Oct. 27, 2001

Malibu, CA - The fifth-ranked University of California men's water polo team dropped a hard-fought battle to No. 3 Pepperdine today, in an MPSF match played at the Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool. Pepperdine driver Greg Lonzo tallied an extra-man goal with 58 second left to give the Waves the 6-5 edge.

The Bears fall to 10-4 overall and 3-3 in league action. Pepperdine, winners of its last four games, improved to 11-2 overall and 4-1 in MPSF play.

California had an opportunity to send the game into overtime, but Pepperdine goalie Michael Soltis blocked a shot attempt by senior holeman Spencer Dornin with six seconds to play to preserve the win.

The Golden Bears jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Pepperdine got on the board on a four-meter penalty shot by Lonzo with 6:29 to play in the second quarter.

California extended its lead to 3-1 on a goal by Dornin at the 2:15 mark of the quarter, but freshman utilityman Jesse Smith and sophomore driver Scott Harvey scored for Pepperdine to knot the contest at 3-3 heading into intermission.

The game remained tied at 3-3 until senior driver Joe Kaiser scored for California at the 1:44 mark of the third quarter. Smith tallied consecutive goals for Pepperdine to open the fourth quarter allowing the Waves to assume their first lead of the game, but the Golden Bears tied the game at 5-5 on a goal by sophomore two-meter man Greg Panawek with 2:19 to play in the game.

Bernstein recorded 12 saves for California while Soltis notched 11 saves in the net for Pepperdine.

The Bears are back in action on Saturday, November 3, when they will take on Long Beach State in Berkeley. The opening sprint is scheduled for 10:30 a.m.

The University of California will play host to the annual Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 23-25. The MPSF is host to many of the nation's top water polo teams, and all will compete at the Spieker Aquatics Complex on Cal's campus. Tickets for adults are $25 for the three day tournament, and $10 purchased daily. For students, seniors and children, tickets will run $13 for the weekend, and $5 daily.

GAME SUMMARY

		1	2	3	4	TOTAL
California 	1 	2 	1 	1	5
Pepperdine 	0 	3 	0 	3	6

Cal Scoring: Spencer Dornin (2), Joe Kaiser (1), Greg Panawek (1), Mike West (1)
Pepperdine Scoring: Jesse Smith (3), Greg Lonzo (2), Scott Harvey (1)

Cal Goalkeeping: Russell Bernstein, 12 saves and 6 goals allowed
Pepperdine Goalkeeping: Michael Soltis, 11