STANFORD, California- After a tremendous amount of success for the Salem Tigers men's water polo team, they had sights set on the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers won the WWPA Conference Championship to clinch a NCAA Tournament berth. Salem had an uphill battle as they got a first-round match up against the UCLA Bruins on Friday December 6^th. The Tigers were looking to keep the momentum going and pull off a huge round 1 victory. However, UCLA would be too much and would be able to pull away to secure a 22-6 victory over Salem.

In the first half, UCLA got off to a fast start as they went on a 5-0 run to start the game. Salem was able to get on the board in the second quarter with goals coming from Ivan Zivojinovic and Marko Zivojinovic. However, the Bruins were still able to outscore the Tigers 4-2 in the second period. At the half, UCLA had a commanding 9-2 lead.

In the second half, the Bruins got off to another quick start on the offensive side and had a 7-goal quarter in the third period. Heading into the final period, UCLA maintained a big 16-5 lead. In the fourth quarter, the UCLA offense didn't let up as they went onto score 6 more goals to Salem's 1 goal. The UCLA Bruins were able to defeat the Salem Tigers by a final score of 22-6.

In the stats sheet, the Tigers were led by Danko Kesic and Marko Zivojinovic both scoring 2 goals. Ivan Zivojinovic and Antonio Sablic both added a goal each.

Despite the tough loss, the Tigers still had an amazing season winning 20 games on the year and clinching a spot in the Nationals.  The Tigers also had the coach of the year in the WWPA with Rob Bullion taking that honor. Nikola Krstonosic earned Co-Player of the Year in the WWPA as well. After a great season, the Tigers will have plenty of momentum and leadership to be successful for years to come.