The No. 14 UCSD men’s water polo team, which won the Western
Water Polo Association championships last season, took fifth in this year’s
conference tournament. The Tritons won the fifth-place game against No. 20
University of Redlands by a score of 14-8 on Nov. 18 to end their season. UCSD
opened up the tournament with a tough 11-10 loss to No. 16 U.S. Air Force
Academy to put the Tritons in the consolation bracket. There, UCSD went on to
win 19-6 against UC Santa Cruz on Nov. 17 to propel the Tritons into the game
against the Bulldogs, finishing with a 12-17 record for the season.
In the Tritons’ final game, both teams played a tight first
quarter, matching each other goal for goal. UCSD scored the game’s first three
goals, but the Bulldogs answered with three of their own.
With the game tied, the Tritons picked up the pace in the
second quarter, scoring five goals to
one to give them an 8-4 lead heading into halftime. The Tritons extended their
lead by outscoring the Bulldogs 4-2 in the third quarter, almost cementing
their win.
Leading the way on offense for UCSD were sophomore two-meter
Daniel Garcia and junior driver Jeff Hunt, who each scored three goals during
the game.
The Tritons lost a close 12-10 game earlier in the season
against Redlands, giving them extra motivation to pick up the win.
The first game of the WWPA championships in Colorado for the
Tritons pitted the No. 4 seed UCSD against the No. 5 seed U.S. Air Force
Academy. The last time the two teams played each other was Sept. 1, when the
Tritons won a nail-biter by a score of 15-14. But this time the Falcons
dictated the outcome.
The Tritons fell behind early in the game as they were
outscored by Air Force 4-2 in each of the first two quarters, but they launched
a comeback in the second half, scoring three goals in the third quarter and
only allowing one score from the Falcons. UCSD erased its first-half deficit
near the end of the fourth quarter, tying the game 10-10 with less than one
minute left in regulation. Air Force responded on its ensuing possession with a
goal to deal UCSD the 11-10 loss.
“We knew that if you let your guard down or get lazy against
Air Force, they can get in your face,” sophomore utility Sean Roberts said. “I think
that’s what happened in the first half. We let our guard down for a little
while.”
The Tritons were led in scoring by Garcia and junior driver
Chance Vermilyea, who each scored three goals for the team.
UCSD answered back from a disappointing loss to Air Force
with a win the next day against UC Santa Cruz.
“We took the fire from the outcome of the Air Force game and
put it forth on Santa Cruz,” Roberts said.
The Tritons’ fire was evident from the beginning of their
game against UC Santa Cruz as UCSD put six goals on the board in the first
quarter. The Tritons took a 10-3 lead into halftime and put the game away with
five unanswered goals in the third period.
The Tritons spread the ball on offense, with 11 different
players scoring in the contest. Garcia, senior driver Curtis Williamson,
sophomore two-meter defender Steven Donohoe, Roberts, Vermilyea and senior
driver Ben Miller all had multiple scores in UCSD’s win.
“Everything was clicking [against UC Santa Cruz] and we were
working real well together,” Roberts said. “Santa Cruz couldn’t swim with us on
offense, and on defense everyone on the team played a really solid game.”
By scoring 10 goals in UCSD’s three games to lead his squad,
Garcia was the sole Triton named to the All-WWPA Tournament team, earning him
first-team honors.
took the WWPA Championship game over top-seeded UC Davis by a score of 7-6 on
Nov. 18. Loyola Marymount lost its three previous games against UC Davis this
season.
