Pepperdine University
Saint Mary's
11/5/2026 2:00:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
MALIBU, Calif. — No. 16 Pepperdine water polo (9-13, 2-3 WCC) will hit the road for its final two West Coast Conference regular season matchups this weekend.
The Waves will take on Saint Mary's (7-14, 1-4 WCC) Friday night at 6:30 p.m. before taking on No. 13 Pacific (10-8, 3-2 WCC) Sunday at 1 p.m.
Sunday will mark the final day of WCC contests ahead of the WCC Tournament in Santa Clara from Nov. 20-22. Pepperdine will have a final tune-up at home against Long Beach State on Nov. 14 prior to the tournament.
Both games will have streaming on ESPN+ this weekend, with live stats available on the FOSH.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Waves fell 18-7 at home to No. 9 UC Davis last Friday, moving to 2-3 in conference play.
- The teams played the second half even, scoring seven goals each after halftime.
- Erik Ionescu led the Waves with four goals and an assist.
GAME NOTES
- The Waves remained at No. 16 in the CWPA national rankings this week.
- Pepperdine currently sits in a tie for fourth-place in the WCC standings with a 2-3 mark in conference play.
- Erik Ionescu has led the Waves with 58 goals and 40 assists this season as he closes in on his second-straight 100-point campaign.
- Ionescu ranks third in the WCC with 98 points while being fifth in goals and sixth in assists.
- Hunter Danko has posted 46 goals so far in his debut collegiate season, which ranks second on the Waves.
- Danko leads all freshmen in the conference in goals.
- 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 secured a WCC Player of the Week this season.
- Milo Joseph has registered 29 goals and a team-high 72 drawn exclusions this season, as he's averaged over one goal and three drawn exclusions per game.
- Joseph has netted four hat tricks across his last six games, totaling 17 goals over that span with at least one goal in each game.
- Tyce di Pretoro ranks third on the squad with 43 points this season via 16 goals and 27 assists, while being third on the team with 19 steals.
- di Pretoro is currently riding an 11-game point streak.
- Max Smirnov has posted a .418 save-percentage this season in the cage for the Waves, with ten games of 10 or more saves.
- Smirnov ranks second in the WCC with 196 saves while ranking fourth in the conference with 30 steals.
- Brian Barnuevo scored a pair of goals last time out against UC Davis, giving him six tallies across Pepperdine's past five games.
- Jackson Benners leads the Waves with 12 field blocks this season, to go along with 24 points and 11 steals.
- Csanad Bella leads Pepperdine's field players with 20 steals on the season to go along with 10 field blocks and 17 goals.
- Pepperdine has gone 1-6 in true road games this season.
SERIES HISTORY
- This is Pepperdine's first-ever meeting with Saint Mary's, as the 2026 season is the inaugural campaign for the Gaels.
- The Waves hold a 58-39-1 all-time record against Pacific.
- Pepperdine is 23-13 in road matchups against the Tigers
- The Tigers have claimed eight of the past ten meetings in the series.
- Pacific earned a 13-12 victory in Malibu in last season's fixture.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
- Saint Mary's has gotten off to a 7-14 start in its first season.
- The Gaels earned their first conference victory with a 16-10 win over Air Force last month.
- Saint Mary's also fell to UC Davis in their most recent contest, by a score of 11-6.
- The Gaels are led by freshman attacker Leo Hachem, who has scored 48 goals this season.
- Pacific is currently ranked No. 13 in the nation behind a 10-8 overall record and 3-2 mark in WCC play.
- The Tigers are currently on a four-game winning streak, with wins over Harvard, Iona, Bucknell and Air Force.
- Pacific's trio of Borisz Kasa-Gal, Gabor Holl and Petar Popovic have each posted 60-plus points this season to lead the Tigers.
- Pacific has posted a 10-4 record away from home this season, with an 0-4 mark in Stockton.
The Waves will return home for the regular season finale and senior day match, set for Saturday, Nov. 14 at 5 p.m. against Long Beach State.
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
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