USAFA, Colo. – Receiving a first round bye to the semifinals, the sixth-ranked and top-seeded Pacific men's water polo program will square off against 15th-ranked and fifth-seeded CBU at 2 p.m. (PT) Saturday at Cadet Natatorium, hosted by Air Force.
 
The Tigers (15-7, 5-1 WCC) won the West Coast Conference Regular Season Championship for the second year in a row and were the only team to receive a bye at the conference tournament. CBU (23-10, 3-3 WCC) defeated fourth-seeded LMU 15-11 on Friday to advance to the semifinals.
 
In the regular season matchup, the Tigers defeated the Lancers 14-11 to clinch the regular season crown on Nov. 2. Pacific garnered hat tricks from sophomore Ori Buzaglo, freshman Petar Popovic and freshman Borisz Kasa-Gal after building an early 5-1 lead and 8-4 at half.
 
Pacific is 18-2 all-time against CBU. It's a revenge game from last year where the Tigers dropped a 10-9 heartbreaker to the Lancers in the WCC semifinals.
 
The Tigers earned a long list of 2025 postseason awards from the league this past week. The accolades included five All-Conference honorees, three on the All-Freshman Team, three on the All-Academic First-Team, three All-Academic Honorable Mention, the Coach of the Year in James Graham and the Freshman of the Year in Apostolos Georgaras.
 
Graham won Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season and the sixth time in his career on the men's side. Georgaras became the first Freshman of the Year from Pacific dating back to 1993 when the program joined the MPSF. He led the Tigers with 70 goals including 13 games of at least a hat trick.
 
Pacific won the regular season after being picked to finish third in the WCC Preseason Poll. CBU was accurately predicted to finish fifth.
 
If the Tigers win, they'll advance to the championship game at 12 p.m. Sunday. Pacific would be playing for its first WCC Tournament title since the championship began in 2023. The Tigers previously competed in the Golden Coast Conference from 2016-22.
 
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For all the latest on Pacific men's water polo, be sure to follow the team on X (@UOPWaterPoloU), Instagram (@pacificwaterpolo) and "like" the team's official Facebook page (Pacific Men's Water Polo).
 
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