MALIBU, Calif. — No. 9 Pepperdine water polo (11-8. 1-2 WCC) will head north for three matchups this weekend, beginning with a road WCC tilt at No. 8 San Jose State (7-5, 2-1 WCC) on Friday at noon.
The Waves will then play a pair of games on Saturday as part of the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament hosted by Santa Clara, taking on No. 19 Harvard (13-6, 5-0 NWPC) at 10:20 a.m. and UC Merced (4-12, 0-3 WWPA) at 3:40 p.m.
The Friday contest against the Spartans will be streamed live on
ESPN+ with Saturday's games available to watch on
Overnght. Live stats for all games will be available on the
FOSH.
The Waves most recently attended the annual tournament in 2023, posting a 4-0 record with wins over Princeton, Bucknell, Fordham and LIU.
The full tournament schedule and results can be found
here.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Waves defeated Air Force by a score of 18-14 to earn their first conference victory of the season.
- Dane Howell logged a career-high six goals to help take down the Falcons.
- Pepperdine fell in a narrow 13-12 defeat to No. 14 Pacific on Friday.
- Jon Carcarey led the way against the Tigers with four goals and an assist.
GAME NOTES
- Dane Howell has led the Waves with 40 goals this season and is coming off a career-high six goal effort.
- Sandor Gal has posted a team-high 61 points through 25 goals and 36 assists.
- Gal has recorded multiple points in 14 games this season.
- Jon Carcarey has been in form offensively for the Waves, recording 15 goals across his last six games.
- Carcarey has 39 points on the season with 18 steals.
- Matty Walsh has now logged multiple goals in seven of eight games.
- Walsh ranks second on the Waves with 38 goals to this point.
- Owen Tift has made an impact in the starting lineup for Pepperdine, registering 15 points across his last five games.
- Brian Barnuevo has paced the freshmen class with 17 goals and 14 assists in 19 appearances.
- Erik Ionescu has recorded a point in every game this season with five games totaling over six points.
- The Waves enter with a 5-2 mark in neutral site contests this season and 2-4 record on the road.
- Pepperdine has scored 15-plus goals in each of its last eight victories.
SERIES HISTORY
- The Waves have a 23-9 all-time mark against San Jose State.
- This included a 1-2 record since the teams joined the WCC ahead of the 2023 season.
- Pepperdine has a 7-0 all-time mark against Harvard.
- The most recent meeting saw a 16-11 win for the Waves in Cambridge in 2023.
- This marks the first ever meeting between Pepperdine and UC Merced.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
- San Jose State enters play ranked eighth in the CWPA Poll with a 7-5 overall record.
- The Spartans lone WCC loss was a 13-12 defeat at Pacific, the same scoreline that the Waves had with the Tigers.
- Harvard comes in riding an eight-game winning streak as one of the hottest teams in the country.
- The Crimson has a 5-0 conference record in the NWPC which includes a 13-12 victory over No. 12 Princeton.
- UC Merced enters with a 4-12 mark this season, falling to Biola and Concordia University Irvine this past weekend.
The Waves will return home next weekend to host No. 16 UC Irvine (Nov. 1) and CSU Fullerton (Nov. 2) with coverage on ESPN+.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE WATER POLO
Pepperdine water polo has seen success spanning decades under Terry Schroeder who gave the reins to Merrill Moses following the 2023 season. Highlighted by its national championship in 1997 with Moses as the starting goalie, the Waves have reached the NCAA Tournament on 13 occasions and recently won the inaugural WCC Regular Season Championship in 2023. Overall, the program has seen 60 athletes garner All-American honors while boasting a winning record in 36 of 50 seasons.
TICKETS
For more information and to purchase tickets to upcoming home events, visit here.
FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine water polo news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineMWP.
