Falcons Set To Open Season At Triton Invitational
8/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
The Air Force water polo team gets the 2006 season off to a start this weekend as it travels to La Jolla, Calif., to take part in the annual Triton Invitational, hosted by UC San Diego, Sept. 2-3. The Falcons, which are competing in Group D, begin the weekend with a contest versus Pacific Saturday at 12:30 p.m. The team will then take on either Loyola Marymount or Whittier in the second game of the day. The weekend concludes Sunday, with game times and opponents to be determined based on Saturday's results.
Head Coach Jeff Ehrlich...
Head coach Jeff Ehrlich is in his eighth season at the helm of the Air Force water polo program. He came to the Academy in 1999 after a 25-year stint at Villa Park High School in Orange County, Calif.
Since his arrival at Air Force, Ehrlich has led the team to a combined 101-87 overall record. Additionally, the Falcons have been nationally ranked in the top 20 at the end of six of Ehrlich's seven seasons, with a best final ranking of 13th in 1999.
Air Force Picked sixth in WWPA Preseason Coaches Poll...
The Falcons were selected to finish sixth in the Western Water Polo Association, as chosen by the conference's head coaches in the 2006 preseason poll. Loyola Marymount, which has won three-straight WWPA titles, was the hands-down favorite to capture this year's title, garnering 132 total points, including 11 first-place votes.
UC San Diego, which has met up with the Lions in five of the last six tournament championship games, was the only other team to receive a first-place vote, finishing second in the poll with 119 points. UC Davis and Redlands were selected as the third- and fourth-place picks in the coaches' poll, while Santa Clara was chosen to finish fifth.
After Air Force, Pomona-Pitzer and UC Santa Cruz were picked to finish seventh and eighth, respectively, with just one point separating the two teams in the vote. Rounding out the conference picks were Whittier, La Verne, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Occidental and Chapman.
Scouting the Falcons...
The Air Force Falcons are coming off a 12-15 season and look to improve upon their final record from 2005. Among the leaders of this year's team are senior captains Danny Kimmich and Blake Pickell, last year's Most Valuable Player, Kyle Schafer, goalkeeper Denver Saunders, juniors Clark Condict and Justin Berry, the team's top two scorers from last season, and sophomores Tyler Hewko, the 2005 Rookie of the Year, and Joey Brewer.
Joining the aforementioned players on this weekend's trip to the Triton Invitational will be seniors Matt LeBlanc and Chris Nitzel, junior Chris Pace, sophomores Eric Gobrecht, Kevin McDonald and Kevin Williams, and freshmen Alex Churnside, Jason Fung and Jack Hines.
Scouting the Tigers...
The Pacific Tigers, which finished the 2005 season ranked sixth in the country, put together a 19-14 overall record last season, including a 2-6 mark in the MPSF. The team took sixth place in the conference tournament after falling to UCLA.
Pacific is coached by Mike Maroney, now in his fourth season at the helm of the program. Leading the Tigers' top returners is junior Dragan Bakic, who earned All-America honors in 2005 after leading his team with 60 goals.
Scouting the Lions...
The Loyola Marymount Lions, the top seed in Group D, concluded the 2005 season ranked eighth in the nation after compiling a 19-16 overall record. After capturing the WWPA title, the Lions earned a trip to the NCAA Championship, finishing third following a one-goal loss to Stanford in the semi-final.
LMU is coached by John Loughran, who enters his 10th season at the helm of the program. Among the Lions' top returners is goalkeeper Ian Elliott, a second-team all-conference and honorable mention All-America selection in 2005. Elliott holds a career goals against average of 6.83 and has tallied 813 saves in his first three seasons with LMU.
Scouting the Poets...
The Whittier Poets finished the 2005 season ranked third amongst Division III teams, compiling a 16-16 overall record and 8-2 mark in the SCIAC. The Poets also captured seventh-place at the WWPA Championships last season.
Whittier is coached by Mitch Carty, who enters his 10th season at the helm of the program. Leading the Poets in 2006 is senior Jake Zerbe, a two-time All-SCIAC and All-America selection.
The Rest of the Field...
In addition to Air Force, Loyola Marymount, Pacific and Whittier, the Triton Invitational features 10 other teams, including host UC San Diego. Featured in Group A are Pepperdine, Cal Baptist, Redlands and Claremont. Group B includes UC Irvine, UC Davis and Pomona-Pitzer, while Group C is comprised of the host Tritons along with UC Santa Barbara and UC Santa Cruz.
Series Records...
Air Force and Pacific meet for the 28th time this weekend, with the Tigers holding an 21-6 advantage in the all-time series. Pacific picked up the win last season, a 9-3 victory at the Aggie Shootout, hosted by UC Davis.
This weekend would mark the 34th meeting between the Falcons and Lions, as Air Force leads the all-time series 21-12. However, LMU has won the last six contests between the two teams, including a pair of contests last season.
Should Air Force meet Whittier this weekend, it would mark the 10th time in the series, with the Falcons undefeated against the Poets. The two teams last met last season at the Slugfest, hosted by UC Santa Cruz, with Air Force picking up the narrow 12-11 victory.
