Nov. 3, 2011

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The six-game homestand for the LMU men's water polo has hit its halfway point, meaning just three contests remain for the Lions in the 2011 regular season. And this weekend's stretch will for the fourth straight week contain a front-runner in the Western Water Polo Association.

The Lions will open the week with upstart Fresno Pacific on Friday, Nov. 4 at 3 p.m., followed by 14th-ranked and WWPA rival Santa Clara on Saturday at 1 p.m. It will be the third straight weekend the Lions will welcome a ranked WWPA foe to the Burns Center.

This Week:
#10 LMU vs. Fresno Pacific
Location:Burns Center
Date: Friday, Nov. 4
Time: 3 p.m. (PT)
Series: first meeting

#10 LMU vs. #14 Santa Clara
Location:Burns Center
Date: Saturday, Nov. 5
Time: 1 p.m. (PT)
Series: LMU leads 24-9
Last Result: Oct. 1, 2011 - LMU 11, SCU 10

Fresno Pacific is making the move in water polo from the NAIA ranks to that of the NCAA competition. The Sunbirds are 10-22 on the season and are coming off a 22-6 home win over Merced College on Oct. 29.

The Lions will then welcome Santa Clara into the Burns Center, who enters the week at 15-13 overall and 3-3 in the WWPA. They are ranked No. 14 in the country and will play three road games over the weekend. The Broncos will play on Fri., Nov. 4 at No. 11 UC San Diego at 6 p.m., and following the Lions they will take Chapman at Noon on Sunday.

The two rivals faced each other on Oct. 1 as part of the SoCal Tournament in Long Beach, Calif. An early 4-0 lead by the Lions and success during the 6-on-5 power play was huge as the Lions went 7-for-10 while Santa Clara went 4-for-9.

The Lions enter the game at 13-6 overall and atop the WWPA standings at 9-1. The Lions have won four straight, three coming against three ranked WWPA foes (at #17 Air Force 10-7, #10 UCSD 14-10 and #12 UC Davis 8-5). Overall the Lions have won six of their last seven. The Lions are led by senior Edgaras Asajavicius, who has been on fire the last couple weeks, scoring 12 goals with 11 assists in the last four games. He now has 42 goals on the season, adding 29 assists and 35 steals. He leads the Lions in all three categories and now ranks fifth all-time at LMU with 191 goals, just two goals behind Tibor Forai and Charlie Wallace for fourth. His 85 career assists are fifth all-time in LMU history.

Freshman Joe Ferretti has been having a solid first college season, ranking second on the Lions with 30 goals and 11 assists. Goalies Kyle Testman and Gavyn Wild have been splitting time in goal and have helped anchor a defense that has just over six goals a game during the winning stretch.

CENTENNIAL SEASON: LMU is celebrating its Centennial in 2011-12 and athletics will honor the anniversary all season long. LMUat100 will feature a Centennial Game for each of the varsity programs, which included more than 900 fans at the Sept. 10 game against Pepperdine in the Wells Fargo PCH Cup. Up next is huge West Coast Conference battle in the men's soccer race between LMU and Gonzaga on Sunday, Nov. 6 The key showdown could help decide the title. Game time is set for 2 p.m. For more information, visit LMULions.com/LMUat100.