Senior Day, overcoming a four-goal third-quarter deficit. The Waves also trailed the Gauchos by two with less than two minutes left to play. Pepperdine's only lead of the game came in the final 11 seconds. Two Waves earned All-American honors, Dennis Blyashov garnered a spot on the third team, while Adam Csapo picked up an honorable mention nod. Blyashov made the All-GCC first team, Csapo earned All-GCC second team and Nico Tierney was an honorable mention. Csapo and Sandor Gal made the GCC All-Freshman team.
 
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 46 of the last 47 years and a top-five finish 21 times. Pepperdine has had 61 players earn All-American honors a total of 109 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, five times (most recently in back-to-back years during the 2022-23 and 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 #76 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.