Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
WHITTIER, Calif. – The Whittier College men's water polo team saw their 12 game winning streak come to a close Saturday afternoon as they fell in the NCAA Division I National Championships 19-4 to No. 3 University of Southern California at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
Whittier wraps up their 2014 season 23-13, 11-0 SCIAC the best overall record in Head Coach Justin Pudwills tenure, while finishing tied for the most wins in the program's history (2004 – 23-10, 9-1 SCIAC) (1999 – 23-10, 7-2 SCIAC). Both previous teams were coached by Whittier College Purple & Gold Hall of Famer Mitch Carty.
By wrapping up a perfect conference season (11-0), the 2014 men's water polo squad made history as they finish with the only undefeated conference record in the program's history.
They finish 2014 as SCIAC Champions for the second consecutive year and the third overall for the program, No. 1 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Polls (CWPA) in Division III for the fourth time in the program's history, and earned a spot in the NCAA Division I National Championships for the second consecutive year.
Whittier managed to obtain a goal in each period led by senior Goran Mataic (Split, Croatia) who totaled three goals, while freshman Massimiliano Mirarchi (Rome, Italy) had one.
In goal, senior Ryan Brunansky (Poway, Calif.) played all 32 minutes picking up eight saves.
No. 3 seed USC will now makes its move south to La Jolla for the remainder of the NCAA Tournament, hosted by UC San Diego Dec. 6-7. The Trojans are up against No. 2 seed Stanford in a 3:10 p.m. semifinal on Saturday (Dec. 6) to take a shot at a 10th consecutive trip to the NCAA title match and aim for a potential seventh straight national championship. The NCAA final will be held at 3:10 p.m. on Sunday (Dec. 7).
2014 NCAA Tournament Play-In Game
[3] USC 19, [6] Whittier 4 Nov. 29, 2013 - Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.) USC 4 - 5 - 6 - 4 = 19
WC 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 = 4
SCORING: USC -- Marc Vonderweidt 3, James Walters 3, Rex Butler 2, Grant Stein 2, Matteo Morelli 2, Kostas Genidounias, Lazar Pasuljevic, Mihajlo Milicevic, Bryce Hoerman, Luke Felton, Lachlan Edwards, Max Hurst-Mendoza.
WC -- Goran Mataic 3, Massimiliano Mirarchi 1.
SAVES: McQuin Baron (USC) 5 [3 periods], Ben Goncharenko (USC) 2 [4th period], Ryan Brunansky (WC) 8.
