Saturday, October 31
1:00 pm PT
California
vs
UCLA
Photo by: Emi Segovia/Cal Athletics
10/29/2026 1:54 PM | Men's Water Polo
Bears Face No. 1 UCLA, No. 4 USC At Spieker
The No. 3 California men's water polo team will play host to a pair of pivotal MPSF West matchups this weekend welcoming No. 1 UCLA and No. 4 USC to Spieker Aquatics Complex. The Golden Bears (12-4, 1-2 MPSF) will face the two-time defending champion Bruins (17-1, 2-1) on Saturday before taking on the Trojans (14-3, 1-2) on Sunday. Both games have a 1 p.m. PT start time on Overnght.
Cal is currently riding a three-game winstreak and boasts a 5-0 home record after defeating then No. 1 Stanford 12-8 for its first conference win of the year and following that up with a 19-4 win over No. 6 Princeton and a 22-11 victory against No. 16 Pepperdine. The Bears' four goals allowed to the Tigers is the lowest amount they've given up this year, and the 22 goals scored on the Waves is tied for the most.
All four of Cal's losses this season have come at the hands of the two LA schools making the trip north this weekend. At the Overnght Invitational back in mid-September the Bears nearly came back from five goals down to defeat the Bruins but fell 11-10 and the next day watched a three-goal lead slip away in a 13-12 loss to the Trojans. Cal ventured down to Los Angeles just two weeks later and despite holding late leads in both games fell 13-11 to UCLA and 15-14 to USC in a triple-overtime game that came down to sudden victory. The Bruins are the only team to defeat the Bears by more than one goal this season.
Game Information
No. 1 UCLA (17-1, 2-1 MPSF West)
· Date and Time: Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m. PT
· Location: Berkeley, CA | Spieker Aquatics Complex
· Live Stream: Overnght
· Live Scoring: 6-8
No. 4 USC (14-3, 1-2 MPSF)
· Date and Time: Sunday, Nov. 1 at 1 p.m. PT
· Location: Berkeley, CA | Spieker Aquatics Complex
· Live Stream: Overnght
· Live Scoring: 6-8
MOVEMENT AT LAST
After spending the first eight weeks of the season ranked fourth in the CWPA national poll, the Bears have moved into third as of October 28. A sure-handed win over then No. 1 Stanford as well as dominant showings against No. 6 Princeton and No. 16 Pepperdine helped spring Cal into contention for the NCAA Tournament.
MILESTONE WATCH
All eyes are on head coach Kirk Everist as he enters the weekend with 499 career wins. The program's all-time wins leader is looking to become just the fifth Cal coach to hit the 500-win milestone joining Diane Ninemire (softball), Jack Clark (rugby), Rich Feller (volleyball), and Bob Milano (baseball).
ILIAS EARNS SECOND NEWCOMER NOD
After two tremendous performances at home, freshman center Ilias Angelopoulos earned his second MPSF West S&R Sport Newcomer of the Week Award on Oct. 26. Angelopoulos nothced five goals and three drawn exclusions as the Bears picked up two sure-handed wins defeating No. 6 Princeton 19-4 and No. 16 Pepperdine 22-11.
The Greece native went 2-for-4 with a team-high three drawn exclusions against the Tigers and followed that up with his third hat trick of the year to go along with a field block against the Waves. All these stats came in just three periods in the pool in each game with the starters being pulled in the fourth quarter.
BESO BRINGING IT
Georgia native and sophomore attacker Beso Akhvlediani is doing it all in his second season as he currently leads the team in goals (45) and assists (32) and is third in drawn exclusions (12) The second team All-American from 2025 is also shooting .445 and ranks fifth with 10 steals.
He currently ranks second in the MPSF in points per game (4.81) while ranking third in goals per game (2.81) and fourth assists per game (2.00).
THE MEN IN THE MIDDLE
Cal's present and future look bright at the center position as senior Dominic Brown and freshman Ilias Angelopoulos have been a handful in the middle so far this year. Brown currently leads the Bears with 26 draw exclusions and has netted 19 goals while Angelopoulos ranks third on the team with 25 goals and is second with 24 drawn exclusions in his 16 collegiate games.
PINA NAMED MPSF PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After a tremendous performance in the team's Big Splash win over No. 1 Stanford, sophomore goalkeeper Aran Pina was named the MPSF Delfina Athlete of the Week on Oct. 19.
Pina was electric in the first 2026 meeting between the two historic programs collecting 12 saves and a steal in the Golden Bears' 12-8. The Spain native allowed just five natural goals with a .600 save percentage and held the top-ranked Cardinal to a season-low scoring effort to hand the Bay Area rival just its second loss of the season. Pina consistently showed up in huge moments for the Bears recording a penalty save and killing all six of Stanford's power play opportunities.
