Air Force Set to Host WWPA Championship
11/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 14, 2007
This weekend, the Air Force water polo team hosts the annual Western Water Polo Association Championship, being held Nov. 16-18 at the Cadet Natatorium. Nine teams from the WWPA will compete for the chance to earn an automatic bid to this year's NCAA Championship. Admission for all games this weekend is free of charge.
The Seeds...
Following is a list of seed's for this weekend's conference championship:
1. UC Davis
2. Santa Clara
3. Loyola Marymount
4. UC San Diego
5. Air Force
6. Redlands
7. Pomona-Pitzer
8. UC Santa Cruz
9. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
The Schedule...
Friday, November 16Game 1 - 10:30 am - No. 8 UC Santa Cruz vs. No. 9 Claremont (Championship play-in)Game 2 - 2:00 pm - No. 4 UC San Diego vs. No. 5 Air ForceGame 3 - 3:30 pm - No. 3 LMU vs. No. 6 RedlandsGame 4 - 5:00 pm - No. 2 Santa Clara vs. No. 7 Pomona-PitzerGame 5 - 6:30 pm - No. 1 UC Davis vs. Winner Game 1
Saturday, November 17Game 6 - 10:30 am - Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 1 (Consolation play-in)Game 7 - 2:00 pm - Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 3 (Semifinals)Game 8 - 3:30 pm - Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 2 (Semifinals)Game 9 - 6:00 pm - Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 5 (Consolation)Game 10 - 7:30 pm - Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 6 (Consolation)
Sunday, November 18Game 11 - 10:30 am - Loser Game 9 vs. Loser Game 10 (7th)Game 12 - 12:00 pm - Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 (5th)Game 13 - 1:30 pm - Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8 (3rd)Game 14 - 3:00 pm - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 (Championship)
Last Year at the WWPA's...
UC San Diego captured first place at the 2006 WWPA Championship, defeating Loyola Marymount to earn a spot at the NCAA Championship.
Meanwhile, Air Force finished seventh at last year's tournament, defeating La Verne and Redlands, while dropping contests to Santa Clara and UC Santa Cruz.
Last Time Out...
In its final weekend of conference play, the Falcons put together a 3-1 mark, defeating Chapman, La Verne and Claremont, while falling to Loyola Marymount. After dropping an 11-4 contest to LMU, Air Force came back with a 19-5 victory over Chapman and a 12-6 win over La Verne. The Falcons were leading Claremont, 5-3, at halftime, when a medical emergency forced the game to be called.
Junior Tyler Hewko was Air Force's leading scorer for the weekend, tallying seven goals and seven assists, while senior Clark Condict added seven goals and five assists.
Scouting the Falcons...
The Air Force Falcons, the fifth seed in this year's tournament, put together a regular season record of 13-13 and a 6-5 mark in the WWPA.
Senior captains Clark Condict and Justin Berry lead the Falcons with 53 and 52 goals, respectively, on the season. Meanwhile, sophomore goalkeeper David Ostrom has tallied 192 saves on the year.
Head Coach Jeff Ehrlich...
Head coach Jeff Ehrlich is in his ninth 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 128-127 overall record. Additionally, the Falcons have been nationally ranked in the top 20 at the end of seven of Ehrlich's eight seasons, with a best final ranking of 13th in 1999.
Scouting the Aggies...
The top-seeded UC Davis Aggies finished the regular season with a 20-6 overall record and perfect 15-0 mark in the WWPA. The Aggies' 20 wins mark a program record.
UC Davis is coached by WWPA Coach of the Year Steve Doten, in his seventh season at the helm of the program. Senior goalkeeper Mike McGee earned conference player of the year honors after finishing the regular season ranked second in the nation with 282 saves.
Scouting the Broncos...
The second-seeded Santa Clara Broncos ended their regular season with a 16-11 overall record and 11-4 mark in the WWPA.
Santa Clara is coached by Keith Wilbur, in his sixth season at the helm of the program. Senior Josh Early is the Broncos' leading scorer, with 44 goals on the season.
Scouting the Lions...
The third-seeded Loyola Marymount Lions ended the regular season with a 10-15 overall record and 6-4 mark in the WWPA.
LMU is coached by John Loughran, in his 11th season at the helm of the program. Tibor Forai leads the Lions with 40 goals on the season, while goalkeeper Andy Stevens has notched 241 saves.
Scouting the Tritons...
The fourth-seeded UC San Diego Tritons finished the regular season with a 10-16 overall record and 8-6 mark in the WWPA.
UCSD is coached by Denny Harper, in his 28th season at the helm of the program. Sophomore Daniel Garcia leads the Tritons in scoring with 61 goals on the season.
Scouting the Bulldogs...
The sixth-seeded Redlands Bulldogs ended the regular season with a 21-12 overall record and 12-3 mark in the WWPA. The Bulldogs finished second at the SCIAC Championship, held last weekend.
Redlands is coached by Tom Whittemore, in his 20th season at the helm of the program. Senior Ryan Hall leads the Bulldogs with 51 goals on the season.
Scouting the Sagehens...
The seventh-seeded Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens ended the regular season with a 17-17 overall record and 10-5 mark in the WWPA. The Sagehens also captured first place at last weekend's SCIAC Championship.
Pomona is coached by Alex Rodriguez, in his third season at the helm of the program.
Scouting the Banana Slugs...
The eighth-seeded UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs ended the regular season with a 7-17 overall record and 5-7 mark in the WWPA.
UCSC is coached by Alan Cima and Danielle Mulford. Cima is in his eighth season with the program, while Mulford is in her second season as co-head coach.
Scouting the Stags...
The ninth-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags finished their regular season with a 13-15 overall record and 7-9 mark in the WWPA. The Stags are coming off a third-place finish at the SCIAC Championship.
CMS is coached by interim head coach Greg Lonzo, in his first year with the program.
All-Conference Honors...
Three Falcons have earned all-conference recognition, with senior Clark Condict receiving first-team All-WWPA honors. Fellow captain Justin Berry is a second-team all-conference selection, while rookie Bobby Geiger was named to the inaugural WWPA All-Freshman team. Condict is the first Air Force player to earn first-team honors since Scott Butler in 2003.
In the Rankings...
Three Air Force water polo players are currently listed in the conference and national rankings. Senior Clark Condict ranks eighth in the WWPA and tied for 24th in the nation in total goals (53) on the season, while fellow captain Justin Berry ranks ninth and tied for 27th, respectively, in the same category with 52 goals. Meanwhile, sophomore goalkeeper David Ostrom is eighth in the conference in total saves (192) on the season, while ranking 16th nationally.
Moving Up in the Record Books...
Senior Clark Condict continues to move up on the Falcons' list of all-time leading scorers. Entering the season in 23rd place with 160 points, Condict now sits in eighth place in the record books with 231 points (160 goals, 71 assists). He needs just one more point to move into a tie for seventh place among Academy scorers. In addition, Condict sits just two goals away from moving into list of the Academy's top five goal scorers.
Up Next...
The winner of this weekend's WWPA Championship will receive an automatic bid to the four-team NCAA Championship, scheduled to be held Dec. 1-2 in Stanford, Calif.
