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STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford men's water polo has unveiled its 2016 schedule, featuring eight of the nine other teams along with the Cardinal that finished in the top-10 of the final 2015 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) national poll.
The Cardinal, which completed the 2015 season 22-8 overall and fifth in the CWPA national poll, will host five matches at Avery Aquatic Center this fall.
Stanford will open the 2016 campaign in San Diego, competing in the UC San Diego and UCLA Invitational, Sept. 3-4.
Following its southern swing through the state, the Cardinal will play 11 consecutive matches in the Bay Area.
Stanford's 2016 home slate will begin on Saturday, Sept. 10, against UC Irvine, followed by a Sept. 17 match against USC at Avery Aquatic Center. The USC contest will air live on the Pac-12 Networks.
The 2016 NorCal Invitational, hosted by California, will take place Friday through Sunday, Sept. 23-25, in Berkeley, California.
A midweek trip to Santa Clara on Oct. 5 is followed by a pair of home matches against Long Beach State (Oct. 8) and San Jose State (Oct. 9) to open the October portion of the schedule.
Stanford closes the month with three straight road matches, traveling to UC Santa Barbara (Oct. 22), Pepperdine (Oct. 23) and defending NCAA Champion UCLA (Oct. 29). The match against the Bruins will air live on the Pac-12 Networks.
Senior Day is set for Saturday, Nov. 5 against Pacific at Avery Aquatic Center.
The Cardinal will close the regular-season schedule with the annual Big Splash against California on Saturday, Nov. 12. This year's match will take place at Spieker Aquatics Complex in Berkeley. The Big Splash will once again be aired on the conference's television network, with Pac-12 Bay Area providing live coverage of the match in Berkeley.
The 2016 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships will be hosted by UCLA, Friday through Sunday, Nov. 18-20. The NCAA Championships will take place in Berkeley, Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 3-4.
Head coach
John Vargas enters his 15th season at the helm of the Stanford men's water polo program just 10 wins shy of 300 for his career.