Long Beach State University Athletics
Photo by: Photo by John Fajardo
Men’s Water Polo Opens Season at Triton Invitational
8/30/2018 1:01:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
Long Beach State is headed down to UC San Diego for the Triton Invitational this weekend, with a pair of games on Saturday and two more on Sunday.
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The 2018 men's water polo season gets underway this weekend as Long Beach State will be down in San Diego for the Triton Invitational, hosted by UC San Diego. The Beach is scheduled to play four times this weekend, with a pair of games both Saturday and Sunday. LBSU opens the season ranked No. 6 in the country by the Collegiate Water Polo Association.
The season opener is set for Saturday at 9:20 a.m. as Long Beach will take on No. 16 Cal Baptist. Later that afternoon, the Beach head back into the pool to face Chapman at 1:20 p.m. Saturday's outcomes will determine Long Beach State's opponents and start times on Sunday.
LBSU has opened its season in San Diego in each of the last five years. In last year's tournament, LBSU went 3-1 on the weekend with wins over Air Force, UC Davis, and UC Santa Barbara.
Despite the loss of senior center and First Team All-Golden Coast Conference selection Duncan Lynde, the Beach has plenty of returning talent on the roster this season. That group of returners includes Long Beach's top two goal scorers from a year ago in junior Austin Stewart (52 goals) and junior Nemanja Bakic (40 goals). Stewart was a Second Team All-GCC selection in 2017, and senior defender Austin Stevenson earned Honorable Mention status after leading the Beach with eight field blocks and adding in 15 steals.
Long Beach State is also welcoming in a strong freshman class, including a pair of players who have been competing overseas this summer. Freshmen Theodoros Pateros (Greece) and Garrett Zaan (USA) recently represented their countries at the FINA World Youth Water Polo Championships, with Pateros and Greece winning gold in the competition.
Be sure to check back at LongBeachState.com for updates on the tournament and follow @LBSUWaterPolo on Twitter for scores all weekend.
The season opener is set for Saturday at 9:20 a.m. as Long Beach will take on No. 16 Cal Baptist. Later that afternoon, the Beach head back into the pool to face Chapman at 1:20 p.m. Saturday's outcomes will determine Long Beach State's opponents and start times on Sunday.
LBSU has opened its season in San Diego in each of the last five years. In last year's tournament, LBSU went 3-1 on the weekend with wins over Air Force, UC Davis, and UC Santa Barbara.
Despite the loss of senior center and First Team All-Golden Coast Conference selection Duncan Lynde, the Beach has plenty of returning talent on the roster this season. That group of returners includes Long Beach's top two goal scorers from a year ago in junior Austin Stewart (52 goals) and junior Nemanja Bakic (40 goals). Stewart was a Second Team All-GCC selection in 2017, and senior defender Austin Stevenson earned Honorable Mention status after leading the Beach with eight field blocks and adding in 15 steals.
Long Beach State is also welcoming in a strong freshman class, including a pair of players who have been competing overseas this summer. Freshmen Theodoros Pateros (Greece) and Garrett Zaan (USA) recently represented their countries at the FINA World Youth Water Polo Championships, with Pateros and Greece winning gold in the competition.
Be sure to check back at LongBeachState.com for updates on the tournament and follow @LBSUWaterPolo on Twitter for scores all weekend.
Players Mentioned
Attacker
/ Men's Water Polo
Center
/ Men's Water Polo
Center
/ Men's Water Polo
Defender
/ Men's Water Polo
Attacker
/ Men's Water Polo
Utility
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