OVERNGHT MPSF INVITATIONAL
The Bears had a fourth-place finish at the Overnght MPSF Invitational at Stanford where after coasting through the opening rounds with big wins over No. 15 LMU (20-9) and No. 13 UC Irvine (16-8) came up short with one-goal losses against the top two teams in the country. After trailing by as many as five to No. 1 UCLA in the semi-final round, Cal made a late push and had a game-tying opportunity but ultimately fell to the eventual champion Bruins 11-10. Cal then saw its late lead lost at the hands of No. 2 USC in the bronze battle 13-12.
Sophomore Beso Ahkvlediani led all MPSF West players in the tournament with 12 goals and sophomore goalkeeper Aran Pina ranked third with 29 goals.
BEARS SWEEP MPSF AWARDS
Sophomore attacker Tomas Perrone and freshman center Ilias Angelopoulos swept the weekly MPSF awards on September 14 with Perrone being named the MPSF Delfina Player of the Week and Angelopoulos taking home MPSF S&R Sport Newcomer of the Week honors.
After missing the first two weeks of the season to help lead Team Spain to a silver medal at the U20 European Championships, Perrone came back and made an immediate impact on the Golden Bears in his weekend debut. The sophomore had a seven-goal, 11-point weekend scoring on a .636 clip to lead Cal past No. 10 Pacific 18-7 at home and No. 6 UC Davis 19-7 on the road. He was 5-for-5 with 4 assists, including a first quarter hat trick, against the Aggies and chipped in two goals in his season debut against the Tigers.
Angelopoulos played a key role in Cal's two dominant top-10 wins netting a pair of second-half goals against Pacific before going 3-for-3 versus the Aggies to earn his first career hat trick. Two of the goals came on back-to-back possessions in the first quarter as a part of a 6-1 opening run that UC Davis could not overcome.
AGGIE ROUNDUP
The Bears picked up a pair of wire-to-wire wins at the Aggie Roundup defeating No. 18 Harvard 16-6 and No. 10 San Jose State 14-10 in a Saturday doubleheader. Beso Ahkvlediani had a 15-point weekend scoring a season high seven goals on the Crimson to go with three assists and four steals. Loui Schuler led all scorers in Cal's win over the Spartans netting a career high four goals and added a trio of assists and drawn exclusions.
TRITON INVITATIONAL
Cal fought through early deficits with powerful second-half play to collect two wins in the Golden Bears' first official day of competition at the Triton Invitational in La Jolla. Luke Bachler and Dom Brown tallied respective hat tricks in Cal's 14-9 victory over No. 15 UC Santa Barbara and 15-11 win over No. 12 host UC San Diego in Saturday's action at the Triton Invitational in La Jolla. Cal goalie Riley Clansen manned the cage for both games, topping out with 17 saves in the win over the Tritons to help the Bears to a 2-0 start to the year.
2026 PRESEASON POLLS
Both the CWP Preseason Poll and the MPSF Coaches' Poll shook out the same this year reflecting the final standings of 2025. The Golden Bears were picked to finish fourth in conference and nationally while reigning national champion UCLA was picked to threepeat. MPSF champion and national runner-up USC was ranked second, and national semifinalist Stanford took third.
FAMILIAR FACES
The Bears return 18 members of last year's roster including its five top scorers who combined for 171 goals and 232 points in 2025. That group is led by sophomore Beso Akhvlediani who was named a Second-Team All-American after leading Cal with 59 goals and 82 points while also becoming the program's first freshman First-Team All-MPSF selection since 2019. On the defensive end Cal gets back sophomore goalkeeper Aran Pina who is fresh off a silver-medal finish as Spain's starter at the U-20 European Championships. Pina played in 21 of 23 games and compiled 166 saves and 29 steals.
2025 RECAP
Cal once again competed among the nation's elite during the 2025 season, facing one of the country's most demanding schedules in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and posting a 15-8 overall record. The Golden Bears battled a slate that featured every 2024 NCAA semifinalist and multiple top-10 opponents, highlighted by an impressive 13-11 victory over then-No. 2 USC. Individually, four Golden Bears earned ACWPC All-America recognition. Seniors Albert Ponferrada and Nik Mirkovic, along with freshman goalkeeper Aran Pina, received All-America honorable mention honors for their contributions throughout the season. The Bears also continued their tradition of academic excellence, placing multiple student-athletes on the MPSF All-Academic Team.
GOLDEN SUCCESS
The Bears have won 17 NCAA championships, including three in a row from 2021-2023, making Cal the winningest program in men's water polo history. During Kirk Everist's tenure as a head coach, he has been named the ACWPC National Coach of the Year five times (2006, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2023), and the Bears have won six national championships (2006, 2007, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2023) amid his 25 seasons at the helm.
