[Santa Clara Box Score] l [UC Davis Box Score]

Berkeley, Calif. - No. 5 Pacific Men's Water Polo started its season with a pair of victories over top-15 foes, defeating No. 14 Santa Clara and No. 13 UC Davis at the Golden Bear Invitational Saturday, Sept. 3. The Tigers started the day with an 11-2 rout of the Broncos then returned to the pool in the afternoon to beat the Aggies 8-7.

Pacific now sits at 2-0 on the season while both Santa Clara and UC Davis fall to 0-2.

"It was a good way to open the season with two wins against solid non-conference opponents," head coach James Graham said. "It was nice to see all of our guys get playing time and I was excited to see our freshmen step up."

Pacific put the Broncos away early, taking a 5-1 advantage into intermission. The Tigers cruised from there, scoring three times in the third and netting three more goals in the fourth.

The Orange and Black got a dominant offensive performance from senior Tom Koning against Santa Clara. The attacker, already the program's tenth-leading scorer, tallied five goals against the Broncos, bringing his career total to 108. He was not alone, however, as fellow seniors Jasper Visser, Lance Morrison, and Tyler Reardon also scored. Morrison put two shots away while Reardon used a penalty shot to register his point.

Also finishing for the Tigers were freshmen Alex Obert and Sean Grady, both of whom notched their first collegiate goals.

Senior Joey Frantz manned the cage for Pacific, playing all four quarters and recording six saves.

The No. 14 Broncos received goals from senior James Case and redshirt sophomore Theo Nasser. Senior goalkeeper Michael Wishart saved 13 shots.

The day's second match was a much closer affair as Pacific trailed 3-2 at the half. The Tigers knotted the score at 5-5 going into the fourth quarter then outscored the Aggies three to two in the final period to earn the victory.

Junior center Goran Tomasevic registered three goals while Koning added two. Reardon, junior Balazs Szabo, and redshirt junior Joe Orr also finished for the Orange and Black.

Frantz notched six saves in his second consecutive complete game.

Senior Aaron Salit led UC Davis with four goals. Senior Kevin Peat tallied eight saves for the Aggies.

Pacific returns to Berkeley Sunday, Sept. 4 for a scrimmage with No. 2 California. Match time is set for 12 p.m.