PROVIDENCE, RI – Opening its 2026 season against two nationally ranked California opponents, the Iona University men’s water polo team fell 31-11 to No. 6 the University of California Davis and 21-9 to No. 11 University of the Pacific at Brown University’s Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center during the Bruno Classic.
Against UC-Davis, the Gaels’ defense allowed eight Aggies’ tallies but got back within nine goals in the third quarter in a 31-11 season-opening loss to UC Davis.
Junior Brett Grady, junior Daniel Raz, freshman Christian Couch and freshman Charlie Harbour led the Maroon and Gold with two goals apiece. Junior Hugh Coyle, junior Daniel Raz and sophomore Samson Williams each added one score.
In goal, junior PJ Bartzen had four saves on 19 Aggies’ shots with 14 goals against and two steals in the first half. Sophomore Kyle Chin Lee had three saves on 21 Aggies’ shots with 17 goals against in the second half.
The Gaels scored 11 goals on 22 shots and posted 10 assists, with two each from Raz, Tannus, Couch and freshman Jack Robison.
On defense, Iona made three steals, with two by sophomore Colin Minehan, and Harbour blocked one shot. The Gaels drew seven Aggies’ kickouts, including one five-meter penalty, while being ejected 15 times, including a five-meter penalty. Iona committed 17 turnovers.
Iona scored four man-up goals on 15 chances, while UC-Davis scored three man-up goals on seven chances.
Grady won one of four sprints.
With 56 seconds gone in the match, the Aggies got on the board first for a 1-0 edge. UC-Davis tacked on three straight scores for a 4-0 advantage with 3:45 left in the opening quarter. An Aggies’ man-up score just 44 ticks later put UC-Davis out in front 5-0. Raz cut the Aggies’ edge back to four, 5-1, on a five-meter penalty goal at the 2:23 mark. Three unanswered UC-Davis goals in the final minute gave the Aggies an 8-1 margin heading into the second quarter.
Continuing a 5-0 run, UC-Davis scored twice in the opening minute of the second period to go up nine, 10-1. After two straight Aggies’ goals, Grady got the Gaels back within 10 at 12-2 with 3:43 on the clock. Harbour’s first Iona goal on the Gaels’ next possession cut the Aggies’ lead back to nine with 3:02 left in the first half. UC-Davis answered, but Tannus scored with 2:05 remaining as the Aggies led 13-4. Following another Aggies’ goal, Couch’s first Gaels score with 33 ticks left trimmed the UC-Davis lead back to nine a 14-5 heading into halftime.
After the Aggies opened the third quarter with another goal, Williams struck to narrow the gap back to nine with 1:30 gone. Two straight UC-Davis goals put the Aggies up 17-6, but Grady answered with his second score to get Iona back within 10 at 17-7 with 3:17 remaining in the third quarter. Five consecutive UC-Davis goals upped the Aggies’ advantage to 22-7 going into the final eight minutes of regulation.
The two squads opened the final frame by trading goals with Couch scoring his second goal for the Gaels at the 6:56 mark. Harbour’s second goal ended a 3-0 Aggies’ run, but UC-Davis answered for a 27-9 advantage with 5:06 on the clock. Following two Aggies’ goals, Raz’s second strike trimmed Iona’s deficit to 27-10 with 4:10 left to play.
Following two more Aggies scores, Coyle found the back of the net and UC-Davis scored twice for a 29-11 lead. Coyle scored with 2:38 remaining before two Aggies markers in the closing two minutes sealed a 31-11 win.
Down three goals at the end of the first quarter, the Gaels were outscored 14-6 the rest of the way in a 20-9 loss to Pacific.
Junior Pavle Musikic led the Maroon and Gold with four goals on 11 shots, while Coyle scored two goals on two shots. Raz, Couch and Robison each added one score.
In goal, Lee had seven saves on 32 Tigers’ shots with 21 goals against and one steal.
The Gaels scored nine goals on 31 shots and made eight assists, with two from sophomore Toni Vlasic.
On defense, Iona made three steals, and freshman Logan Hardel blocked two shots. The Gaels drew three Tigers’ kickouts while being ejected nine times, including two five-meter penalties.
Iona committed eight turnovers and did not score on three man-up chances. Pacific scored six man-up goals on seven chances.
Grady won two of four sprints.
With 1:43 gone in the match, Pacific got on the board first and threatened another score, but Lee blocked a Tigers’ five-meter penalty shot with 5:46 remaining in the the opening quarter. The Tigers took a 2-0 lead before Musikic sliced Pacific’s edge back to one at 2-1 with 4:20 on the clock. After Pacific answered, Coyle struck to get Iona back within one at 3-2 with 2:52 left in the frame. Following two straight Tigers’ scores, Musikic’s second score with 38 ticks left cut Pacific’s advantage to 5-3. However, the Tigers scored with two seconds remaining in the quarter to push ahead 6-3 following eight minutes of action.
Raz opened the second quarter by cutting the Pacific lead back to a pair at 6-4 with 6:37 remaining until halftime. Over the next three minutes, the Tigers tacked on four unanswered goals for a 10-4 lead at the 3:10 mark. With 2:48 left, Musikic’s first hat trick of the season trimmed the Pacific edge back to five, 10-5, but the Tigers responded for an 11-5 halftime lead.
Continuing a 3-0 run, two Tigers’ goals upped their lead to eight, 13-5, with 1:33 gone in the third quarter. Musikic’s fourth score ended an Iona scoring drought and cut Pacific’s margin to 13-6 at the 4:17 mark, but the Tigers answered on their next trip down the pool to go back up by eight at 14-6. Following another Pacific goal, Couch responded before the Tigers managed a last-second score to build a 16-7 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
Two more Pacific scores, including a five-meter penalty goal, put the Tigers up 18-7 with 5:49 left in regulation. Robison’s first Gaels’ goal got Iona back within 10 at 18-8 just 29 ticks later. Pacific added two scores and Coyle tacked on another Iona goal with 34 ticks remaining to close out the scoring in a 21-9 Pacific win.
Information courtesy Iona University Athletics Communications
