Davis, Calif. - The No. 4 Pacific men's water polo team remained undefeated with a 17-4 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and a 17-5 win over Redlands at the Aggie Roundup at UC Davis.
Against CMS, Tim Reeves and Luke Pavillard tallied four goals each while Ikko Saito added a hat trick. Aleksandar Petrovic scored twice, while Engin Ege Colak, Andrea De Nardi, Kale Ai, and Lucas Hastie also scored. Derek Clappis racked up four assists while Pavillard added three for a seven-point game. Goalie Alen Osmanovic recorded six saves.
In the finale against Redlands, Andres Schmidt scored a career-high four goals, while Pavillard tallied another hat trick. Colak, Clappis, De Nardi and Reeves each scored twice while Petrovic and Saito also scored. Ai handed out two assists and leads the Tigers this season with 13 helpers. Osmanovic added seven saves in goal and improves to 9-0 this season.
Pacific sits at 9-0 on the season, sweeping the action in two tournaments while outscoring opponents 143-47, an average margin of victory of 10.67 goals per game. CMS falls to 3-6, while drops to 3-9. The Tigers have won 64 consecutive games to teams outside the MPSF & Golden Coast Conferences (The GCC was formed this season as six teams including Pacific split from the MPSF).
In the opener against CMS, Pacific tallied first as Ai opened the scoring, but CMS answered back with a goal from Ellison Taylor. Reeves' back-to-back goals in the final 90 seconds of the first quarter gave Pacific a 3-1 lead after one.
In the second, CMS pulled within 3-2 before Hastie finished. Colak provided a three-goal lead and Petrovic scored twice before halftime, while Reeves capped the hat trick two seconds before the buzzer for an 8-2 lead at the break.
Pavillard and Saito scored their seven combined goals in the second half, while Reeves added his fourth and De Nardi also tallied as the Tigers cruised to the win.
Against Redlands, De Nardi opened the scoring 1:20 into the game, but Redlands answered right back with a goal from Matt Shippen. Ai set up Colak for a goal and a 2-1 Pacific lead, and Reeves made it 3-1. Pavillard and Saito tacked on as Pacific led 5-1 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second, Clappis and Schmidt extended the lead to 7-1, while Pavillard and De Nardi tallied for a 9-2 lead. Schmidt added back-to-back goals for an 11-2 lead at halftime.
Schmidt scored his fourth in the third quarter and Pavillard completed a hat trick as the Tigers led 13-3 after three.
Reeves and Clappis each added their second goals of the game in the fourth, and Ai set up Colak's second for a 16-5 lead, with Petrovic tacking on with 39 seconds to go for the final margin of 17-5.
Pacific finished 3-for-7 with a 6-on-5 advantage, while holding Redlands to 1-for-6 on the power play.
Next up for Pacific is the annual NorCal Tournament, as Cal hosts the Mountain Pacific Invitational starting Friday. The Tigers first opponent is Friday at 9:25 a.m. against Air Force. The Tigers and Falcons will play at Northgate High School pool, as the 16-team field requires two venues.
The winners and losers of Pacific vs Air Force and Stanford vs San Jose State will meet each other in the quarterfinals or consolation quarters on Saturday at 9:25 a.m., with the losers meeting at Northgate and the winners at Cal's Speiker Aquatics Center. The semifinals and consolation semis will be Saturday afternoon, times to be determined.
