IRVINE, Calif. – The Concordia University Irvine men's water polo team looks to make a splash this weekend in the Triton Invitational hosted by UC San Diego.
CUI will play for the first time as Golden Eagles in a tournament that features 15 schools.
Concordia opens up its regular season against the nationally-ranked USC Trojans on Saturday morning before playing a second game at 3 p.m. against either Redlands or UC Irvine.
The coaches in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) voted the Golden Eagles to finish ahead of their rivals from Fresno Pacific and Biola. CUI projects to finish No. 7 among the current nine schools in the league but hopes to climb the standings and surprise their conference foes who may underestimate them.
CLICK HERE for the WWPA Preseason Coaches Poll
"We are extremely excited to get the season started," said newcomer
Oscar Garcia Blomback. "We have a very strong freshman class coming in and we have a lot of potential for growth."
The Golden Eagles return three goalies including SAAC rep
Griffin Beth and also starter
Hunter Osgood who was the backbone of the defense a year ago. Leading scorer
Jeff Runyan returns looking to chase down the school mark for recorded career goals, while
Jacob Stuart,
Callin Chimilar and speedster
Andrew Dimino are also just a few of the versatile weapons that will aid the CUI attack.
An ACWPC All-American First Team selection, Runyan earned Honorable Mention by the WWPA as well after his first regular season with the program. Stuart made an immediate impact as a true freshman and gained respect around the league on the All-WWPA Freshman Team last fall. That duo combined for more than 100 goals in 2021.
DImino led the entire league in sprint victories, claiming an absurd number of 4-for-4 performances to give CUI the first possession in all four periods on many occasions. He wound up with a sprint win percentage that was over 80 percent - which proved to be crucial in games that CUI won by a slim margin.
One of two transfers from Division 1 La Salle University on the team, Chimilar proved he can come up clutch in big moments, as evident in his game-winning goal in last year's season finale against Biola.
Depending on how the tournament plays out on Saturday, CUI will get to play at least one or two more contests on Sunday. Most games at the tournament will not be live streamed, so stay tuned to @cuigoldeneagles on instagram and twitter for updates and then check out the recaps after both days conclude here on www.cuigoldeneagles.com.
CLICK HERE for the full CUI men's water polo schedule
