California Golden Bears Athletics
Wednesday, November 10
Santa Clara, CA
5:00 PM
California
at
Santa Clara
Miles O'Brien-Schridde is one of four seniors who will be honored before Saturday's game.
Photo by: Catharyn Hayne/klcfotos
11/9/2021 11:48 AM | Men's Water Polo
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Cal Visits No. 20 Santa Clara, Hosts No. 1 UCLA To Close Out Regular Season
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10
NO. 2 CAL (18-2) AT NO. 20 SANTA CLARA (12-14) | 5 P.M. PT | SULLIVAN AQUATIC CENTER | SANTA CLARA, CALIF.
LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13
NO. 1 UCLA (16-2, 1-1 MPSF) AT NO. 2 CAL (18-2, 2-0 MPSF) | 10 A.M. PT | SPIEKER AQUATICS COMPLEX | BERKELEY, CALIF.
LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
The last week of the regular season is a busy one for the No. 2 Cal men's water polo team, which visits No. 20 Santa Clara on Wednesday before hosting No. 1 UCLA on Saturday. The MPSF regular season championship will be at stake against the Bruins - the Bears will capture the title with a win and will finish either second or third with a loss. A top-two finish gives Cal a first-round bye in the MPSF Championships. Saturday's match will also be Senior Day for the Bears, as the team will honor four seniors.
A CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE LINE
The Bears can win their second straight regular season MPSF championship with a victory over No. 1 UCLA on Saturday. Cal enters the game with a 2-0 MPSF record, having already beaten USC and Stanford. A win over the Bruins would make the Bears the only team in the conference to finish the season with an unblemished MPSF record. If the Bears lose to UCLA, they will finish either second or third in the conference standings, depending on the scenario. If Cal loses by two or more goals, it finishes third based on goal differential. If the Bears lose by one goal and the final score has 15 total goals or more, they finish in second. If the total amount of goals is 13 goals or less in a one-goal loss, Cal places third. The top two seeds get a first-round bye in next weekend's MPSF Championships at Stanford.
CAL VS. UCLA - THE LAST TIME
Cal and UCLA have met once this season, and the Bears defeated the Bruins 10-9 in the semifinals of the MPSF Invitational at Spieker Aquatics Complex. Cal broke a 5-5 tie with the last three goals of the second quarter to lead 8-5 at halftime, and extended to a 10-6 lead with 4:56 to play in the game. The Bruins mounted a late comeback but the Bears were able to hold them off. Freshman Max Casabella had three goals and an assist while Nikolaos Papanikolaou and Warren Loth each added two scores.
EVERIST REACHES MILESTONE
Cal head coach Kirk Everist registered his 400th career win on Sept. 18 when the Bears defeated San Jose State at the Aggie Shootout. Now in his 20th season leading the Cal program, Everist has a career record of 409-125. He was named the MPSF Coach of the Year last season for the second time in his career and has led the Bears to three NCAA titles, most recently in 2016. Everist was a three-time All-American as a player for Cal and went on to play for Team USA twice in the Summer Olympics.
BIG PAPA
Junior center Nikolaos Papanikolaou was named the MPSF Player of the year and an ACWPC First Team All-American last season, and he's making the case to take home more honors this year. Arguably the most unstoppable force in the college game, Papanikolaou leads the MPSF with 54 goals and is tied for second with teammate Adrian Weinberg with 24 steals. Papanikolaou also has a whopping 91 earned ejections. His 10 earned exclusions Cal's 14-13 win over No. 6 UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 17 is the most in a game this season by an MPSF player. He is also tied for the most goals scored in a game this season by an MPSF player with seven, having done so in a win over Cal Baptist on Sept. 17.
ABOUT NO. 20 SANTA CLARA
• SR Jake Taylor is tied for sixth in the WWPA at 1.2 assists per game
• JR Ford Eldredge leads the Broncos with 30 goals
• Goalies Chase Zamborelli and Sean Tehaney have combined for 231 saves
ABOUT NO. 1 UCLA
• Cutino Award winner Nicolas Saveljic ranks in the MPSF top-10 in points, goals and steals per game
• Goalie Garret Griggs is second in the conference in save percentage (.577)
• The Bruins fell to the Bears 10-9 in the semifinals of the MPSF Invitational in September
NO. 2 CAL (18-2) AT NO. 20 SANTA CLARA (12-14) | 5 P.M. PT | SULLIVAN AQUATIC CENTER | SANTA CLARA, CALIF.
LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13
NO. 1 UCLA (16-2, 1-1 MPSF) AT NO. 2 CAL (18-2, 2-0 MPSF) | 10 A.M. PT | SPIEKER AQUATICS COMPLEX | BERKELEY, CALIF.
LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
The last week of the regular season is a busy one for the No. 2 Cal men's water polo team, which visits No. 20 Santa Clara on Wednesday before hosting No. 1 UCLA on Saturday. The MPSF regular season championship will be at stake against the Bruins - the Bears will capture the title with a win and will finish either second or third with a loss. A top-two finish gives Cal a first-round bye in the MPSF Championships. Saturday's match will also be Senior Day for the Bears, as the team will honor four seniors.
BEAR NECESSITIES
A CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE LINE
The Bears can win their second straight regular season MPSF championship with a victory over No. 1 UCLA on Saturday. Cal enters the game with a 2-0 MPSF record, having already beaten USC and Stanford. A win over the Bruins would make the Bears the only team in the conference to finish the season with an unblemished MPSF record. If the Bears lose to UCLA, they will finish either second or third in the conference standings, depending on the scenario. If Cal loses by two or more goals, it finishes third based on goal differential. If the Bears lose by one goal and the final score has 15 total goals or more, they finish in second. If the total amount of goals is 13 goals or less in a one-goal loss, Cal places third. The top two seeds get a first-round bye in next weekend's MPSF Championships at Stanford.
CAL VS. UCLA - THE LAST TIME
Cal and UCLA have met once this season, and the Bears defeated the Bruins 10-9 in the semifinals of the MPSF Invitational at Spieker Aquatics Complex. Cal broke a 5-5 tie with the last three goals of the second quarter to lead 8-5 at halftime, and extended to a 10-6 lead with 4:56 to play in the game. The Bruins mounted a late comeback but the Bears were able to hold them off. Freshman Max Casabella had three goals and an assist while Nikolaos Papanikolaou and Warren Loth each added two scores.
EVERIST REACHES MILESTONE
Cal head coach Kirk Everist registered his 400th career win on Sept. 18 when the Bears defeated San Jose State at the Aggie Shootout. Now in his 20th season leading the Cal program, Everist has a career record of 409-125. He was named the MPSF Coach of the Year last season for the second time in his career and has led the Bears to three NCAA titles, most recently in 2016. Everist was a three-time All-American as a player for Cal and went on to play for Team USA twice in the Summer Olympics.
BIG PAPA
Junior center Nikolaos Papanikolaou was named the MPSF Player of the year and an ACWPC First Team All-American last season, and he's making the case to take home more honors this year. Arguably the most unstoppable force in the college game, Papanikolaou leads the MPSF with 54 goals and is tied for second with teammate Adrian Weinberg with 24 steals. Papanikolaou also has a whopping 91 earned ejections. His 10 earned exclusions Cal's 14-13 win over No. 6 UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 17 is the most in a game this season by an MPSF player. He is also tied for the most goals scored in a game this season by an MPSF player with seven, having done so in a win over Cal Baptist on Sept. 17.
ABOUT NO. 20 SANTA CLARA
• SR Jake Taylor is tied for sixth in the WWPA at 1.2 assists per game
• JR Ford Eldredge leads the Broncos with 30 goals
• Goalies Chase Zamborelli and Sean Tehaney have combined for 231 saves
ABOUT NO. 1 UCLA
• Cutino Award winner Nicolas Saveljic ranks in the MPSF top-10 in points, goals and steals per game
• Goalie Garret Griggs is second in the conference in save percentage (.577)
• The Bruins fell to the Bears 10-9 in the semifinals of the MPSF Invitational in September
Players Mentioned
ATT
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
C
/ Men's Water Polo
GK
/ Men's Water PoloThursday, October 05
Thursday, October 20
Thursday, June 23
