News and Events

featured events

Men's Water Polo Home Season Opens with Malibu Exhibition

The Pepperdine men's water polo team will try to make up serious ground lost in preseason placement during a three-game exhibition in Malibu on Sunday, Sept. 5. The Waves will makes waves in the Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool against Golden West JC at 2:10 p.m., UC Santa Barbara at 3:20 p.m., and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 5:40 p.m. 

The Waves placed ninth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) conference rankings, down seven places from just two seasons ago. Pepperdine hit its stride during November of last season as it captured five of its last contests and finished a game above .500 at 13-12—its third consecutive winning season and ninth over the previous decade. But a handful of players who regularly led the Waves to victory—such as All-Americans JP MacDonell and Clayton Snyder and seniors Brett Auer and Christian Cardey, who netted the game-winner in overtime at UC Irvine—are no longer with the club and their absence likely loomed large in pollsters' voting.

"This poll will serve as a motivation tool that's going to challenge us to play to the best of our abilities," says head coach Jack Kocur. "Yes, we're going to have ups and downs being a team that hasn't spent much time together but as a Yankee fan familiar with Mr. October Reggie Jackson, I want all of my guys to be Mr. November because that's when we're going to hit our peak."

Kocur is expecting breakout seasons from all his sophomores, in particular, Danny White, James Perry and Spencer Hamby. White and Perry recently completed their stay at the UANA U20 Jr. Pan American Championships in Florida, where the U.S. team finished as the runner-up to Canada following a 9-8 overtime loss. Hamby, meanwhile, was to have joined his classmates but was instead recovering from shoulder surgery.

"I can't wait to get that kid back in the pool," Kocur said of Hamby, who scored four times in 2009. "He is the heart of this team. He's determined to win and it's my hope the rest of the team feeds off his excitement."

To offset the number of departures, Kocur and third-year assistant coach Gary O'Brien brought in four junior college transfers, including Nathan Castillo and Rex Learmouth who led Golden West to consecutive state championships in 2008 and 2009. Castillo, a member of the Youth National Team from 2002 to 2004, looks to be one of the Waves' most promising newcomers as he comes to Pepperdine carrying a slew of MVP awards and all-conference citations earned at the collegiate and scholastic levels.

In addition to the first three home games of the season on Saturday, Sept. 5, the Waves can make up serious ground in the early season polls by capturing exhibition games against UCSB and UCLA in Los Angeles on Friday, Sept. 4, winning the Inland Empire Tournament at LaVerne on September 12, and defeating rival Loyola Marymount at home on September 11.

For more information, visit the Pepperdine Athletics Web site.