Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State Begins NCAA Journey For Title
12/2/2021 7:40:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
The Beach opens NCAA Tournament against UC Davis.
Long Beach, Calif. — The Long Beach State men's water polo team begins its journey to the NCAA Title today as the Beach takes on UC Davis in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at UCLA at Noon.
After winning the GCC Title with a win over Pacific, the Beach takes on the WWPA champion Aggies who are on a three-game win streak after going unbeaten in the WWPA conference tournament.
The last time the two teams met, the Beach came away with a 18-10 victory at the MPSF Tournament in September.
Thursday, Dec. 2
No. 5 Long Beach State vs UC Davis
Time: Noon
TV: PAC-12 TV
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Saturday, Dec. 4*
NCAA Tournament Semifinals
Vs. USC
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
TV: NCAA.com
Sunday, Dec. 5 **
NCAA Tournament Championship
vs. TBD
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
TV: NCAA.com
*Beach defeats UC Davis
**Beach defeats USC
GCC Champions
The Beach capped a historic season defeating University of Pacific to claim the GCC Title. Andrej Bosanac was named the tournament MVP after two solid performances in the cage. Garrett Zaan and Rafael Real Vergara joined Bosanac on the All-Tournament team.
GCC Honors
The Beach had five athletes earn GCC honors and coach Gavin Arroyo was named the GCC Coach of the Year. Rafael Real Vergara was named the GCC MVP and All-GCC first team. Joining on the first team was Zaan. On the second team was Matt Morris and Theodoros Pateros, while Evan Cain and Alika Naone earned All-Freshman team honors.
HOT START
The Beach started the season 8-0 after sweeping their competition at the Triton Invitational and Inland Empire Classic. It was the best start for the program since 2005.
PATIENTLY WAITING
The Beach hasn't competed since the 2019 season and is ready to get back in the pool after not competing during the 2020 season.
INTERNATIONAL TIES
The Beach had four athletes compete at this year's FINA Men's Junior Water Polo Championships in Prague. Liam Ward, Zach Frazier and Evan Cain competed for the USA, while Abdelrahman Soliman competed with Egypt.
OLYMPIC COMPETITION
Coach Gavin Arroyo represented the United States at the Tokyo Games as an assistant coach for the national men's water polo team.
Players Mentioned
