BRIDGEPORT, Penn. — The University of La Verne men's water polo team has gotten off to a hot start under new head coach Willo Rodriguez and is gaining attention from collegiate water polo community.

After beating three SCIAC rivals to start the season and taking No. 1 Whittier to the brink, the Leopards are ranked No. 3 in the latest Collegiate Water Polo Association NCAA Division III poll.

FULL RANKINGS

At the Inland Empire Classic on Sept. 13-14, the Leopards used a 6-0 second-half run to defeat the 2013 SCIAC runner-up Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 13-10, and later in Day 1, beat Pomona-Pitzer, 10-9, on a last-second point blank save from goalie Christian Ortiz. One Day 2, the Leopards matched the defending SCIAC champion Whittier goal-for-goal most of the game but fell just short in the second half.

A week later at the Whittier Mini Invitational, La Verne beat Occidental, 15-11, as four players recorded hat tricks.

In addition, freshman driver Josh Vega was named the SCIAC Male Athlete of the Week of Sept. 8-14 for scoring nine goals in the two wins against CMS and Pomona-Pitzer.

The Leopards are off this week after starting the season with a gauntlet of a schedule, which included games against five of the best teams in the nation (USC, UCLA, Cal, Long Beach State, UC Irvine). La Verne resumes action next weekend when it co-hosts the Gary Troyer Convergence on Oct. 3-4.