CBU Water Polo Carries Over Success Into 2016

MORENO VALLEY >> A strong finish to 2015 garnered California Baptist University its highest ranking in the final Collegiate Water Polo Association top-20 polls since it joined the NCAA in 2013. It also has the Lancers eager to see what more can be accomplished in 2016 after it tied their program-high, fourth-place finish in the Western Water Polo Association Championships. CBU nearly pulled off consecutive upsets in the conference tournament, defeating 14th-ranked Loyola Marymount, 13-12, and then dropping a one-goal game to ninth-ranked University of California Davis, 14-13, in the semifinals. A six-tournament schedule, which includes a road trip to New Jersey for the Princeton Invite, awaits CBU this upcoming season. For the fourth year in a row, it will begin at University of California, San Diego's Triton Invitational Sept. 3. It also starts a three-week stretch of tournaments for the athletes, which includes the Princeton Invite Sept. 9-10 and Aggie Roundup at UC Davis Sept. 16-17. Sept. 21 welcomes a short break between tournaments when CBU visits University of California, Irvine, which ranked sixth place at the end of 2015, for a big non-conference contest. September concludes and October opens with the Gary Troyer Tournament Sept. 30-Oct. 1 for the Lancers. The tournament is a more than a month-long road trip to start the season and will come to an end in CBU's home debut, as it hosts UC Davis on Oct. 6. Directly after, CBU will host the Lancer Invite Oct. 7-8. From there, conference play resumes on the road, with trips to UC San Diego Oct. 14 and Fresno Pacific University Oct. 20. For the ninth year in a row, the Lancers will compete in the Santa Clara Rodeo Oct. 21-22 and then host Santa Clara in a WWPA clash in Riverside Oct. 28. Conference continues for CBU at Loyola Marymount Oct. 29 before it winds down the regular season with consecutive WWPA games against Air Force Academy Nov. 4 and Concordia Nov. 12. The Lancers will make their second trip of the season to Santa Clara for the WWPA Championships Nov. 18-20. CBU will look to improve on its top-four finish in conference over the last two seasons and advance to the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history.