SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The Notre Dame College men's water polo team have added five west coast games to their 2013 schedule.  From October 4-6th the Falcons will head to Southern California to play in the Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament, in Pomona CA.  

This marks the first time a Falcon water polo team has made the trip to the west coast in its brief 4 year history.  "This was an opportunity the team and I felt we needed to take advantage of." said third year Head Coach Matt Kittle.  "Typically we would never add five games to the schedule mid-season, let alone just two weeks in advance, and surely not to California. However, we understand how important this trip is for us, and the guys responded."

The Falcons will be busy in California, having scheduled five games over three days.  On October 4th, the Falcons will take on D-II Fresno Pacific, and DIII Cal Tech.  The second day of competition will have the Falcons facing D-III Occidental and a strong D-III Claremont McKenna College team.  The final day of competition will see the Falcons play D-III La Verne.  "We are scheduled to play a number of strong teams essentially in their back yards.  This will be a great test for us." said Kittle.

The trip west will provide the Falcons the opportunity to take on some new opposition, having only played two west coast teams in the previous four seasons.  The Falcons took on the challenge of fundraising for the trip and  managed to completely fund the trip through private fundraising efforts. "I cannot say enough about our coaching and support staff, our players, and their families.  We would not have this opportunity without them." said Kittle.  

The Falcons are 2-3 on the season with two of the losses, Bucknell and George Washington, coming by just one goal to nationally ranked opponents.

Before their trip west the Falcons have three games against division rivals Washington and Jefferson, Salem International, and new-comer Monmouth College.