STOCKTON, Calif. – In front of a buzzing, jam-packed crowd, the #7 Pacific men's water polo team (5-1) battled #2 UCLA (8-0) on Saturday afternoon in the home opener at the Chris Kjeldsen Pool, eventually falling to the Bruins, 20-12.
 
"It was an amazing environment. The crowd was awesome. This was like a championship level environment today," said head coach James Graham. "With respect to the game, it was a tale of two scores. I really liked the way we played offense. I thought we caused a lot of problems and played well with the pressure on offense."
 
Senior Aleksa Šišakovic led the Tigers offensively with a four-goal performance, collecting his fourth hat trick of the season.
 
Junior Gil Gvishi added a pair of goals, including the game's opening tally, to secure his fourth multi-goal performance of the year. Junior Declan McJilton also netted two goals for the Tigers.
 
Senior goalkeeper Lewis Gale made seven saves in the effort.
 
"On the defensive side, UCLA won the game. We made too many unforced errors. We need to tighten up those little mistakes and make the necessary adjustments ahead of tomorrow."
 
The Tigers have a quick turnaround as they host the defending national champion and #1 California Golden Bears at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 17.