Cal Seeks No. 3 in Water Polo Championships
Top-ranked California is favored to win its third consecutive championship in the NCAA water polo tournament, which begins today at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach.
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 No. 13 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, No. 4 UC Irvine (19-8) against No. 5 Pepperdine (18-9) at 5.
Irvine has defeated the Waves in three previous meetings, including an 8-6 victory at Malibu two weeks ago. The winner is expected to face Cal in the semifinals Saturday at 8 p.m.
Cal, which has a 41-match winning streak, is led by driver Chris Oeding of Newport Beach, who has 53 goals.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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