Eagles fly back to SoCal with WWPA trophy in talons
O'FALLON, Ill. - Four years ago, the Biola University men's water polo program was an idea.
A short time later, the Eagles are going to be playing for a national championship.
Biola climbed out of an early deficit and secured the third win this season over Southern California rival Concordia, 18-12, in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Championship Final.
Biola (21-12) earns an automatic bid to the National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championship, Dec. 1-3, in Los Angeles, where they'll face a First Round matchup with top-seed, No. 1 UCLA (24-2).
WWPA Championship Most Outstanding Player Josh Halopoff scored a game-high four, Nick Murray contributed three goals and three assists, and the Eagles used an 11-5 advantage over the middle quarters to put the game out of reach.
"To be here and to win is incredible. The honor to go on and be one of eight teams in the NCAA tournament is phenomenal. It is something we've had as a goal since our conference was realigned," said Biola head coach Rick Nordell. "It has been 'eyes on November'. I'm so proud of these guys for keeping that focus."
CUI jumped out to a 4-2 advantage after the first quarter, shooting nearly .500 to start the game. However, a 6-2 spurt in the second frame helped BU take a lead that would never really be in doubt.
They opened the second half with back-to-back goals, capping a 4-0 run over a four-minute span.
The Golden Eagles tried to peck back at the champion Eagles, but back-to-back-to-back scores from John Grasso, Caleb Hernandez and Max Osborn made the BU lead six late in the third quarter.
Concordia (12-17) was paced by Sam Diamond's three goals and two assists. Jacob Stuart and Harry Bentham had two goals apiece.
La Mirada currently houses both the men's and women's championship hardware. The women's team, led by head coach Sarah Orozco, also won its first-ever conference championship - in the same pool in the middle of Illinois - back in April 2023.
2023 WWPA Championship All-Tournament Team
First Team
Most Outstandng Player: Josh Halopoff, Biola
Caleb Hernandez, Biola
Nick Murray, Biola
Jacob Stuart, Concordia
Harry Bentham, Concordia
Marko Zivojinovic, Salem
Nikola Krstonosic, Salem
Breno Tebet, McKendree
Second Team
Roman Saroyan, Biola
Stan De Mey, Concordia
Ivan Zivojinovic, Salem
Yannick Robertson, McKendree
Alexandros Kotskar, Gannon
Ethan McLaughlin, Fresno Pacific
Teagan Thomas, Mercyhurst
Third Place Game: #2E McKendree - #1E Salem | Box
No. 1 East seed Salem will return to West Virginia with its first-ever WWPA Championship win under its belt following a 16-12 win over McKendree in the Third Place game on Sunday morning at the McKendree Metro Rec Plex in O'Fallon, Ill.
WWPA Player of the Year Nikola Krstonosic capped off a standout junior season with five goals and two assists while fellow All-WWPA first-teamer Marko Zivojinovic contributed two goals and three assists.
The Tigers (19-4) led 10-9 heading into the fourth quarter and used a 5-2 advantage in the final session to secure the victory.
Breno Tebet finished off the year with five goals for McKendree (9-14) while Zach Callejas added a hat trick. Tebet scored 14 goals over the three games of the postseason tournament.