LOS ANGELES - For the first time in 40 years, the eighth-ranked San José State (13-9, 7-2 WCC) men's water polo team will play at the NCAA Championships this week as the Spartans face off against top-ranked USC (15-6, 1-5 MPSF) in Los Angeles on Friday at 6:00 p.m. at the Uytengsu Aquatic Center.
- The Spartans come into the tournament as the sixth seed, while the Trojans are seeded third.
- The winner of the match will move on to face either California or Fordham in the semifinal match on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday's matches will be broadcast at ncaa.com/liveschedule, while the championship match will be shown live on ESPNU at 3 p.m. PT.
- Live stats for all games can be found at thefosh.net
.
CONFERENCE SEASON IN REVIEW
- The Spartans won the first-ever WCC Championship by beating Pacific, Loyola Marymount, and Cal Baptist.
- SJSU finished the season with a 13-9 record to rank eighth nationally.
- Brendon Gyapjas was named the WCC All-tournament MVP for his outstanding efforts in the cage. Manteja Bosic and Laszlo Szieben were also named to the all-tournament team.
- Three Spartans were named to the All-WCC teams, with junior Bence Szabo (first team), freshman Bosic (second team), and freshman Gyapjas (honorable mention).
- Gyapjas was a force in the cage this season recording 179 saves and 16 steals in the 14 games he played.
- Bosic, a freshman, led the team in goals (41), assists (23), and multi-goal games (12).
- Szabo led the team in drawn exclusions (37) and ranks second in goals scored (34).
SPARTANS HISTORY AT THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
- This is the first tournament appearance for the Spartans since 1973.
- San José State has appeared in four NCAA Championship tournaments finishing second in 1971, 1972, and 1943, and fourth in 1970.
-
The university's best-known men's water polo player is former Los Angeles Olympics Organizing Committee chairman and Major League Baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth. Ueberroth played for the Spartans from 1956 through 1958. His San José State teammate Art Lambert was the coach of the 1968 and 1972 U.S. Olympic teams.
USC
- USC is the third seed in the tournament and is ranked first nationally.
- The Trojans are 15-6 this season and are coming off a three-game winning streak to win their second-consecutive MPSF title.
- The teams last met during the 2022 season as the Trojans won 18-7.
The Field
- There are eight teams in the tournament.
- UCLA (24-2)
- California (20-5)
- USC (15-6)
- Princeton (27-5)
- UC Irvine (18-9)
- San José State (13-9)
- Biola (21-12)
- Fordham (24-7)
#AllSpartans