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal men's water polo, follow the Bears on X (@CalWaterPolo) and Instagram (@calmwaterpolo).
Cal is currently riding a three-game winstreak and boasts a 5-0 home record after defeating then No. 1 Stanford 12-8 for its first conference win of the year and following that up with a 19-4 win over No. 6 Princeton and a 22-11 victory against No. 16 Pepperdine. The Bears' four goals allowed to the Tigers is the lowest amount they've given up this year, and the 22 goals scored on the Waves is tied for the most.
All four of Cal's losses this season have come at the hands of the two LA schools making the trip north this weekend. At the Overnght Invitational back in mid-September the Bears nearly came back from five goals down to defeat the Bruins but fell 11-10 and the next day watched a three-goal lead slip away in a 13-12 loss to the Trojans. Cal ventured down to Los Angeles just two weeks later and despite holding late leads in both games fell 13-11 to UCLA and 15-14 to USC in a triple-overtime game that came down to sudden victory. The Bruins are the only team to defeat the Bears by more than one goal this season.
Game Information
No. 1 UCLA (17-1, 2-1 MPSF West)
· Date and Time: Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m. PT
· Location: Berkeley, CA | Spieker Aquatics Complex
· Live Stream: Overnght
· Live Scoring: 6-8
No. 4 USC (14-3, 1-2 MPSF)
· Date and Time: Sunday, Nov. 1 at 1 p.m. PT
· Location: Berkeley, CA | Spieker Aquatics Complex
· Live Stream: Overnght
· Live Scoring: 6-8
MOVEMENT AT LAST
After spending the first eight weeks of the season ranked fourth in the CWPA national poll, the Bears have moved into third as of October 28. A sure-handed win over then No. 1 Stanford as well as dominant showings against No. 6 Princeton and No. 16 Pepperdine helped spring Cal into contention for the NCAA Tournament.
MILESTONE WATCH
All eyes are on head coach Kirk Everist as he enters the weekend with 499 career wins. The program's all-time wins leader is looking to become just the fifth Cal coach to hit the 500-win milestone joining Diane Ninemire (softball), Jack Clark (rugby), Rich Feller (volleyball), and Bob Milano (baseball).
ILIAS EARNS SECOND NEWCOMER NOD
After two tremendous performances at home, freshman center Ilias Angelopoulos earned his second MPSF West S&R Sport Newcomer of the Week Award on Oct. 26. Angelopoulos nothced five goals and three drawn exclusions as the Bears picked up two sure-handed wins defeating No. 6 Princeton 19-4 and No. 16 Pepperdine 22-11.
The Greece native went 2-for-4 with a team-high three drawn exclusions against the Tigers and followed that up with his third hat trick of the year to go along with a field block against the Waves. All these stats came in just three periods in the pool in each game with the starters being pulled in the fourth quarter.
BESO BRINGING IT
Georgia native and sophomore attacker Beso Akhvlediani is doing it all in his second season as he currently leads the team in goals (45) and assists (32) and is third in drawn exclusions (12) The second team All-American from 2025 is also shooting .445 and ranks fifth with 10 steals.
He currently ranks second in the MPSF in points per game (4.81) while ranking third in goals per game (2.81) and fourth assists per game (2.00).
THE MEN IN THE MIDDLE
Cal's present and future look bright at the center position as senior Dominic Brown and freshman Ilias Angelopoulos have been a handful in the middle so far this year. Brown currently leads the Bears with 26 draw exclusions and has netted 19 goals while Angelopoulos ranks third on the team with 25 goals and is second with 24 drawn exclusions in his 16 collegiate games.
PINA NAMED MPSF PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After a tremendous performance in the team's Big Splash win over No. 1 Stanford, sophomore goalkeeper Aran Pina was named the MPSF Delfina Athlete of the Week on Oct. 19.
Pina was electric in the first 2026 meeting between the two historic programs collecting 12 saves and a steal in the Golden Bears' 12-8. The Spain native allowed just five natural goals with a .600 save percentage and held the top-ranked Cardinal to a season-low scoring effort to hand the Bay Area rival just its second loss of the season. Pina consistently showed up in huge moments for the Bears recording a penalty save and killing all six of Stanford's power play opportunities.
OVERNGHT MPSF INVITATIONAL
The Bears had a fourth-place finish at the Overnght MPSF Invitational at Stanford where after coasting through the opening rounds with big wins over No. 15 LMU (20-9) and No. 13 UC Irvine (16-8) came up short with one-goal losses against the top two teams in the country. After trailing by as many as five to No. 1 UCLA in the semi-final round, Cal made a late push and had a game-tying opportunity but ultimately fell to the eventual champion Bruins 11-10. Cal then saw its late lead lost at the hands of No. 2 USC in the bronze battle 13-12.
