UCSB Men’s Water Polo Team Picked to Finish Sixth
A preseason coaches' poll puts USC at No. 1.
The UCSB men’s water polo team has been picked to finish sixth out of nine teams in the annual preseason coaches’ poll conducted by the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, it was announced Thursday.
Golic, who was second only to graduate Ross Sinclair for goals with 53, averaged 2.3 goals per game and led the team with 36 assists during his freshman campaign leading him to Honorable Mention All-American honors. Vincze was third on the team with 46 goals and led the squad with 46 earned penalties or ejections.
In the goal, junior Michael Robinson and sophomore Fraser Bunn will compete to fill the void left by graduate Rick Wright. The newcomers to watch for will be redshirt freshman Noah Smith and incoming freshman Brian Shoemaker.
USC garnished seven of the nine first-place votes and a total of 63 points to take the No. 1 spot in the poll. Stanford took second with 53 votes, and two-time defending national champion Cal came in third with 49 points and one first-place vote. UCLA (46) and Pepperdine (36) were predicted to finish fourth and fifth, consecutively, while UCSB was sixth with 32 points. Long Beach State (19), UC Irvine (18) and Pacific (8) rounded out the field.
The Gauchos will open the 2008 season on Sept. 6 at the two-day UC San Diego Triton Invitational. They will open at home the following weekend with a match-up against nonconference foe UC Davis on Sept. 12 at Campus Pool.
Lisa Skvarla is UCSB‘s assistant media relations director.
MPSF Preseason Coaches Poll
First-place votes in parenthesis ()
» USC: 63 (7)
» Stanford: 53 (1)
» Cal: 49 (1)
» UCLA: 46
» Pepperdine: 36
» UC Santa Barbara: 32
» Long Beach State: 19
» UC Irvine: 18
» Pacific: 8