Looking to retain its position in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and earn the final tournament spot, the Long Beach State men’s water polo team will close out the season on the road against No. 3 UCLA Friday, and at home against UC Irvine Saturday.
Ranked No. 12 in the nation but eighth in the nine-member conference, The Beach (9-14,1-5) will take the pool against a UCLA team that is third in the conference. UC Irvine is ranked No. 11 and is currently in sixth place in the conference.
The last time the two squads met on Oct. 14, UCLA (13-5,4-2) squeaked past The Beach 6-4. This time, The Beach is playing better and matches have playoff contentions.
At the bottom of the MPSF, LBSU and No. 9 Pepperdine, currently eighth and ninth, respectively, are battling for the final spot in the conference – the eighth spot.
The squads have split their season matches. In early October, Pepperdine beat The Beach 12-9, but in the rematch last weekend, The Beach pulled off a dramatic 12-11 win.
Both squads currently have only one conference win. Pepperdine will play its final match of the season against UC Santa Barbara Sunday while The Beach has two matches remaining.
Senior Jay Gerardi, who missed a game last week while nursing a shoulder injury, will be back for the final two matches. Gerardi leads the team with 43 goals and is currently tied for No. 9 all-time for LBSU with 142 career goals.
