Photo by: Luiza Moraes
Men’s Water Polo Faces UC Santa Barbara On The First Round Of Big West Championships
The winner of this year's tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
By: Luiza Moraes - Athletics Communication Assistant
LONG BEACH, Calif. - After finishing the regular season with two dominating wins against No. 19 Loyola Marymount and No. 8 (T) UC Irvine, No. 8 (T) Long Beach State men's water polo team will travel to Northern California for the Big West Championships hosted by UC Davis this weekend. The Beach has earned the No. 5 seed in the tournament and will face No. 4 UC Santa Barbara in the opening round on Friday. The winner of the tournament earns an automatic bid for the NCAA Championships hosted by Stanford in December.
Friday's match-up will be the second meeting between Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara this season. The Gauchos defeated the Beach in recent conference play at Dos Pueblos HS in Santa Barbara, Calif. where UCSB came back in the last quarter and took the game to overtime winning 15-13.
The Beach this season has a mix of new faces and veterans leading the team. Freshmen Gabi Acosta and Corbin Stanley have made an immediate impact to the program leading the team in goals with 58 and 47, respectively. Acosta leads the Big West rankings in total goals in the season as well as in conference play, scoring 15 goals in five games. The entire freshman class has combined for 43% of Long Beach State goals in the season.
The sophomore class has also been making an impact with Caleb Francisco ranking fourth of the team with 38 goals and being a key piece of the team during the conference matches scoring in four of the five games, totaling 10 goals. Francisco netted a season-high of five goals against No. 8 UC Irvine on the last game of regular season. Marc Frigola continues to improve for Long Beach State after being named to the All-Freshman Team of the conference last season. Frigola ranks fourth in points in the Big West Conference with 75, netting 37 goals and adding 38 assists.
After earning All-Big West First Team selections last season, Evan Cain has returned for his final season at the Beach collaborating with 46 goals and 14 assists. Cain netted 12 of his goals during conference play and ranks third in the Big West play rankings. Goalkeepers Liam Ward and Aaron Wilson have split time this season with Ward helping with 115 saves, 20 steals and four assists while Wilson has 150 saves, 28 steals and 14 assists.
No. 14 UC Santa Barbara features a balanced attack with four players scoring more than 40 goals in the season. Leading the offense is redshirt junior Brock Zamanian with 51 goals, followed by senior Adam Gyenis with 47 and redshirt freshman Dom Brown with 45. Zamanian also leads the team in assists with 39. The Gaucho's defense is led by redshirt junior Levi Lentin collaborating with 184 saves, 31 steals and 12 assists.
The winner of the contest will head into semifinals to face the No. 1 seed UC Irvine on Saturday.
First sprint for Friday's game will be at Noon at the Schaal Aquatics Center in Davis, Calif. with live stats provided through thefosh.net.
Friday's match-up will be the second meeting between Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara this season. The Gauchos defeated the Beach in recent conference play at Dos Pueblos HS in Santa Barbara, Calif. where UCSB came back in the last quarter and took the game to overtime winning 15-13.
The Beach this season has a mix of new faces and veterans leading the team. Freshmen Gabi Acosta and Corbin Stanley have made an immediate impact to the program leading the team in goals with 58 and 47, respectively. Acosta leads the Big West rankings in total goals in the season as well as in conference play, scoring 15 goals in five games. The entire freshman class has combined for 43% of Long Beach State goals in the season.
The sophomore class has also been making an impact with Caleb Francisco ranking fourth of the team with 38 goals and being a key piece of the team during the conference matches scoring in four of the five games, totaling 10 goals. Francisco netted a season-high of five goals against No. 8 UC Irvine on the last game of regular season. Marc Frigola continues to improve for Long Beach State after being named to the All-Freshman Team of the conference last season. Frigola ranks fourth in points in the Big West Conference with 75, netting 37 goals and adding 38 assists.
After earning All-Big West First Team selections last season, Evan Cain has returned for his final season at the Beach collaborating with 46 goals and 14 assists. Cain netted 12 of his goals during conference play and ranks third in the Big West play rankings. Goalkeepers Liam Ward and Aaron Wilson have split time this season with Ward helping with 115 saves, 20 steals and four assists while Wilson has 150 saves, 28 steals and 14 assists.
No. 14 UC Santa Barbara features a balanced attack with four players scoring more than 40 goals in the season. Leading the offense is redshirt junior Brock Zamanian with 51 goals, followed by senior Adam Gyenis with 47 and redshirt freshman Dom Brown with 45. Zamanian also leads the team in assists with 39. The Gaucho's defense is led by redshirt junior Levi Lentin collaborating with 184 saves, 31 steals and 12 assists.
The winner of the contest will head into semifinals to face the No. 1 seed UC Irvine on Saturday.
First sprint for Friday's game will be at Noon at the Schaal Aquatics Center in Davis, Calif. with live stats provided through thefosh.net.