Up Next...
Air Force heads back to the Academy for the first of three straight weekends at home, as it hosts Navy and Stanford, Sept. 9-10. Admission is free for all games, which will be held in the Cadet Natatorium.
Head Coach Jeff Ehrlich...
Head coach Jeff Ehrlich is in his eighth season at the helm of the Air Force water polo program. He came to the Academy in 1999 after a 25-year stint at Villa Park High School in Orange County, Calif.
Since his arrival at Air Force, Ehrlich has led the team to a combined 101-87 overall record. Additionally, the Falcons have been nationally ranked in the top 20 at the end of six of Ehrlich's seven seasons, with a best final ranking of 13th in 1999.
Air Force Picked sixth in WWPA Preseason Coaches Poll...
The Falcons were selected to finish sixth in the Western Water Polo Association, as chosen by the conference's head coaches in the 2006 preseason poll. Loyola Marymount, which has won three-straight WWPA titles, was the hands-down favorite to capture this year's title, garnering 132 total points, including 11 first-place votes.
UC San Diego, which has met up with the Lions in five of the last six tournament championship games, was the only other team to receive a first-place vote, finishing second in the poll with 119 points. UC Davis and Redlands were selected as the third- and fourth-place picks in the coaches' poll, while Santa Clara was chosen to finish fifth.
After Air Force, Pomona-Pitzer and UC Santa Cruz were picked to finish seventh and eighth, respectively, with just one point separating the two teams in the vote. Rounding out the conference picks were Whittier, La Verne, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Occidental and Chapman.
Scouting the Falcons...
The Air Force Falcons are coming off a 12-15 season and look to improve upon their final record from 2005. Among the leaders of this year's team are senior captains Danny Kimmich and Blake Pickell, last year's Most Valuable Player, Kyle Schafer, goalkeeper Denver Saunders, juniors Clark Condict and Justin Berry, the team's top two scorers from last season, and sophomores Tyler Hewko, the 2005 Rookie of the Year, and Joey Brewer.
Joining the aforementioned players on this weekend's trip to the Triton Invitational will be seniors Matt LeBlanc and Chris Nitzel, junior Chris Pace, sophomores Eric Gobrecht, Kevin McDonald and Kevin Williams, and freshmen Alex Churnside, Jason Fung and Jack Hines.
Scouting the Tigers...
The Pacific Tigers, which finished the 2005 season ranked sixth in the country, put together a 19-14 overall record last season, including a 2-6 mark in the MPSF. The team took sixth place in the conference tournament after falling to UCLA.
Pacific is coached by Mike Maroney, now in his fourth season at the helm of the program. Leading the Tigers' top returners is junior Dragan Bakic, who earned All-America honors in 2005 after leading his team with 60 goals.
Scouting the Lions...
The Loyola Marymount Lions, the top seed in Group D, concluded the 2005 season ranked eighth in the nation after compiling a 19-16 overall record. After capturing the WWPA title, the Lions earned a trip to the NCAA Championship, finishing third following a one-goal loss to Stanford in the semi-final.
LMU is coached by John Loughran, who enters his 10th season at the helm of the program. Among the Lions' top returners is goalkeeper Ian Elliott, a second-team all-conference and honorable mention All-America selection in 2005. Elliott holds a career goals against average of 6.83 and has tallied 813 saves in his first three seasons with LMU.
Scouting the Poets...
The Whittier Poets finished the 2005 season ranked third amongst Division III teams, compiling a 16-16 overall record and 8-2 mark in the SCIAC. The Poets also captured seventh-place at the WWPA Championships last season.
Whittier is coached by Mitch Carty, who enters his 10th season at the helm of the program. Leading the Poets in 2006 is senior Jake Zerbe, a two-time All-SCIAC and All-America selection.
The Rest of the Field...
In addition to Air Force, Loyola Marymount, Pacific and Whittier, the Triton Invitational features 10 other teams, including host UC San Diego. Featured in Group A are Pepperdine, Cal Baptist, Redlands and Claremont. Group B includes UC Irvine, UC Davis and Pomona-Pitzer, while Group C is comprised of the host Tritons along with UC Santa Barbara and UC Santa Cruz.
Series Records...
Air Force and Pacific meet for the 28th time this weekend, with the Tigers holding an 21-6 advantage in the all-time series. Pacific picked up the win last season, a 9-3 victory at the Aggie Shootout, hosted by UC Davis.
This weekend would mark the 34th meeting between the Falcons and Lions, as Air Force leads the all-time series 21-12. However, LMU has won the last six contests between the two teams, including a pair of contests last season.
Should Air Force meet Whittier this weekend, it would mark the 10th time in the series, with the Falcons undefeated against the Poets. The two teams last met last season at the Slugfest, hosted by UC Santa Cruz, with Air Force picking up the narrow 12-11 victory.
Up Next...
Air Force heads back to the Academy for the first of three straight weekends at home, as it hosts Navy and Stanford, Sept. 9-10. Admission is free for all games, which will be held in the Cadet Natatorium.
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