Pepperdine University
UC Davis
10/29/2026 2:00:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
MALIBU, Calif. — No. 16 Pepperdine water polo (9-12, 2-2 WCC) is set to host No. 9 UC Davis (14-8, 4-0 WCC) Friday at noon from Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool.
The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with live stats available on the FOSH. Tickets for the game are available for purchase here.
The game marks the penultimate home game for the Waves this season, with senior day set for Saturday, Nov. 14 at 5 p.m. against Long Beach State.
With four regular season games left on the slate, three feature West Coast Conference opponents ahead of the WCC Championships in Santa Clara from Nov. 20-22.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Waves split a pair of matchups this past weekend in the Bay Area.
- Pepperdine fell at No. 4 Cal before claiming a 17-10 win over No. 20 Brown at Santa Clara as part of the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament.
- Milo Joseph led the Waves with nine goals across the two games, including a career-high five goal effort at Cal.
- 11 different Waves logged a goal in the win over Brown, with Csanád Bella, Tyce di Pretoro and Owen Tift joining Joseph with multi-goal efforts.
GAME NOTES
- The Waves remained at No. 16 in the CWPA national rankings this week.
- Pepperdine currently sits in third-place in the WCC standings with a 2-2 mark in conference play.
- Erik Ionescu has led the Waves with 54 goals and 39 assists this season as he closes in on his second-straight 100-point campaign.
- Ionescu ranks third in the WCC with 93 points while being fifth in both goals and assists.
- Hunter Danko has posted 46 goals so far in his debut collegiate season, which ranks second on the Waves.
- Danko is ninth in the WCC in goals as he leads all freshmen in the conference in scoring.
- Danko has claimed a pair of WCC Newcomer of the Week awards to go along with a WCC Player of the Week honor. Ionescu has also tabbed a WCC Player of the Week this season.
- Milo Joseph has registered 28 goals and a team-high 66 drawn exclusions this season, as he averages over one goal and three drawn exclusions per game.
- Joseph has netted four hat tricks across his last five games, totaling 16 goals over that span.
- Tyce di Pretoro ranks third on the squad with 42 points this season via 16 goals and 26 assists, while being second on the team with 19 steals.
- di Pretoro is currently riding a 10-game point streak and recorded three points last time out against Brown.
- Max Smirnov has posted a .416 save-percentage this season in the cage for the Waves, with nine games of 10 or more saves.
- Smirnov ranks second in the WCC with 183 saves while ranking second in the circuit with 28 steals.
- Brian Barnuevo became the third Wave to reach the 30-goal mark this season with a tally against Brown last Saturday.
- Jackson Benners leads the Waves with 12 field blocks and is the lone Pepperdine player with double-digit blocks and steals.
- Csanád Bella is tied for the team-lead among field players with 19 steals on the season to go along with nine field blocks and 16 goals.
- This marks the first WCC matchup between the Waves and Aggies as UC Davis joined the league as an affiliate member for water polo prior to this season.
- Pepperdine has gone 3-3 in home games this season.
- The Waves have scored 10 or more goals in 10 straight games.
SERIES HISTORY
- Pepperdine owns a 30-7 all-time record against UC Davis.
- This marks just the second trip to Malibu for the Aggies and first since 2006, as 29 of the previous 37 matchups have come at neutral sites.
- The teams have split the past ten games evenly at five wins apiece.
- The teams squared off twice in 2025, with the Aggies claiming wins in both contests.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
- The Aggies have posted a 4-0 record in West Coast Conference play with a 14-8 overall record.
- UC Davis is coming off an 11-10 overtime defeat to No. 6 Princeton at the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament after posting wins over Harvard and UC Merced.
- The Aggies are 3-0 in true road games this season.
- UC Davis is led by the trio of Lucas Wulfhost, Oriol Vinas and Thomas Kiesling, who have each recorded over 60 points this season.
Pepperdine will head north again for its final regular season road trip next, with matchups set at Saint Mary's (Nov. 6) and Pacific (Nov. 8).
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 67 athletes garner All-American honors while boasting a winning record in 37 of 51 seasons.
TICKETS
For more information on upcoming home events and to purchase tickets, visit here.
FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine water polo news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineMWP.
