The No. 8-ranked UC Irvine men's water polo team hosts a daunting
group of teams, including defending NCAA champion and No. 1-ranked
UCLA, in the Southern California Collegiate Men's Water Polo
tournament at the Anteater Aquatics Complex and Corona del Mar High
this Saturday and Sunday.
The 16-team field features 14 schools that are ranked in the
nation's top 16 spots, including the top nine teams, in the
collegiate poll released Wednesday.
UC Irvine is led by All-American Dreason Barry. First-year coach
Marc Hunt is at the helm for the Anteaters, who are 3-2 in
early-season action. Hunt, a former UCI All-American, has been an
assistant coach with the Anteaters the last four years. He takes over
for Ted Newland, who compiled 714 wins in 39 years. Newland has been
named coach emeritus and will continue coaching with the program.
The other teams competing in the tournament include No. 2
California, No. 3 USC, No. 4 Stanford, No. 5 Pepperdine, No. 6 Long
Beach State, No. 7 UC San Diego, No. 9 Loyola Marymount, No. 11 Navy,
No. 12 Pacific, No. 13 UC Davis, No. 15 University of Redlands, No.
16 UC Santa Barbara, Cal Baptist University and Bucknell University.
"This tournament is going to be a tough road to hoe," Hunt said.
"The NCAA has a large number of strong teams this year."
Several local players will compete in the tournament, including
UCLA senior defender Michael March (Corona del Mar High), USC's Jovan
Vranes (Newport Harbor High), Stanford's Michael Bury (Newport Harbor
High), Marcello Pantuliano (Corona del Mar High) and Beau Stockstill
(goalkeeper, Corona del Mar High), UC San Diego's Nathan Weiner and
Steven Jendrusina of Newport Harbor High, and Pacific's Nadeem Hakim
(Corona del Mar High) and Evan Spencer (Costa Mesa High).
Sixteen games will be played each day with eight apiece at the two
venues.
Saturday's schedule at UC Irvine starts with an 8 a.m. game
pitting UCLA against Bucknell. UC Irvine follows with a 9:10 a.m.
game against Loyola Marymount. Then Stanford plays Santa Barbara at
10:20 a.m. and Pepperdine plays Navy at 11:30 a.m.
The losers of the first two games play at 12:40 p.m. The winners
of the first two games compete at 1:50 p.m.
Saturday's games at Corona del Mar High start at 8 a.m. when
California takes on Cal Baptist. UC San Diego follows with a 9:10
a.m. game against UC Davis. USC takes on Redlands at 10:20 a.m. and
Long Beach State faces Pacific at 11:30 a.m.
The top eight teams following Saturday's games will play at UCI on
