Gauchos Co-Captain Finn Genc Named Big West Player of the Week
The senior scored four goals in the 11-10 win at UC Irvine that moved Santa Barbara to No. 8 in the national rankings and within reach of a first Big West title since 1990.
The Big West has named UC Santa Barbara co-captain Finn Genc its men's water polo Player of the Week, the conference's awards list shows for Nov. 4. It is the first weekly award of Genc's career and the fifth collected by a Gaucho this season, according to UC Santa Barbara Athletics.
The award follows Santa Barbara's 11-10 win at UC Irvine on Friday night, Oct. 30. Genc, a senior from Newport Beach, scored a game-high four goals on six shots in his return to Orange County, set up two more goals and finished with five steals, the university said.
The result was the Gauchos' third straight win over a top-10 opponent, and it lifted Santa Barbara to No. 8 in this week's national rankings, according to the athletics department.
The conference race is now in Santa Barbara's hands. The Gauchos enter the weekend at 3-1 in Big West play. A win at Cal State Fullerton would give them a share of the regular season title, and a UC San Diego win over California Baptist on the same weekend would make Santa Barbara the top seed for the conference championship, the university said. Any Big West championship would be the program's first of any kind since 1990.
Two matches come first, in the order the university lists them. Santa Barbara hosts No. 4 USC at Santa Barbara High School on Saturday, Nov. 7, a match the program has designated as Senior Day. The Gauchos then travel to Fullerton on Sunday, Nov. 8, for the match that decides the regular season title.
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