National Champion Pepperdine Opens Season at No. 2
Last season was a series of firsts for the Pepperdine water polo team.
The Waves won the regular-season Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title for the first time and capped their season with their first NCAA title, an 8-7 overtime victory over USC.
“Everybody’s going to be gunning for us,” Coach Terry Schroeder said. “It’s a bit of a different situation for us.”
Pepperdine opens the season tied for second in the nation in the United States Water Polo rankings. The Waves begin the season Sept. 19 at the SoCal tournament at Corona del Mar High. The tournament includes UCLA, USC, Stanford and California.
The Waves return four starters, including senior All-Americans Merrill Moses and Jeremy Pope.
Moses had 207 saves in 25 games, allowing 4.64 goals a game and was selected goalkeeper of the year by the MPSF. Pope led Pepperdine with 54 goals.
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Missing summer: One high school coach isn’t happy with the beginning of the season.
Royal Coach Steve Snyder works summers as a lifeguard in Malibu, and reluctantly returned to workouts last month.
“I already miss being out there,” Snyder said. “Most guys my age are wearing suits and ties to work. I get to surf on my breaks.”
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Top Five
Preseason rankings of regional boys’ water polo teams
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Rk School (League) 1. Harvard-Westlake (Mission) 2. Ventura (Channel) 3. Royal (Marmonte) 4. La Canada (Rio Hondo) 5. Crescenta Valley (Pacific)
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