Oct. 11, 2013

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LOS ANGELES -- A year ago, Vuk Cvetkovic found himself 6,377 miles from home, learning how to adjust to a new school, a new team and to the differences in how the game of water polo is played in his home country of Serbia and at the college level in the United States.

What a difference a year makes. With a year of experience under his belt and comfortable to LMU and the men's water polo program, Cvetkovic has become one of the top players for the 10th-ranked Lions.

Cvetkovic, who is second on the team with 23 goals and one of the nation's leaders with 57 kick outs drawn, sat down with LMU Sports Network to talk about what he learned in a year and the differences he had to overcome in moving so far from home.

He has had a support system in place thanks to alum and four-time All-American Tibor Forai, and current teammate Milutin Mitrovic, both of whom are from Serbia. Forai was able to give both Mitrovic and Cvetkovic advice while the two teammates have been able to provide that support in and out of the water.

The Lions head to their final regular season tournament of the season, playing in the second of two featuring the nation's best at the UC Irvine Invitational (also known as the SoCal Invitational). The 16-team field features 15 ranked teams.

A familiar foe awaits as the Lions will open with seventh-ranked Long Beach State, taking on the 49ers for the third time this season. Game time is set for 9:25 am at Corona del Mar High School.

Also in LMU's group is No. 2 USC and No. 16 St. Francis. They play each other at 8 am. The winners of those two games will play at 2 pm, while the losers will play at 3:25 pm.