Air Force Heads To WWPA Championship
11/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 15, 2006
The 16th-ranked Air Force water polo team returns to action this weekend, Nov. 17-19, as it seeks a conference title at the Western Water Polo Association Championship. The Falcons, seeded fifth, will face fourth-seed Santa Clara in the first game of the tournament, Friday morning at 9:00 (PT).
The Schedule...
Following is the complete schedule for this weekend's tournament, with each team's seeding in parentheses:
Friday, Nov. 17
# 1 9:00 am Santa Clara (4) vs. Air Force (5)# 2 11:00 am Pomona-Pitzer (7) vs. La Verne (10)# 3 12:30 pm UC Santa Cruz (8) vs. Whittier (9)# 4 3:30 pm UC Davis (3) vs. Redlands (6)# 5 5:00 pm Loyola Marymount (2) vs. Winner #2# 6 6:30 pm UC San Diego (1) vs. Winner #3
Saturday, Nov. 18
# 7 10:00 am Loser # 3 vs. Loser #1# 8 11:30 am Loser # 4 vs. Loser # 2# 9 1:00 pm Winner # 5 vs. Winner # 4 (Semifinals)# 10 2:30 pm Winner # 6 vs. Winner # 1 (Semifinals)# 11 3:00 pm Winner # 7 vs. Loser # 6 (Consolation)# 12 5:30 pm Winner # 8 vs. Loser # 5 (Consolation)
Sunday, Nov. 19
# 13 9:00 am Loser # 8 vs. Loser # 7 (9th)# 14 10:30 am Loser # 12 vs. Loser # 11 (7th)# 15 12:00 pm Winner # 11 vs. Winner # 12 (5th)# 16 1:30 pm Loser # 9 vs. Loser # 10 (3rd)# 17 3:00 pm Winner # 9 vs. Winner # 10 (Champ.)
Scouting the Falcons...
Air Force, currently ranked 16th in the nation, put together a 3-1 record in its last weekend of action, falling to Loyola Marymount, 11-4, before defeating Redlands, 9-4, Chapman, 13-6, and Claremont, 10-8. The Falcons are now 12-15 overall on the season with an 8-5 mark in the WWPA.
Senior goalkeeper Denver Saunders notched 30 saves on the weekend to help lead the Falcons to three conference wins, while Kyle Schafer scored a team-high six goals. Justin Berry added five goals, while Clark Condict, Alex Churnside and Tyler Hewko all scored four goals each.
Scouting the Broncos...
The Santa Clara Broncos, currently ranked 17th in the nation, currently hold a 13-14 overall record and 11-3 record in the WWPA. The Broncos dropped a 13-5 decision to fourth-ranked Stanford in their regular season finale.
Santa Clara is coached by Keith Wilbur, in his sixth season at the helm of the program. Sophomore Jack Wall is the Broncos' leading scorer with 62 goals on the year.
Series Records...
This weekend will mark the 37th meeting between Air Force and Santa Clara. The Falcons lead the series, 31-5, but the Broncos won the last contest between the two teams, a 12-8 decision at the Aggie Shootout in October.
