Courtesy: Cal Athletics
AGGIE ROUNDUP
AT SCHAAL AQUATICS CENTER | DAVIS
SATURDAY, SEPT. 14
NO. 5 CAL AT NO. 8 UC DAVIS | 8 A.M. PT
NO. 5 CAL VS NO. 12 SAN JOSE STATE | 12:30 P.M. PT
SUNDAY, SEPT. 15
NO. 5 CAL AMERICAN RIVER | 11 A.M. PT
NO. 5 CAL VS WEST VALLEY | 12:30 P.M. PT
The No. 5 California men’s water polo team heads into its second tournament of the season at the UC Davis-hosted Aggie Roundup this Saturday and Sunday. The Golden Bears got out to a 3-1 start to the year at last weekend’s Triton Invitational, led by ACWPC All-American seniors Roberto Valera (16 goals) and Max Casabella (14). Cal is set to face two more top-15 foes Saturday against No. 8 UC Davis and No. 12 San Jose State before finishing up the weekend on Sunday against American River and West Valley.
BEAR NECESSITIES
TRITON INVITATIONAL RECAP
For the first time during its current three-peat run, Cal began the season without 2024 Paris Olympians Nikolaos Papanikolaou and Adrian Weinberg. The Bears picked up where they left off on opening day, downing Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 19-8 and No. 9 UC Irvine 20-14. They improved to 3-0 on Sunday with another double-digit victory, 19-9 over Cal State Fullerton, before falling to No. 4 Pepperdine 21-20 in sudden-victory overtime.
SIZZLING SPANIARDS
Valera and Casabella exploded for 15 combined goals in the Bears’ lone loss to Pepperdine. Valera scored in every quarter and both periods of overtime, finishing with eight goals. That tied for the third-most goals in MPSF history and was the most scored by a Cal player since the conference’s first year in 1992.
Casabella closed out the opening weekend with 14 goals, scoring seven times himself against the Waves. He and Valera became the first Bears to score seven goals since Nikolaos Papanikolaou‘s masterpiece in the Bears’ 2022 NCAA Championship Game win over USC.
NEW ROLES, NEW FACES
With new responsibilities and opportunities up for grabs among Cal’s talented returning group, multiple Bears made their presence known over their first four outings. Centers George Avakian and Jordi Gascon both put away five goals, with Avakian racking up an impressive seven earned exclusions in the win over the Anteaters. Fellow senior Jake Howerton, redshirt junior Bende Pardi and sophomore Carter Loth all scored five times as well. Cal’s freshmen were led by Maddox Arlett with four goals and Patrik Kolak with three.
THE STAFF
Kirk Everist was named ACWPC National Coach of the Year for the fifth time last season after winning his sixth NCAA Championship as the Bears’ head coach and eighth overall with the program. The USA Water Polo Hall of Famer enters his 23rd season at the helm of the program with an all-time coaching record of 463-135 (.774).
Joining Everist on the staff are third-year assistant coach Jakov Belamaric and former Golden Bear player Iosefa Tuiasau. Tuiasau – who played for Everist from 2009-11 – rejoins the Bears following two successful seasons at Pacific and a highly successful coaching run in his native New Zealand at the high school, club and international levels. That included serving as an assistant coach for the New Zealand Women’s National Team and a stint at Rangitoto College that resulted in numerous trophies.
REPEAT SUCCESS
No men’s water polo program has won more national championships than Cal, which claimed its 17th on Dec. 3, 2023, after defeating UCLA 13-11. Casabella fired in five goals, Valera had four, Weinberg finished with 11 saves and a physically dominant Papanikolaou racked up 11 drawn exclusions. The win secured yet another three-peat for the program, which owns three of the four in NCAA history.
