STANFORD, Calif. – No. 5 Stanford men's water polo will head across the Bay this weekend, participating in the Mountain Pacific Invitational Friday through Sunday (Sept. 23-25) in Berkeley and Walnut Creek.
The 16-team Mountain Pacific Invitational field features 15 programs either ranked or receiving votes in this week's Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) National Poll, including the nation's top seven teams. Stanford, ranked No. 5 this week, is joined by No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 USC, No. 3 California, No. 4 Pacific, No. 6 UC Santa Barbara, No. 7 Long Beach State, tied for No. 8 UC Irvine, No. 10 Pepperdine, tied for No. 11 UC Davis and Princeton, No. 18 San Jose State, No. 19 Santa Clara, and Air Force, Whittier and Pomona who are each receiving votes.
The Cardinal, the fifth seed in the tournament, will open play on Friday at 5:15 p.m. PT against 12th-seeded San Jose State at Northgate High School in Walnut Creek. Stanford will play at 9:25 a.m. PT on Saturday against either Pacific or Air Force in either Berkeley or Walnut Creek, depending on the result of Friday evening's match.
The Cardinal will play a total of four matches over the three-day tournament, with two contests slated for Saturday. Check @StanfordMWP on Twitter for results and updated schedules throughout the weekend.
Stanford is 5-1 on the season, coming off an 8-4 setback to USC at home last Saturday. Prior to last Saturday, the Cardinal had posted double-digit goals in each of its first five matches, with a season-best 18 scores against Chapman on Sept. 4.
Sophomores Mitchell Mendoza and Blake Parrish each lead the Cardinal with 15 goals on the season, while junior Cody Smith has contributed 12 scores. Parrish, junior Justin Roberto, and freshman Bennett Williams have each scored in all six matches. Parrish has multiple scores in five of Stanford's six matches, with a Cardinal-best six goals against Redlands.
Junior goalie Oliver Lewis registered a career-high 16 saves last weekend against USC. He has averaged 11.8 saves per match in four contests this season.
Among the 16-team Mountain Pacific Invitational Field, Stanford has faced two programs already this season, posting a 10-5 victory over UC Irvine and dropping the 8-4 decision to USC at home.