Stanford’s men’s water polo team concluded its 2025 season with a 9-7 loss to UCLA in the NCAA Championship semifinal. The match took place in Stanford, California, where senior goalkeeper West Temkin recorded 10 saves, helping limit the defending champions to nine goals.
“That was the highest level water polo I’ve seen all year,” said Dunlevie Family director of men’s water polo Brian Flacks. “Especially defensively, both teams were phenomenal. Just incredibly elite, and it was an unbelievable atmosphere. Obviously really disappointed, but really really proud in the growth of the team this year.”
The game remained close throughout the first quarter, with Gianpiero Di Martire scoring Stanford’s only goal in that period. UCLA held a narrow 2-1 lead after eight minutes.
In the second quarter, CJ Indart tied the score for Stanford following an assist from Di Martire. UCLA responded with two goals to move ahead 4-2 before Ben Forer scored for Stanford, narrowing the deficit to one at halftime.
After halftime, UCLA extended its lead to 5-3 early in the third quarter. However, Stanford answered with three consecutive goals to take its first lead of the day at 6-5. The Bruins tied it at 6-6 before Ryan Ohl scored his second goal of the period to give Stanford a 7-6 advantage entering the final quarter.
UCLA quickly equalized in the fourth period. Temkin made three key saves during this stretch to keep the game tied at seven apiece until UCLA went ahead with less than two minutes remaining and added an empty-net goal as time expired.
This marks Stanford’s second consecutive exit from the NCAA semifinals. The team finished its season with an overall record of 18 wins and eight losses.
