Men's Water Polo Ready for West Coast Tests

Friday, September 14

Davis, Calif.

6:00 pm ET

George Washington University

California Baptist

9/12/2018 4:25:00 PM | Water Polo

Colonials head to Aggie Roundup in California

Friday
GW vs. No. 18 California Baptist, 6 p.m.

Saturday
GW vs. Fresno Pacific, 11 a.m.
GW vs. Whittier, 6:30 p.m.

Sunday
GW vs. No. 17 San Jose State, 11:15 a.m.

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George Washington men's water polo is off to the West Coast for its final tune-up prior to Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference play. The Colonials are scheduled for four games over three days at the Aggie Roundup, hosted by UC Davis.

GW, which moved up three spots to No. 15 in the latest CWPA national rankings, opens the tournament facing No. 18 California Baptist on Friday. The Buff and Blue will then meet Fresno Pacific and Whittier on Saturday before wrapping up the trip with a Sundaymatchup against No. 17 San Jose State.

LAST TIME OUT: GW (6-1) won two out of three at last weekend's Princeton Invitational, highlighted by an 8-7 win over Cal Baptist on a goal by Andras Levai in the final seconds.

Atakan Destici led the way with 10 goals en route to Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Player of the Week and Colonial of the Week honors, while Austin Pyrch earned the conference's Defensive Player of the Week award for the first time after totaling 30 saves, including a season-high 13 in the weekend finale against No. 9 Harvard.

MORE MAVIS: Andrew Mavis continues to be a force around the net for GW. In addition to his 18 goals through seven games, the junior from New Jersey has drawn a team-high 18 ejections. Last season, he earned All-American honors after scoring a team-high 81 goals and tying the program's single-season record for ejections drawn with 76.

RIGHT AT HOME: GW's roster features seven California natives: Zach Slaughter, Henry Maas, Jordan Blosser, Heath Faulkner, Zachary Pendolino, Nick Schroeder and D.J. Davis.

SCOUTING CAL BAPTIST: The 18^th-ranked Lancers are 4-4 after splitting four games at the Princeton Invitational. The game against GW was a back-and-forth battle with neither team leading by more than two goals. Destici and Mavis scored three goals apiece in the Buff and Blue victory.

SCOUTING FRESNO PACIFIC: The Sunbirds were off last weekend after dropping all three games at the season-opening UCLA Invitational.

SCOUTING WHITTIER: The Poets (1-4) check in at No. 5 in the CWPA Division III national rankings. All four of their losses are to teams currently ranked in the Division I national top 10.

SCOUTING SAN JOSE STATE: The 17^th-ranked Spartans dropped two spots in the latest national poll after falling 16-8 in their season opener to No. 8 UC Davis last Saturday.

COMING UP: GW opens MAWPC next weekend with three road games. The defending conference champion Colonials will play a split doubleheader at La Salle and Wagner on Saturday before traveling to Fordham on Sunday.

WATCH THIS: Hear from head coach Barry King, Pendolino and Slaughter before the trip to California.

Hear from Head Coach Barry King, Zachary Pendolino and Zach Slaughter ahead of our trip to the West Coast. #RaiseHigh pic.twitter.com/ag9K7bxggk
— GW Water Polo (@GW_WaterPolo) September 12, 2018