2026 Men's Water Polo Roster
Roster
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Jersey Number 22
Erik Ionescu
- Position:
- Attacker
- Height:
- 6-1
- Weight:
- 180
- Class:
- Junior
- Hometown:
- Budapest, Hungary
- High School:
- Orchidea Bilingual School
2025: ACWPC All-American Second Team ... All-WCC Second Team ... All-WCC Preseason Team ... WCC Player of the Week (Nov. 18) ... Totaled 57 goals and 43 assists ... Led the Waves with 100 points on the season ... Added 15 steals and nine field blocks ... Appeared in 26 games ... Tallied five goals and seven points in win over No. 19 UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 11) ... Posted three goals and four assists with a steal against Redlands (Sept. 20) ... Scored a hat trick with an assist at No. 2 Cal (Sept. 27) ... Collected three goals and three assists at No. 4 Stanford (Sept. 28) and No. 9 Long Beach State (Oct. 3) ... Scored five goals with an assist, steal and field block at No. 15 California Baptist (Oct. 9) ... Recorded three goals with two assists, a steal and field block at No. 8 San Jose State (Oct. 24) ... Tabbed four goals with two assists against No. 19 Harvard (Oct. 25) ... Scored four goals with an assists against UC Merced (Oct. 25) ... Had three goals with four assists in win over No. 13 LMU (Nov. 8) ... Netted four goals with a steal and two field blocks at No. 17 Santa Clara (Nov. 14) ... Logged a goal and five assists in WCC Quarterfinal victory against No. 17 Santa Clara (Nov. 21) ... Put up three goals, three assists and three field blocks in WCC Semifinal versus No. 9 San Jose State.
2024: Totaled 46 goals and 34 assists during breakout freshman season ... Named WCC Freshman of the Year ... All-WCC Honorable Mention ... 3x WCC Newcomer of the Week ... Netted a hat trick in Waves debut against Pomona-Pitzer (Sept. 7) ... Scored four goals in win over No. 2 Cal (Sept. 8) ... Registered two goals and five assists to help defeat No. 16 LMU (Sept. 14) ... Had six-point effort in victory against No. 13 UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 19) ... Posted six points versus No. 3 Stanford (Sept. 29) ... Recorded five goals and two assists in win at Air Force (Oct. 20) ... Led the Waves with five goals and seven points in one-goal victory over No. 15 Cal Baptist (Nov. 3).
HIGH SCHOOL: Graduated from Orchidea Bilingual School, located in Budapest, Hungary, in 2022.
CLUB: Played for the Szolnok club team in 2023 … Competed for the UVSE club water polo team from 2020-2022 … A two-time Hungarian Junior Cup winner … Won the junior championships twice … MVP of the Hungarian Junior Cup … Helped his U17 team to a third-place finish at the European Championship for the Hungarian national team … Also for the Hungarian national team, led his team to a U18 World Championship.
PERSONAL: Born in Budapest, Hungary ... Son of Ionescu Manuela and Bordas Laszlo ... Chose to attend Pepperdine because “Pepperdine has the best student-athlete program in the entire country in addition to the most beautiful campus.”
FAVORITES: Enjoys hanging out with friends and exploring ... Favorites include Benedik Tibor (pro athlete), Pro Recco (pro team), The Hunger Games (book), Now You See Me 2 (movie), Breaking Bad (TV show), Kygo (musical artist), sushi (food) and skiing (sport other than water polo) ... Favorite thing about water polo is “being able to swim and be on a team sport.”
2024: Totaled 46 goals and 34 assists during breakout freshman season ... Named WCC Freshman of the Year ... All-WCC Honorable Mention ... 3x WCC Newcomer of the Week ... Netted a hat trick in Waves debut against Pomona-Pitzer (Sept. 7) ... Scored four goals in win over No. 2 Cal (Sept. 8) ... Registered two goals and five assists to help defeat No. 16 LMU (Sept. 14) ... Had six-point effort in victory against No. 13 UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 19) ... Posted six points versus No. 3 Stanford (Sept. 29) ... Recorded five goals and two assists in win at Air Force (Oct. 20) ... Led the Waves with five goals and seven points in one-goal victory over No. 15 Cal Baptist (Nov. 3).
HIGH SCHOOL: Graduated from Orchidea Bilingual School, located in Budapest, Hungary, in 2022.
CLUB: Played for the Szolnok club team in 2023 … Competed for the UVSE club water polo team from 2020-2022 … A two-time Hungarian Junior Cup winner … Won the junior championships twice … MVP of the Hungarian Junior Cup … Helped his U17 team to a third-place finish at the European Championship for the Hungarian national team … Also for the Hungarian national team, led his team to a U18 World Championship.
PERSONAL: Born in Budapest, Hungary ... Son of Ionescu Manuela and Bordas Laszlo ... Chose to attend Pepperdine because “Pepperdine has the best student-athlete program in the entire country in addition to the most beautiful campus.”
FAVORITES: Enjoys hanging out with friends and exploring ... Favorites include Benedik Tibor (pro athlete), Pro Recco (pro team), The Hunger Games (book), Now You See Me 2 (movie), Breaking Bad (TV show), Kygo (musical artist), sushi (food) and skiing (sport other than water polo) ... Favorite thing about water polo is “being able to swim and be on a team sport.”
