PROVIDENCE, RI – Opening its 2026 season against two nationally ranked California opponents, the Iona University men's water polo team fell 31-11 to number-six-ranked University of California Davis this afternoon and 21-9 to eleventh-ranked Pacific University this evening in the Bruno Classic hosted here by Brown University.

#6 UC Davis 31 Iona 11

Scoring a single goal in the first period, the Gaels' defense allowed eight Aggies tallies but got back within nine in the third quarter in a 31-11 season-opening loss to number-six-ranked UC Davis in this afternoon's first match.

Junior Brett Grady, junior Daniel Raz, freshman Christian Couch and freshman Charlie Harbour led the Maroon and Gold (0-2 overall) with two goals apiece. Junior Hugh Coyle, junior Daniel Raz and sophomore Samson Williams added one score each.

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 made 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 swimoffs.

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 up 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 going into the second period.

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, 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. 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, 14-5, at halftime.

After the Aggies opened the third period with another goal, Williams struck to narrow the gap to nine with 1:30 gone. Two straight UC Davis goals put the Aggies up 11, 17-6, but Grady answered with his second score to get Iona back within 10, 17-7, with 3:17 remaining. Five consecutive UC Davis goals upped the Aggies' advantage to 15, 22-7, going into the final period.

The two squads opened the final period by trading goals, with Couch scoring his second goal for the Gaels with 6:56 to go. 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 UC Davis goals, Raz's second goal trimmed the Aggies' edge to 27-10 with 4:10 left. After two more Aggies scores, Coyle found the back of the net, but UC Davis scored twice for a 29-11 lead. Coyle scored with 2:38 remaining as two Aggies goals in the closing two minutes sealed their 31-11 win.

#11 Pacific 20 Iona 9

Down just three goals at the end of the first quarter, the Gaels were outscored 14-6 the rest of the way in this evening's 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 added one score each.

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. Iona did not score on three man-up chances, while Pacific scored six man-up goals on seven chances. Grady won two of four swimoffs.

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 to go in the opening period. The Tigers took a 2-0 lead, then Musikic sliced Pacific's edge back to one, 2-1, with 4:20 on the clock. After Pacific answered, Coyle struck to get Iona within one, 3-2, with 2:52 left. Following two straight Tigers scores, Musikic's second score with 38 ticks left cut Pacific's advantage to two, 5-3. With only two seconds remaining, the Tigers regained a three-score margin, 6-3, going into the second period.

Raz opened the second period by cutting the Pacific lead back to two with 6:37 remaining. Over the next three minutes, the Tigers tacked on four unanswered goals for a six-score, 10-4, advantage with 3:10 remaining. 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 period. Musikic's fourth score ended the Iona drought and cut Pacific's margin to seven, 13-6, at the 4:17 mark, but the Tigers answered on their next trip down the pool to go back up eight, 14-6. Following another Pacific goal, Couch responded, but the Tigers managed a last-second score to build a nine-goal, 16-7, advantage going into the final period.

Two more Pacific scores, including a five-meter penalty goal, put the Tigers up 11, 18-7, with 5:49 left in regulation. Robison's first Gaels goal got Iona back within 10, 18-8, just 29 ticks later. In the closing 3:10, Pacific added two scores, but Coyle tacked on another Iona goal with 34 ticks remaining.

UP NEXT

On Sunday, Iona takes on Gannon University at 10:20 a.m. EDT and number-five-ranked Fordham University at 5 p.m. EDT.