Dillon Shaw vs. UC Merced
14
UC Merced UCM (5-18, 1-5 WWPA)
18
Winner Gannon GAN (13-9, 3-1 WWPA)
UC Merced UCM
(5-18, 1-5 WWPA)
14
Final
18
Gannon GAN
(13-9, 3-1 WWPA)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
UC Merced UCM 2 6 3 3 14
Gannon GAN 7 4 4 3 18

Game Recap: Men's Water Polo | | Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Gannon Defeats UC Merced in Exhibition, Faces Biola in Saturday's WWPA Men's Semifinals

GENEVA, Ohio – The Gannon men's water polo team opened up the 2025 WWPA Men's Championship on Friday morning with an 18-14 win over UC Merced in an exhibition game. The match took place at the SPIRE Aquatics Center and was the first of four games on the day.

In the third contest Gannon's opponent in the semifinals was revealed as Biola edged Salem 15-14 in a back-and-forth affair. No. 1 West seed Gannon will now play Biola, the number 2 seed out of the West Region, at 12 noon in the semifinals. The other semifinal features No. 1W Concordia vs. No. 3W Fresno Pacific at 2:00 p.m. The day will also feature two more exhibition games.

SADIKOVIC EMPLOYS DEPTH IN EXHIBITION WIN
Friday's exhibition game gave head coach Zarko Sadikovic an opportunity to use his bench. A total of seven different players scored goals and he also used all three goalkeepers. Three Golden Knights contributed four goals apiece – Alexandros Kotskar (Voula, Greece/Athinaiki Agogh), Rajmund Farsang (Eger, Hungary/) and Victor Volant (Fuveau, France/) – while Dillon Shaw (Salt Lake City, Utah/Skyline) added three goals.

GANNON, BIOLA SQUARE OFF IN FIRST SEMIFINAL
The Golden Knights will face Biola in the first of Saturday's two semifinals. The match gets underway at 12 noon. Gannon is the No. 1 seed from the West Region and owns a 13-9 overall record and was 3-1 in the WWPA East. Biola was the No. 2 seed in the West Region after finishing at 4-2. The Eagles improved to 9-20 overall with the 15-14 win over Salem in the first round.

SEMIFINAL REMATCH OF LAST YEAR'S THIRD PLACE GAME 
Gannon and Biola met last year in the third place match with Biola edging the Golden Knights 14-12.

THE REST OF THE DAY'S ACTION
Following Gannon's exhibition win over UC Merced the first of two quarterfinals were played with No. 3W Fresno Pacific posting a mind upset over No. 2E McKendree by a 17-13 score. That was followed by Biola's win over Salem. The day ended with a 16-11 win for No. 1W Concordia over UC Merced in another exhibition game.

SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE
10:00 a.m. – No. 2E McKendree vs. UC Merced (exhibition)
12 noon – No. 1E Gannon vs. No. 2W Biola (semifinal)
2:00 p.m. – No. 1W Concordia vs. No. 3W Fresno Pacific (semifinal)
4:00 p.m. – No. 3E Salem vs. UC Merced (exhibition)
 
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