No. 9 Water Polo Sweeps Biola & No. 13 UC Santa Barbara at Home

Thursday, September 3

Malibu, Calif.

12:00 PM

Pepperdine University

3-2

Biola

2-2

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Biola	1	2	5	4	12
Pepperdine	5	5	5	5	20

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
UC Santa Barbara	2	3	2	2	9
Pepperdine	3	4	3	3	13

No. 9 Water Polo Sweeps Biola & No. 13 UC Santa Barbara at Home

9/3/2026 8:30:00 PM | Men's Water Polo

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

MALIBU, Calif. — No. 9 Pepperdine water polo (4-2) picked up a pair of victories at home Thursday, defeating Biola (2-3) by a score of 20-12 before taking down No. 13 UC Santa Barbara (5-3) 13-9 from Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool.

The Waves trailed for just 26 seconds of total game time between the two contests, reaching 20 goals for the second time this season while securing their third defensive effort of allowing ten goals or fewer in six games.

Max Smirnov made 21 saves with just 13 goals allowed on the day to earn the victory in both games. Erik Ionescu paced the Waves offensively with six goals and nine points on the day, with Hunter Danko logging four goals and two assists between the two fixtures.

"Today the team stepped up and played great team defense in both our games today," said head coach Merrill Moses. "Holding a team like UCSB to nine goals is a great team accomplishment. It was a great environment for our home opener of the 2026 season, and we appreciate all the fans and support at the pool deck today. We will watch video, rest and recover and get ready for our game on Saturday vs. Stanford at home."

Pepperdine's victory over the Gauchos marked its first ranked win of the season, while beginning the campaign 2-0 at home in Malibu.

No 9 Pepperdine 20, Biola 12
The Waves returned to Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool for the first time this season with a triumphant first quarter against the Eagles. Pepperdine got out to an early 4-0 advantage, with Csanád Bella netting the first goal in Malibu this season which was followed by a Brian Barnuevo six-on-five tally.

Will Stuart and Adam Yost doubled the lead at 4-0 before the Eagles got on the board with 2:47 left in the frame. Tyce di Pretoro answered on Pepperdine's next possession, as the Waves held a 5-1 lead through the opening period. The Waves held the Eagles to just two shots on goal in the first.

After Biola made it 5-2 early in the second, the Waves used a 4-0 run across the next five minutes to pull away to a 9-2 advantage. Stuart began the run with his second of the contest before consecutive goals from Ionescu, with Conor Brough tallying the ninth of the game for the Waves. Hunter Danko answered a goal from the Eagles just before the half, bringing the Waves to a 10-3 lead at the break.

The Eagles came out with four of the first six goals of the second half, bringing the score to 12-7 with 5:33 left in the frame. The Waves answered with the next three, shutting Biola out over the next 4:25 of game time. Milo Joseph netted an extra man score for the Waves before a Gabe Lewis five-meter penalty goal brought the lead back to seven at 14-7. Cameron Bench took a feed from Sameer Gowda next, with Biola answering in the final minute to bring the score to 15-8 through three periods.

Bench and Joseph got on the scoresheet early in the fourth again, with Ivan Khramtsov netting his first of the contest to push Pepperdine's lead to 18-9 with 4:27 to play. Gowda deposited his first collegiate goal later on, with Bella logging his second to cap the scoring for the Waves. The final score read 20-12 as the Waves opened their home account with a convincing victory.

13 different Waves found the back of the cage in the win, with Ionescu leading the way with three goals and three assists. Max Smirnov made five saves in the first half before George Gayner made his collegiate debut playing the final 16 minutes, logging three saves.

No. 9 Pepperdine 13, No. 13 UC Santa Barbara 9
The Waves matched up for another early season fixture with the Gauchos after pulling out a sudden death overtime victory in the matchup in 2025. UCSB netted the first goal of the game in the opening minutes which was answered 15 seconds later by an Ionescu five-meter penalty. A Santa Barbara answer made it 2-1, but the Waves were quick to even the score again with Danko getting on the scoresheet at even strength.

Pepperdine would go on to shut out the Gauchos over the ensuing 10 minutes and 32 seconds, building up a five-goal advantage with the 6-0 spurt. Benners logged the final goal of the opening frame to put the Waves ahead 3-2 at the first intermission.

Ionescu quickly got on the scoresheet again to begin the second period, with Jon Carcarey netting back-to-back goals which gave Pepperdine a 6-2 lead. After another tally from Danko brought it to 7-2, the Gauchos got back into the game with a 3-0 run to end the half. The Waves led 7-5 at the break.

The game of runs continued as Pepperdine shutout the road side for the opening 5:30 of the second half. The lead was built up to 10-5 with Ivan Khramtsov depositing a goal while Ionescu and Danko secured their hat tricks. Santa Barbara would not go quietly, netting two before the end of the third period to make it 10-7 heading into the final eight minutes.

With the score reading 10-8 with under six minutes to play, Benners fired in his second of the game and sixth of the season to restore the three-goal lead. Santa Barbara answered with a goal once again, which was followed by a Khramtsov goal from up front following an Owen Tift shot that was saved.

Pepperdine's defense held firm down the stretch behind Smirnov in goal, who eventually tallied 16 saves while allowing nine goals. Borough sealed the game in the final two minutes with his first of the match, pushing the final scoreline to 13-9.

Benners logged four points and four field blocks in an all-around effort for the Waves while Danko and Ionescu each tallied three goals. Smirnov's 16 saves marked the seventh effort of his career with 15 or more saves, holding the Gauchos to a season-low nine goals.

The Waves will take momentum into a Saturday matchup against No. 3 Stanford at 1 p.m. in Malibu. The contest can be streamed live on ESPN+ with 'Polo in Paradise' as the first 100 students in attendance will receive free Kona Ice.

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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