No. 16 Water Polo Earns 14-12 Victory at Saint Mary’s

Friday, November 6

Moraga, Calif.

6:30 PM

Pepperdine University

10-13, 3-3WCC

Saint Mary's

7-15, 1-5WCC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Pepperdine	3	4	5	2	14
Saint Mary's (CA)	2	2	5	3	12

11/6/2026 9:00:00 PM | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

MORAGA, Calif. — No. 16 Pepperdine water polo (10-13, 3-3 WCC) earned a 14-12 victory at Saint Mary's (7-15, 1-5 WCC) Friday night in Moraga.

The Waves led wire-to-wire in the win after jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the opening frame.

Hunter Danko led the Waves with a career-high seven goals to go along with a steal. Owen Tift and Erik Ionescu each recorded three-point efforts as well, with Ionescu netting a pair of goals.

Milo Joseph drew seven exclusions including a key five-meter penalty in the final minute, to go along with a goal. Jon Carcarey, Tyce di Pretoro and Brian Barnuevo each logged goals for the Waves as well.

"I'm very proud of our team and how they played tonight," said head coach Merrill Moses. "It was a great team win with lots of players stepping up since we had a lot of athletes that ended up in foul trouble. Our front court and 5-man defense was great this evening and we will continue to focus on our defense so we are at our best for our conference tournament."

Pepperdine jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first four minutes behind a pair of Danko goals. The first came on a 6-on-5 with the second being from the five-meter. Ionescu tallied his first of the game to give the Waves a 3-0 advantage, with the Gaels answering to make it 3-2 heading into the second quarter.

Danko continued to torment the Gaels with two more goals in the second period, as Pepperdine got out to a 7-4 lead at halftime. Owen Tift also deposited a goal in the frame on a 6-on-5 opportunity while Tyce di Pretoro got on the scoresheet with his 17th goal of the season. Smirnov had four saves at halftime as Pepperdine held the Gaels to four goals.

Both offenses came alive in the third, with each side scoring five times. Danko continued to find the back of the net for the Waves, scoring two more after goals from Milo Joseph, Ionescu and Brian Barnuevo. The Waves led 12-7 following Danko's sixth goal of the game, with the Gaels responding with consecutive goals to make it 12-9 heading into the final eight minutes.

The Gaels cut the lead down to two at 12-10, with Jon Carcarey then scoring from a shot to the top-left corner of the cage from distance, giving Pepperdine breathing room at 13-10 with 4:58 to play. Saint Mary's responded with two goals to make it 13-12, as the teams then traded stops as the clock ticked down to under two minutes.

With Pepperdine holding possession with a minute left, Joseph drew a five-meter penalty, his seventh drawn exclusion of the game, giving the Waves an opportunity to put the game to rest. Danko stepped up and fired in his career-best seventh goal of the game, providing Pepperdine with a 14-12 lead. The Waves got one final stop before running out the clock and claiming the win in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

Pepperdine moved to 3-3 in West Coast Conference play with the victory.

The Waves will close out the conference slate this Sunday at 1 p.m. with a road tilt at No. 13 Pacific.

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.

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