Cal Seeks No. 3 in Water Polo Championships
LONG BEACH — Top-ranked California is favored to successfully defend its championship for the second time at the NCAA water polo tournament that begins today at Belmont Plaza.
The top-ranked Golden Bears (28-0) open against 11th-ranked Navy (18-8) at noon. Other matches pit second-ranked Stanford (20-5) against 13th-ranked Princeton (20-4) at 1:30 p.m.; No. 3 USC (19-8) against No. 8 UC San Diego (22-7) at 3:30 and, in what is expected to be the day’s best match, fourth-ranked UC Irvine (19-8) against fifth-ranked Pepperdine (18-9) at 5.
Irvine has defeated the Waves in three previous meetings, including an 8-6 victory in Malibu two weeks ago. The winner is expected to face Cal in the semifinals Saturday at 8 p.m.
Cal, which has won 10 NCAA titles, has a 41-match winning streak. The Bears are led by driver Chris Oeding of Newport Beach, who has 53 goals. He shared Mountain Pacific Sports Federation player of the year honors with Irvine’s Steve Gill.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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