Oct. 11, 2017
San Jose, Calif.--- The San José State University men's water polo team climbs two spots to No.16 in the 2017 Collegiate Water Polo Association's weekly Top-20 rankings. It is the highest the team has been ranked in the month of October since 2015.
The Spartans are 8-7, 0-3 in the Golden Coast Conference this season. It is the most wins the program has had since its return in 2015 under head coach Bruce Watson. In the last seven matches the Spartans are 5-2.
"Our game plan is to take things one game at a time," said Coach Watson. "We want to get better each day, and learn from our mistakes. It is an honor to move up the ranks, and see that other coaches are taking notice of the program."
The Spartans are led by freshman Jacob Mercep who has 56 goals in 14 games. Mercep, a true freshman from Croatia, is second in the conference in total points with 67. He earned Golden Coast Conference Player of the Week honors for his 22-goal performance at the MPSF Invitational.
Ben Hauschild is leading the team with 32 steals, and 17 assists. He is tied for second in the GCC in steals behind Pacific's John Hedges.
Goalie, TJ Palmer, is 4-1 in the last five matches. He is fifth in the conference with 88 saves this season, and has a save percentage of .429.
San Jose State plays eight of its remaining 11 regular-season games at home. The Spartans battle Friday night against conference opponent #8-UC Santa Barbara at 7:00 p.m. at West Valley College.
Collegiate Water Polo Association men's water polo rankings
October 11, 2017
| Rank, Team | Points |
| 1. USC | 99 |
| 2. UCLA | 95 |
| 3. California | 91 |
| 4. Stanford | 86 |
| 5. Pacific | 79 |
| 6. UC Irvine | 76 |
| 7. Long Beach State | 70 |
| 8. UC Santa Barbara | 66 |
| 9. Pepperdine | 60 |
| 10. UC Davis | 56 |
| 11. Princeton | 47 |
| 12. St. Francis (N.Y.) | 42 |
| UC San Diego | 42 |
| 14. Harvard | 37 |
| 15. Brown | 25 |
| 16. San José State | 24 |
| 17. Cal Baptist | 23 |
| 18. Bucknell | 17 |
| 19. Pomona Pitzer | 8 |
| 20. Fordham | 5 |