STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific men's water polo team (16-5, 5-0) is ready to defend their home pool as the Tigers will face the 2019 GCC Tournament Champion Pepperdine Waves (25-7, 4-1) in the second semifinal matchup of the NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship on Saturday night at 7:00 pm.
Serving as the hosts for the first time in school history, UOP is making their third appearance as a semifinalist in the tournament in the past seven seasons.
If the Tigers take down the Waves, they will play the winner of USC vs. Stanford on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 3:00 pm in the national championship game.
GAME DAY INFO:
Pepperdine (25-7, 4-1) vs. Pacific (16-5, 5-0)
Saturday, December 7 | 7:00 pm | Stockton, Calif.
Links:
Live Stream |
Live Stats
TBD vs. TBD
Sunday, December 8 | 3:00 pm | Stockton, Calif.
Links:
Live Stream |
Live Stats
LAST TIME OUT:
- Pacific secured their third consecutive regular season GCC Title after finishing as the only undefeated team (5-0) in conference play.
- Coming into the GCC Tournament as the No. 1 seed, Pacific dropped both games in tournament play, falling to Long Beach State, 13-12, before being defeated by UC Santa Barbara, 15-10.
- Redshirt senior Luke Pavillard was named to the GCC All-Tournament team after tallying two goals and four steals in the Tigers' two matches.
TALE OF THE TAPE:
- This is the 66th all-time meeting between the Tigers and the Waves. Pepperdine currently holds a 37-29 advantage in the record books, but Pacific previously defeated the Waves, 15-8, on Oct. 26, 2019 in Stockton.
- Moving forward, Pacific has played each remaining team in the NCAA Tournament at least once this season. The Tigers took down Pepperdine on Oct. 26, defeated USC twice (Sept. 28 and Oct. 12), but unfortunately lost to the Cardinal twice as well (Sept. 28 and Oct. 6)
- If Pacific advances to the championship match, UOP will make their first appearance in the national title game since 2013, when finished as the runner-up after dropping a heartbreaker to USC by a final score of 12-11.
ON THE PROWL:
- For the third consecutive season, Pavillard was named the GCC Player of the Year. Serving as a true leader for the Tigers throughout his career, the Perth, Australia native led the league in goals per game (2.84), points per game (4.26) and steals per game (1.42), while also finishing second in assists per game (1.42). Overall, Pavillard also led Pacific in goals (54), points (81) and steals (27) in addition to finishing second in assists (27). Furthermore, his steals and assists would rank fifth and third in the conference rankings respectively.
- Making an immediate impact in his first year in Stockton, Jeremie Cote has been named the GCC Newcomer of the Year. The Montreal, Quebec native proved he would be a force to be reckoned with for years to come after finishing seventh in the league in goals (46), seventh in assists (24) and fourth in points (70) in addition to placing second on the team in goals and points, third in assists and tied for fourth in steals (12).
- In addition to these individual awards, Pavillard and Colak were named to the First Team GCC All-Conference, Cote to the Second Team GCC All-Conference, Luis Araya as an Honorable Mention GCC All-Conference, and Cote and Matthew Hosmer to the GCC All-Freshmen Team.
POWERHOUSES IN THE POOL:
- Pacific and Pepperdine have combined for 17 All-American selections since 2016. Pavillard was a back-to-back First Team selection in 2017 and 2018 while Engin Ege Colak has been selected the past three years (Honorable Mention in 2016, Third Team in 2017 + 2018). Colak is the tenth Tiger in program history to be selected as an All-American at least three times.
- Both programs have enjoyed significant success over the last few years, with Pepperdine having won at least 15 matches in the last three seasons. Despite only winning 12 games last year, the Tigers were a national semi-finalist in the 2017 NCAA Men's Division I postseason tournament.
- The Tigers are making their third NCAA Semifinal appearance in the last seven seasons while Pepperdine has reached the tournament for the first time in 22 years, having not reached this point since their national championship season in 1997.
FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on Pacific men's water polo, be sure to follow along on Twitter @UOPWaterPoloU, Instagram @PacificWaterPolo and on Facebook @PacificMensWaterPolo.
