WWPA Men's Championship Day 2 Recap
2018 WWPA Men's Championship Central
FRESNO, Calif. - The 2018 Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Men's Championship will have a familiar look as No. 1-seed UC San Diego will take on No. 2-seed UC Davis for the fourth straight year on Sunday at Clovis West Olympic Aquatic Center. UCSD cruised to a 15-3 win over Air Force before UC Davis downed Loyola Marymount 17-8 in the opposite semifinal.
The winner of Sunday's championship match earns an automatic qualifying berth for the 2018 National Collegiate Water Polo Championship opening round.
UC Davis has won back-to-back WWPA titles (2016, 2017).
Game 5 (7th Place): #8 Fresno Pacific 11, #7 Concordia 10 (OT) | Box Score
Fresno Pacific goalkeeper Josh Ramage racked up 21 saves, including a point-blank stop with seconds remaining to force overtime, as the Sunbirds held on for an 11-10 OT victory in the 7th place match.
FPU led the majority of the second half, but CUI's Austin Barton scored with 22 seconds left in regulation to make it 9-9. Following an empty possession from FPU, Barton once again found himself free seven meters out. He rifled a shot headed for the left top corner, but Ramage poked it wide to keep it even.
In the first overtime period, Kyle Eoff scored with 17 seconds remaining to put the Sunbirds ahead 10-9. Lazar Raca added an insurance goal on a penalty shot to increase the lead to two. CUI pulled one back with 14 seconds left, but could not find the equalizer.
CUI's Marius Jakimcikas led all scorers with four, while Eoff tallied three for FPU.
Game 6 (5th Place): #6 Santa Clara 10, #4 California Baptist 7 | Box Score
Santa Clara outscored California Baptist 6-0 in the final period en route to a 10-7 win in the 5th Place match on Saturday morning. Mac Carey scored four goals, while Dane Estrella and Shane Hughes added a pair. SCU trailed 7-4 going into the final period of play.
The 5th Place finish is the highest for the Broncos since 2015.
Game #7 (Semifinal #1): #1 UC San Diego 15, #5 Air Force 3 | Box Score
The Tritons opened the first semifinal of the day with five unanswered goals, led 6-1 at the first quarter break and 12-3 at the half, en route to a 15-3 win over Air Force in the first semifinal.
Calder Hilde-Jones led all scorers with four goals while Connor Turnbow-Lindenstadt and Noah Carniglia added three apiece. All-WWPA First Team honoree Luke Andres tallied all three goals for the Falcons.
UC San Diego will be competing in its eighth straight conference title match and is looking for its 14th WWPA title since 1991.
Air Force will take on Loyola Marymount in the 3rd Place match at 11:15 AM on Sunday. The Falcons finished third in the 2017 WWPA Championship.
Game #8 (Semifinal #2): #2 UC Davis 17, #3 Loyola Marymount 8 | Box Score
UC Davis came out swinging from the get-go and jumped out to a 6-1 lead after the first quarter. From there, the result was never in doubt as the Aggies took a 10-3 lead into the break and at one point led by 10 in the second half.
Ido Goldschmidt scored three times for UCD.
The Aggies are looking for their third straight WWPA championship. Loyola Marymount will play in the third place match against Air Force.
WWPA Championship Schedule
Friday, November 16, 2018
Game 1, 9:30 AM: #1 UC San Diego 11, #8 Fresno Pacific 4
Game 2, 11:15 AM: #5 Air Force 6, #4 California Baptist 5
Game 3, 1 PM: #2 UC Davis 19, #7 Concordia 6
Game 4, 2:45 PM: #3 Loyola Marymount 12 vs #6 Santa Clara 10
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Game 5 (7th Place Game): #8 Fresno Pacific 11, #7 Concordia 10 (OT)
Game 6 (5th Place Game): #4 California Baptist, #6 Santa Clara
Game 7 (Semifinal #1): #1 UC San Diego 15, #5 Air Force 3
Game 8 (Semifinal #2): #2 UC Davis 17, #3 Loyola Marymount 8
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Game 9, 11:15 AM: #3 Loyola Marymount vs #5 Air Force (3rd Place)
Game 10, 1 PM: #1 UC San Diego vs #2 UC Davis (First Place)