Pepperdine Men’s Water Polo’s bench watches the action during their season-opening match Sept. 4 against Cal Baptist. The Waves defeated the Lancers and won three of four games in their opening weekend at the Triton Invitational. Photos Courtesy of Sam Janicki
In a shortened spring season, Pepperdine Men’s Water Polo only played one opponent in the Golden Coast Conference — San Jose State, who faced the Waves five times. Each other school in the conference opted out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns.
The lack of quality conference wins likely contributed to the Waves missing the NCAA Tournament despite winning the GCC and finishing with an 11-3 record.