REDLANDS, Calif. — The No. 18 UC Santa Barbara Men's Water Polo team will look to keep their momentum rolling and extend a two-game winning streak this weekend, as the Gauchos face a bevy of lower-division foes at the Inland Empire Classic Friday and Saturday. Santa Barbara opens the weekend at Thompson Aquatic Center in Redlands, taking on Occidental and Fresno Pacific. Saturday sees a move over to Axelrood Pool in Claremont, where the Gauchos will get a second meeting with Pomona-Pitzer and face Concordia Irvine.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Santa Barbara comes into the weekend on a winning streak thanks in part to their first meeting with the Sagehens, which they won, 16-12, to wrap up a six-game weekend at the Triton Invitational. While in La Jolla, the Gauchos also picked up a 23-7 win over La Verne and a crucial 12-7 win over then-No. 20 Navy, which they earned by coming back from a first-half deficit.
 
GAUCHOS TO KNOW
Brock Zamanian and Danilo Dragovic, both All-Americans last year, led the Gauchos in scoring last weekend with eight goals and an assist apiece. Zamanian showed up big in the win over Navy, scoring three goals; he also collected a hat-trick against USC. Dragovic was held scoreless against the Trojans but found the net in every other match last weekend, including putting four past La Verne. Sam McKenzie also tallied eight goals on the weekend, while freshman Charlie Johnson made an impressive start to his college career with six goals across the six games. Johnson also showed his speed, winning eight of the 11 sprints for possession that he took part in for the Gauchos.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Occidental is coming off a 2024 campaign in which they went 11-14, and the Tigers come into the weekend on a 13-match losing streak after dropping their final nine contests in 2024 and getting swept at the Triton Invitational last weekend. Occidental conceded 20 or more goals to Long Beach State, George Washington and UC San Diego last weekend, with their closest game being an 18-6 loss to Navy. Senior attacker Travis Hughes was responsible for seven of Occidental's 20 total goals on the weekend, leading the team.
 
Fresno Pacific finished 2024 with a 4-19 record and opened their 2025 season at UC Merced's Bobcat Mini tournament, where they lost to American River College and Santa Clara. For the Sunbirds, this season is the beginning of a new era, as it is their first campaign under new head coach Jon Miller and their first without utility Pietro Cattano, who was a Division II All-America First Team selection after scoring 65 goals in 2024. They do return goalkeeper Chase Hammes, who was an All-Western Water Polo Association Second Team honoree last season; he made 15 saves against Santa Clara last weekend.
 
Pomona-Pitzer went 0-4 at the Triton Invitational last weekend, suffering losses to Pepperdine, UC Davis and Long Beach State before their defeat at the hands of the Gauchos. Sophomore center Darragh Flanders, who scored twice against Santa Barbara, led the Sagehens with seven goals on the weekend, though attacker Indigo Lee topped the weekend in total points for Pomona-Pitzer, with five goals and four assists. He tallied a pair of goals plus three assists against the Gauchos on Sunday.
 
Concordia Irvine is coming off a solid first weekend of the year, which saw them pick up a pair of wins at UC Irvine's season-opening tournament. Most notably, the Division II Golden Eagles upset Cal State Fullerton, 8-6, powered by a five-goal third quarter. CUI also beat Chapman convincingly and gave then-No. 13 California Baptist a run for their money, ultimately falling, 13-9. Greek attacker Dimitrios Koritsas lit up the Titans, scoring four times and adding an assist in the win. He also put two past CBU and another pair past No. 7 UC Irvine, making him the premier threat for the Gauchos to contain on Saturday.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Santa Barbara kicks off the weekend at 11 a.m. on Friday, taking on Occidental at Redlands' Thompson Aquatic Center. They will take on Fresno Pacific there that afternoon, at 4 p.m. On Saturday, the Gauchos get underway against Pomona-Pitzer at 9 a.m. from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps' Axelrood Pool, which is also where they will play Concordia Irvine, at 2:20 p.m. All four games are free to attend, and fans can follow along from anywhere with live stats.