Catharyn Hayne / KLC fotos
Bears Get Full Starting Lineup Back For First Time Since September
SATURDAY, NOV. 11
NO. 2 CAL (18-4, 2-3) VS NO. 4 STANFORD (14-6, 2-3) | 10 A.M. PT
AT SPIEKER AQUATICS COMPLEX | BERKELEY
LIVE STATS | PAC-12 NETWORK
For the first time since Sept. 24, the No. 2 California men’s water polo team will have its full starting lineup intact as it heads into its regular-season finale this Senior Day Saturday against No. 4 Stanford. The Golden Bears are coming off a 13-9 defeat at No. 1 UCLA on Oct. 28, a game which saw the return of center Nikolaos Papanikolaou after he missed 10 of the previous 13 contests. Goalkeeper Adrian Weinberg will also be back in the pool following a five-game absence during which he helped Team USA capture the gold medal at the Pan American Games in Chile. Papanikolaou and Weinberg will be among the nine Golden Bear seniors honored prior to the Big Splash. The Bears have gone 1-1 against the Cardinal in 2023, with both games being decided by one goal. Whichever team wins this Saturday will clinch the No. 2 seed in the MPSF D-I West standings.
BEAR NECESSITIES
BIG SPLASH REMATCH
As a result of the MPSF doubling the number of conference games from three to six this season, this will be the second Big Splash during MPSF play and third overall meeting between the Bears and the Cardinal. Cal prevailed in an epic 18-17 thriller in the Overnght MPSF Invitational Semifinals on Sept. 23, a game which saw Weinberg (15 saves) and Papanikolaou (5 goals) post season bests before Albert Ponferrada smashed in the game-winning goal in the fourth period of overtime. It was the highest-scoring meeting ever between the two powerhouse programs. Playing without Papanikolaou on Oct. 14 at Stanford, the Bears ended the game on a 3-0 run and nearly forced overtime again before falling just short, 9-8.
BRICK WALL
In his fourth international tournament of the year, Weinberg finished with 14 saves in five outings for the gold medal-winning American team at Pan Ams, as he and the defense held every team they faced to single digits. Despite the two-week break from NCAA competition, the three-time All-American still ranks fourth in the MPSF in saves (134), averaging just under 10 per 32 minutes. His season high of 15 saves kept Cal alive in its thrilling 18-17 overtime win over Stanford on Sept. 23. Against UCLA on Oct. 7, Weinberg moved into the conference’s all-time top five for career saves. He currently has 915 in his career and is on pace to crack the top three before the end of the year.
PAPA BEAR
Injuries have kept two-time reigning Cutino Award winner Nikolaos Papanikolaou out of 10 games this season, but when he’s been in the pool, he has continued to show why he is considered one of the best players in the nation. Despite the missed time, Papanikolaou still leads the MPSF with 54 exclusions drawn, including nine earned penalties. He has scored 26 times, with his most recent goal in the last game against UCLA moving him past Ivan Rackov (235 career goals) for sole possession of No. 3 all-time at Cal. Papanikolaou also remains first on the team and fourth in the conference with nine field blocks. The Bears own a 9-2 record when their star center is in the lineup.
UNDEFEATED HOME STAND
Cal improved to 5-1 on the year with four straight wins at Spieker Aquatics Complex from Oct. 19-21, defeating four opponents by an average of 12.8 goals per game. Numerous players set career highs as the Bears’ bench got its most playing time of the season, including five-goal outings by Brady Hoover and William Kelly in Cal’s 25-7 win over UC Merced. Kai Seed and Will Kieckhafer split the majority of time at goalkeeper, holding two of their four opponents to single-digit goals.
SIZZLING SPANIARDS
Cal’s junior All-Americans Roberto Valera and Max Casabella have been powering the offense from the perimeter, resulting in a team-leading 47 goals for Valera and 44 for Casabella. Valera – who was named the first MPSF Player of the Week of the season – leads the MPSF in both assists (53) and points (100) by a significant margin. At least one of them has recorded a hat trick in 15 of the Bears’ 22 games. Casabella has done it a team-leading 10 times, while Valera has done so on nine occasions. Casabella is also second among Cal’s field players with 21 steals.
REPEAT SUCCESS
No men’s water polo program has won more national championships than Cal, which claimed its 16th in 2022 in legendary fashion by coming back from four goals down over the final six minutes to defeat USC 13-12 in front of its home crowd at Spieker Aquatics Complex. Papanikolaou finished the game with seven goals and eight earned exclusions. It was the second straight year that the Bears clinched the title against USC by the same final score. Out of Cal’s 16 championships, only two of them (1977, 2016) were not part of a back-to-back run. Only three times in NCAA men’s water polo history has a team completed a three-peat, with the Bears doing so twice from 1973-75 and 1990-92.
STRONG RETURNING CAST
The 2023 Bears are made up of a highly experienced group of returners that includes eight fifth-year seniors and almost the entirety of their championship-winning starting lineup. Four of Cal’s five All-Americans are back, with third-team selection Valera joining first-team returners Casabella, Papanikolaou and Weinberg. Sophomore Albert Ponferrada has been one of the most impactful players on the team this season, with his 46 assists and 31 goals ranking second and third on the squad, respectively, while his 26 steals lead Cal’s field players. Juniors Jake Howerton (25 goals) and George Avakian (14) and sophomores Marci Szatmary (20) and Nik Mirkovic (17) have all seen increased roles. In all, Cal brings back seven of the eight players who scored at least 20 goals last season.
*2023 Cal Men’s Water Polo Team Statistics
ALL HE DOES IS WIN
Kirk Everist began his 22nd season as Cal’s head coach fresh off his second straight national coach of the year honor – his fourth overall – and his record-breaking third consecutive MPSF Coach of the Year award. The USA Water Polo Hall of Famer owns an all-time coaching record of 454-133 (.773) and has won seven national championships at Cal, five coming as a coach and two as a player.
BEARS EARN NO. 1 PRESEASON RANKING
For the second straight year, the Bears began the season as the nation’s top-ranked team, as Cal topped both the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) preseason poll and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) coaches poll. This marked the fifth time since 2008 that the Bears started the year with a No. 1 national ranking.
BEARS WITH BRAINS
Excelling both inside and outside of the pool, the Bears hauled in numerous academic awards from the 2022-23 school year, including 15 ACWPC All-Academic nods – tied for the program’s most since 2009. They also brought in nine MPSF All-Academic and Pac-12 Honor Roll honors, while individually, Jordi Gascon earned a spot on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) At-Large Academic All-District Team.
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal men’s water polo, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWaterPolo) and Instagram (@calmwaterpolo).
