STOCKTON, Calif. – The #15 Pacific men's water polo team will make a short trip to the Bay Area for the 2023 Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament, featuring three games this weekend.
The Tigers (10-6) will face #6 Princeton (18-3) on Friday, Bucknell (10-9) on Saturday and #18 Harvard (14-3) on Sunday.
The Santa Clara water polo community lost one of its own in the spring of 2017 with the passing of men's player Julian Fraser. In recognition, the water polo program renamed the annual Rodeo Tournament as the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament, a three-day event which features teams from both sides of the country. This year's field has 14 teams, including West Coast Conference opponents Air Force, California Baptist, Pepperdine, Santa Clara and San Jose State.
Pacific holds a six-game win streak against Princeton, winning the most recent matchup on Oct. 18, 2021, in Stockton, Calif., by a score of 14-8.
Pacific carries a nine-game win streak in the series against Bucknell. The Tigers won the matchup earlier this year against the Bison in the Bruno Classic at Brown. Pacific scored a season-high 24 goals in a 24-12 win in September. In the victory, freshman
Spencer Burdack scored four goals while graduate student
Stefan Vavic and fifth-year senior
Rene Peralta tallied hat tricks. Senior
Lewis Gale made nine saves in the effort defensively.
Pacific has won the last six games against Harvard, taking the latest matchup last year on September 18, 2022, in Davis, Calif. by a score of 14-11. In the effort offensively, Peralta netted a pair of key four-period goals to secure the victory.
After Wednesday's 12-10 win over #16 Fordham at home, the Tigers look to carry the momentum over to the weekend with Peralta pacing the offense with a team-high 34 goals and 51 points. Vavic has the set the table well for the Tigers, leading the team with 22 assists to go along with 49 points.
In goal, Gale has earned the bulk of the starts, owning a 9-3 record with 86 saves and 20 steals.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
Friday, Oct. 20
11:20 a.m. – #6 Princeton vs. Pacific – Santa Clara, Calif. – Sullivan Aquatic Center
Saturday, Oct. 21
12 p.m. – Bucknell vs. Pacific – San Jose, Calif. – Spartan Recreational and Aquatic Center
Sunday, Oct. 22
8 a.m. – #18 Harvard vs. Pacific – San Jose, Calif. – Spartan Recreational and Aquatic Center
