GOLDEN COAST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Anteater Aquatics Complex - Irvine, Calif.
November 17-19, 2017

Tournament Central // Tournament Bracket (PDF) // Ticket Information

GCC First Round
No. 6 seed UC Santa Barbara (10-11, 1-4 GCC) at
No. 3 seed UC Irvine (13-9, 3-2 GCC)
Date: Friday, Nov. 17
Time: 6 p.m. (PST)
Location: Anteater Aquatics Complex - Irvine, Calif.

THIS WEEK
The seventh-ranked UC Irvine men's water polo team will host the Golden Coast Conference Championships from Nov. 17-19, and opens action against No. 8 UC Santa Barbara Friday at 6 p.m. All of the tournament games will be held at Anteater Aquatics Complex.
 
GCC TOURNAMENT
Pacific earned the No. 1 seed by winning the regular-season title with a perfect 5-0 conference record. UC Irvine tied with Long Beach State for second in the league standings as both teams finished at 3-2, but the 49ers claimed the No. 2 seed by winning the head-to-head tiebreaker. Both the Tigers and LBSU will receive a bye into Saturday's semifinals.
 
In Friday's first-round action, No. 3 seed UCI takes on No. 6 seed UCSB, while No. 4 Pepperdine squares off against No. 5 San Jose State. If the 'Eaters defeat the Gauchos, they will play Long Beach State in the first semifinal Saturday at 6 p.m. The championship match is scheduled for Sunday at 5 p.m.
 
All six of the GCC teams are ranked among the top-11 in the latest Collegiate Water Polo Association Poll.

For the first time in the Golden Coast Conference's two-year existence, the tournament champion will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, which will be held Dec. 2-3 at USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center.

TICKET INFO
All-Session tickets for the GCC Tournament are $30 for adults and $15 for youth (Ages 6-17). Single-day tickets for Friday and Saturday are also available at $10 adult/$5 youth, while the price for adults will go up to $15 on Sunday.
 
ALL-GCC RECOGNITION
Four Anteaters garnered All-Golden Coast Conference honors the league office announced on Wednesday, Nov. 15. Seniors Lovre Milos and Matej Matijevic led the way as first-team selections. Milos is tops in the conference in assists (43), while ranking second in points (107), third in goals (64) and fourth in steals (44).  Matijevic was a first-team All-GCC selection for the second year in a row after averaging 13.68 saves per game. He is first in the league with 301 saves, including 78 in conference matches.
 
Freshman Fynn Schuetze shared the Newcomer of the Year award with San Jose State's Jacob Mercep. The lefty, who made the All-Freshman Team as well, totaled 38 goals, to rank second on the squad behind Milos. He also received All-GCC honorable mention recognition along with senior Kyle Trush, who totaled 19 goals, 14 assists and 20 steals during the regular season.
 
SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS
UC Santa Barbara (10-11, 1-4 GCC) snapped a six-game losing streak and picked up its first conference victory with an 11-10 overtime win at Pepperdine last Friday. As of Nov. 2, senior Shane Hauschild led the Gauchos with 28 goals and 25 steals. Sophomore Justin Barrios also had 121 saves in the cage.
 
UC Irvine is 4-6 in its last 10 meetings with UCSB, but has won two of three this year. In the most recent outing on Oct. 27, the Anteaters topped the Gauchos, 10-9, in Santa Barbara. Senior Kyle Trush led UCI with three goals, while junior Jack Trush and freshman Fynn Schuetze each found the back of the cage twice. Senior goalkeeper Matej Matijevic had 15 saves and four steals.

'EATERS EARN WEEKLY HONORS
Senior goalkeeper Matej Matijevic earned the Golden Coast Conference Player of the Week award on Nov. 9, for his role in a 6-5 overtime victory against Pepperdine. Matijevic held the eighth-ranked Waves scoreless over the final 17 minutes as their last goal came at the 4:23 mark of the third period. He also shut out the visitors in the second quarter. The Zagreb, Croatia, native finished the night with 17 saves, just one shy of his career high.
 
Senior Antoine Lena was also named both the GCC Player of the Week and the D1 Men's Water Polo HERO of the Week following his game-winner in UC Irvine's 9-8 victory over top-ranked UCLA on Sept. 30. With the score knotted at 8-8 in the final minutes of regulation, Lena came up big for the 'Eaters, firing to the near side of the cage for the go-ahead goal with 39 seconds on the clock. The native of Marseille, France, finished the afternoon with a season-high three goals, including two in the fourth period.
 
STAT LEADERS
As of Nov. 13, senior Lovre Milos was tied for third in the Golden Coast Conference with 64 goals. Senior Matej Matijevic also led all GCC keepers with 301 saves.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine dropped a narrow 8-7 decision to seventh-ranked Long Beach State in its regular-season finale last week. The Anteaters rallied to pull within one with 55 seconds left in the fourth quarter, but the 49ers were able to draw an exclusion and then run out the clock on their final possession. Seniors Lovre Milos and Kyle Trush paced UCI with three and two goals, respectively. Classmate Matej Matijevic also had 17 saves.
 
NEWS AND NOTES
The 'Eaters were seventh in both the CWPA Top-20 Poll and the USA Water Polo National Collegiate Rankings.
 
Senior Lovre Milos has led UC Irvine in scoring in 15 of the team's 22 games. He has netted at least four goals on nine occasions, including at Cal Baptist where he scored a season-high seven. Milos is tops on the team with 64 goals.
 
Senior goalkeeper Matej Matijevic has started every game, totaling 301 saves in 682 minutes played. He has double-digit saves in 19 outings, and matched his career high of 18 four times this year, most recently in an 11-4 win over UC San Diego on Nov. 8.
 
Freshman Fynn Schuetze ranks second on the squad with 38 goals. He struck three times in his collegiate debut against Fresno Pacific, while leading all scorers with four goals in a win over top-ranked UCLA (Sept. 30), and three vs. then No. 2 USC (Sept. 23). Schuetze also netted a season-high five goals at Cal Baptist on Sept. 20.
 
Seniors Antoine Lena and Robby Stiefel have been steady all-around for the 'Eaters. In 22 games, Lena has recorded 22 goals, 14 assists and 27 steals, while Stiefel has 18 goals, 14 assists and 31 steals.
 
Senior Kyle Trush has scored in each of the last seven games, increasing his season total to 19. He missed the first six contests of the year, but has been a steady force on the defensive end since his return to the pool. In Trush's 16 outings, the Anteaters have allowed 8.50 goals per game, while playing 12 matches against top-10 teams, including two that were ranked No. 1.
 
Junior Jack Trush has 20 goals with 11 of them coming in three games. He converted three times in wins over Loyola Marymount and San Jose State, while he also matched his career high with five goals against Concordia on Sept. 15.
 
Sophomore Bryant Joudrie lifted the 'Eaters to a 6-5 GCC victory against Pepperdine as he connected for the game-winner with four seconds left in overtime. It was his third goal of the year.
 
UCI had a season-long six-game win streak from Sept. 3-22, and during that stretch, the Anteaters outscored their opponents, 88-33.