BRIDGEPORT, Pa. - Pepperdine water polo has been selected at No. 7 in the Preseason Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Poll announced today.
The Waves are coming off a 21-8 campaign in 2024 which also saw a 5-1 mark in conference play in
Merrill Moses' first full season at the helm. The Waves earned six victories over top-six opponents on the year including a sudden death overtime triumph over No. 2 Cal. Pepperdine eventually came in at No. 13 in the final CWPA rankings of 2024.
Pepperdine's 2025 schedule features 17 of the 19 other programs named in the preseason poll, with only No. 3 Fordham and No. 17 Brown not on the docket for the Waves among the preseason top-20. The Waves boast one of the strongest strength-of-schedules in the nation.
The Waves also tab the highest ranking among all West Coast Conference programs in the poll, with six of seven programs in the conference coming in the top-18 with Air Force being the first team out of the poll while receiving votes.
Pepperdine will return an All-WCC Second Team selection from this past season in senior attacker
Adam Csapo along with a pair of All-WCC honorable mentions in senior attacker
Sandor Gal and sophomore attacker
Erik Ionescu. Ionescu was named WCC Freshman of the Year following his breakout season with 86 points.
The Waves will open the season next weekend at the Triton Inivte hosted by UC San Diego. The season will begin with a matchup against No. 20 Navy on Saturday, Aug. 30 at 8:00 a.m. before a matchup with Pomona-Pitzer at noon. Returning on Sunday, Aug. 31, the Waves will take on No. 14 UC Davis and No. 12 UC San Diego to close out the weekend.
| 2025 Men's CWPA Preseason Poll |
| Rank |
Team |
| 1 |
University of California-Los Angeles |
| 2 |
University of Southern California |
| 3 (T) |
University of California |
| 3 (T) |
Fordham University |
| 3 (T) |
Stanford University |
| 6 |
Long Beach State University |
| 7 (T) |
Pepperdine University |
| 7 (T) |
University of California-Irvine |
| 9 |
University of the Pacific |
| 10 (T) |
Princeton University |
| 10 (T) |
San Jose State University |
| 12 |
University of California-San Diego |
| 13 |
California Baptist University |
| 14 |
University of California-Davis |
| 15 |
University of California-Santa Barbara |
| 16 |
Loyola Marymount University |
| 17 |
Brown University |
| 18 (T) |
Santa Clara University |
| 18 (T) |
Harvard University |
| 20 |
United States Naval Academy |
| RV |
United States Air Force Academy |
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.
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