Sophomore Beso Ahkvlediani led all MPSF West players in the tournament with 12 goals and sophomore goalkeeper Aran Pina ranked third with 29 goals.
BEARS SWEEP MPSF AWARDS
Sophomore attacker Tomas Perrone and freshman center Ilias Angelopoulos swept the weekly MPSF awards on September 14 with Perrone being named the MPSF Delfina Player of the Week and Angelopoulos taking home MPSF S&R Sport Newcomer of the Week honors.
After missing the first two weeks of the season to help lead Team Spain to a silver medal at the U20 European Championships, Perrone came back and made an immediate impact on the Golden Bears in his weekend debut. The sophomore had a seven-goal, 11-point weekend scoring on a .636 clip to lead Cal past No. 10 Pacific 18-7 at home and No. 6 UC Davis 19-7 on the road. He was 5-for-5 with 4 assists, including a first quarter hat trick, against the Aggies and chipped in two goals in his season debut against the Tigers.
Angelopoulos played a key role in Cal's two dominant top-10 wins netting a pair of second-half goals against Pacific before going 3-for-3 versus the Aggies to earn his first career hat trick. Two of the goals came on back-to-back possessions in the first quarter as a part of a 6-1 opening run that UC Davis could not overcome.
AGGIE ROUNDUP
The Bears picked up a pair of wire-to-wire wins at the Aggie Roundup defeating No. 18 Harvard 16-6 and No. 10 San Jose State 14-10 in a Saturday doubleheader. Beso Ahkvlediani had a 15-point weekend scoring a season high seven goals on the Crimson to go with three assists and four steals. Loui Schuler led all scorers in Cal's win over the Spartans netting a career high four goals and added a trio of assists and drawn exclusions.
TRITON INVITATIONAL
Cal fought through early deficits with powerful second-half play to collect two wins in the Golden Bears' first official day of competition at the Triton Invitational in La Jolla. Luke Bachler and Dom Brown tallied respective hat tricks in Cal's 14-9 victory over No. 15 UC Santa Barbara and 15-11 win over No. 12 host UC San Diego in Saturday's action at the Triton Invitational in La Jolla. Cal goalie Riley Clansen manned the cage for both games, topping out with 17 saves in the win over the Tritons to help the Bears to a 2-0 start to the year.
2026 PRESEASON POLLS
Both the CWP Preseason Poll and the MPSF Coaches' Poll shook out the same this year reflecting the final standings of 2025. The Golden Bears were picked to finish fourth in conference and nationally while reigning national champion UCLA was picked to threepeat. MPSF champion and national runner-up USC was ranked second, and national semifinalist Stanford took third.
FAMILIAR FACES
The Bears return 18 members of last year's roster including its five top scorers who combined for 171 goals and 232 points in 2025. That group is led by sophomore Beso Akhvlediani who was named a Second-Team All-American after leading Cal with 59 goals and 82 points while also becoming the program's first freshman First-Team All-MPSF selection since 2019. On the defensive end Cal gets back sophomore goalkeeper Aran Pina who is fresh off a silver-medal finish as Spain's starter at the U-20 European Championships. Pina played in 21 of 23 games and compiled 166 saves and 29 steals.
2025 RECAP
Cal once again competed among the nation's elite during the 2025 season, facing one of the country's most demanding schedules in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and posting a 15-8 overall record. The Golden Bears battled a slate that featured every 2024 NCAA semifinalist and multiple top-10 opponents, highlighted by an impressive 13-11 victory over then-No. 2 USC. Individually, four Golden Bears earned ACWPC All-America recognition. Seniors Albert Ponferrada and Nik Mirkovic, along with freshman goalkeeper Aran Pina, received All-America honorable mention honors for their contributions throughout the season. The Bears also continued their tradition of academic excellence, placing multiple student-athletes on the MPSF All-Academic Team.
GOLDEN SUCCESS
The Bears have won 17 NCAA championships, including three in a row from 2021-2023, making Cal the winningest program in men's water polo history. During Kirk Everist's tenure as a head coach, he has been named the ACWPC National Coach of the Year five times (2006, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2023), and the Bears have won six national championships (2006, 2007, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2023) amid his 25 seasons at the helm.
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal men's water polo, follow the Bears on X (@CalWaterPolo) and Instagram (@calmwaterpolo).
Players Mentioned
ATT
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ATT
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C
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GK
/ Men's Water Polo
ATT
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ATT
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A
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UT
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