No. 4 Stanford (0-0)
at Princeton Invitational | Friday - Sunday
DeNunzio Pool • Princeton, N.J.
Live Stream vs. Princeton • ESPN+
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SEASON OPENS THIS WEEKEND: Stanford men's water polo opens the 2018 season this weekend (Sept. 7-9), traveling to New Jersey for the Princeton Invitational. The three-day event, held at DeNunzio Pool on the Tigers' campus, begins Friday morning for the Cardinal.
PRINCETON INVITATIONAL FIELD: Stanford is part of a stellar 15-team field that also includes Air Force, Brown, Cal. Baptist, Fordham, George Washington, Harvard, Iona, Johns Hopkins, Navy, Princeton, Santa Clara, St. Francis, UCLA and Wagner.
SCHEDULE: Stanford will meet host Princeton on Friday at 8 a.m. PT. The Cardinal will also face UCLA in an exhibition contest on Friday at 1 p.m. PT. Among the tournament's 11 games on Saturday, Stanford will face St. Francis College at 4:30 a.m. PT and Johns Hopkins at 8:15 a.m. PT. The Cardinal will conclude play in the weekend invitational against Navy at 10:45 a.m. PT.
HOW TO FOLLOW: Stanford's morning matchup with host Princeton will be streamed on ESPN+. The Cardinal's other matches will not be streamed and there will live stats will be unavailable for the tournament.
RANKINGS: After finishing the 2017 season fourth in the Collegiate Water Polo Association poll, Stanford begins the 2018 campaign in the same spot. USC and UCLA are tied for the top spot, with California ranked third in the Sept. 5 poll. Altogether, nine of the 15 teams in the Princeton Invitational are ranked or receiving votes in the latest CWPA poll, including the Cardinal and Bruins, No. 9 Harvard, No. 13 Princeton, No. 16 Cal Baptist, No. 17 Brown, No. 18 George Washington, along with St. Francis College, Air Force and Wagner College each receiving votes.
RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS: Freshman Ben Hallock and senior Blake Parrish are coming off All-America seasons. Hallock, the 2017 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Newcomer of the Year, was an Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches First Team All-America pick last season. He led Stanford and was third in the MPSF in scoring with 56 total goals last fall. The 2M standout scored at least one goal in every match he played in 2017. An ACWPC honorable mention All-America selection last season, Parrish was second on the team with 38 goals in 2017. He enters his senior season as Stanford's active career scoring leader with 110 goals.
MPSF PRESEASON POLL: Last season's MPSF regular-season champions, Stanford was picked fourth behind UCLA, USC, and California. Penn State Behrend was selected fifth and newcomer Austin College was picked sixth.
2017 RECAP: The Cardinal finished 19-5 and ranked fourth in the final Collegiate Water Polo Association poll in 2017. Stanford defeated California, 11-10, in last year's Big Splash to secure a share of the 2017 MPSF regular-season title and the top-seed in the MPSF Tournament.
NEW LOOK IN 2018: Stanford will present a different look this fall, with 10 letterwinners from last year's team graduated following the 2017 campaign, including five All-Americans.
NEWCOMERS: All highly-rated class of seven newcomers all from the state of California begin their first year on The Farm in 2018. Several could time minutes early in the season for the Cardinal.
VARGAS BEGINS 17TH SEASON ON THE FARM: Dunlevie Family Director of Men's Water Polo, John Vargas, begins his 17th season on The Farm in 2018. He has directed the Cardinal to a 322-102 record that includes the 2002 NCAA title in his stellar career as the leader of the Stanford program.