Men’s water polo streak ends; top spot in question


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Stanford just had USC’s number on Saturday — in more than one sport. While the football team suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Cardinal in Palo Alto, the No. 1-ranked water polo team also fell on the road, losing to No. 6 Stanford 5-3.

The loss drops the team’s record to 15-1 and snaps an 18-game winning streak that dated back to last season. Even so, the Trojans are now 70-3 since the beginning of the 2008 season, and are the two-time defending NCAA champions.

The top six of the water polo rankings will likely experience a large reshuffling when the weekly poll comes out on Wednesday; in addition to Stanford’s upset win, No. 4 California upset No. 2 UCLA in Berkeley Saturday.

No. 3 UC-Irvine has a chance to claim the top spot in the poll, despite losses to USC, UCLA and UC-Santa Barbara this season. The Anteaters went 2-0 on the week, defeating Pepperdine and Air Force. They also defeated Cal earlier in the season.

UC-Santa Barbara, currently ranked No. 5, also is 2-0 since the last poll. The Gauchos defeated Concordia and Harvard to try and stake their claim in the top five.

The Trojans will play a huge match this Saturday, as Cal comes into town to try and avenge a loss suffered earlier this season. On Sept. 19, the Trojans traveled to Berkeley and defeated the top-ranked Golden Bears 12-11.

The match starts at 10 A.M. at McDonald’s Swim Stadium.