MALIBU, Calif. – In the quarterfinals of the inaugural West Coast Conference Tournament, the #17 Pacific men's water polo team put together a spirited fight, but ultimately fell, 14-9, to #14 San Jose State on Friday afternoon at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool.
 
The Tigers' season comes to a close after competing in the West Coast Conference for the first time this year. Pacific ends the campaign with a 12-14 overall record. San Jose State advances to face #2 seed Loyola Marymount in the semifinals of the WCC Tournament.
 
Freshman Spencer Burdack carried the torch offensively for the Tigers, scoring a hat trick amidst a five-point performance. Graduate student Stefan Vavic and fifth-year senior Rene Peralta collected multi-point efforts while freshman goalkeeper Benjamin Gronbach drew the starting assignment, making nine saves on the defensive side. 
 
It was a quick-paced, back-and-forth start for the Tigers and Spartans. San Jose State held a slight edge, 4-3, after the first eight minutes of play.
 
Both teams traded three goals in the second frame as the Spartans maintained a one-goal advantage, 7-6, into halftime. Burdack completed his hat trick, scoring twice in the second quarter to ignite the Tigers' offense.
 
In the second half, San Jose State began to pull away, outscoring the Tigers by a 3-1 margin in the third quarter. Junior Gil Gvishi tallied the Tigers' lone goal in the frame.
 
Pacific attempted to mount a late push in the final moments of the contest, but the Spartans defense stood tall, eventually securing a 14-9 victory.
 
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