No. 17 Air Force Heads To NorCal Open
9/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 12, 2007
The 17th-ranked Air Force water polo team returns to action this weekend, Sept. 15-16, at the NorCal Open, hosted by second-ranked Cal. The Falcons, seeded fourth in bracket B, will meet the host Bears in the first game of the tournament at 8:00 a.m. Saturday. They will then face one of the other two teams in bracket B, either No. 7 UC Santa Barbara or No. 11 Loyola Marymount, in their second game of the weekend.
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 118-118 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.
Last Time Out...
Air Force went 2-1 in its three-game series with Johns Hopkins last weekend, defeating the Blue Jays, 12-6 and 11-8, before dropping a 12-9 contest. Leading scorers for the Falcons against JHU were Justin Berry with nine goals and Clark Condict with six scores. In addition, goalkeeper David Ostrom was Air Force's MVP in its two wins against Johns Hopkins, tallying 23 saves in the victories.
Scouting the Falcons...
The Air Force Falcons, currently ranked 17th, enter this weekend with a 3-4 overall record and 1-2 mark in the WWPA.
Senior captains Justin Berry and Clark Condict pace the Falcons with 19 and 15 goals, respectively, on the season. Meanwhile, sophomore goalkeeper David Ostrom has tallied 53 saves on the year.
Scouting the Bears...
The Cal Bears, currently ranked second in the nation, enter this weekend with a 6-0 record. The Bears notched a pair of wins last weekend, defeating Pacific, 21-7, and UC Davis, 17-3.
Cal is coached by Kirk Everist, in his sixth season at the helm of the program. The leading scorer for the Bears this season is returning All-American Michael Sharf with 25 goals. Meanwhile, Cal returns four other All-Americans from their national championship season in 2006, including goalkeeper Mark Sheredy.
Scouting the Gauchos...
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, ranked seventh, currently hold an 8-1 overall record. The Gauchos went 4-1 at the Inland Empire Classic last weekend, their lone loss coming to Pepperdine.
UC Santa Barbara is coached by Wolf Wigo, in his third season at the helm of the program. Ross Sinclair and Stefan Partelow lead the Gauchos with 16 goals each this season, while Rick Wright is the leading goalkeeper with 41 saves on the year.
Scouting the Lions...
The Loyola Marymount Lions, currently ranked 11th, enter this weekend with a 2-4 overall record. The Lions fell to top-ranked USC and third-ranked UCLA last weekend.
Loyola Marymount is coached by John Loughran, in his 11th season at the helm of the program. Julien Lormant and Tibor Forai lead the Lions with eight goals each on the season, while goalkeeper Andy Stevens has tallied 64 saves on the year.
Series Records...
This weekend, Air Force and Cal will meet for the 22nd time in the series, with the Bears undefeated against the Falcons. The two teams met twice last season, with Cal registering 10-4 and 18-4 victories.
Should Air Force and UC Santa Barbara meet this weekend, it would be the 32nd in the series and the second this season. UCSB leads the series, 27-4, and won the previous meeting two weeks ago, registering an 11-5 victory in the season opener for both teams.
A meeting between Air Force and Loyola Marymount this weekend would be the 36th in the series and second this season. The Falcons lead the overall series, 21-14, but the Lions have won eight in a row, including a 9-6 contest at the season-opening Triton Invitational.
The Rest of the Field...
A total of 16 teams make up the field at this year's NorCal Open. Bracket A includes top-ranked USC, No. 9 Long Beach State, No. 14 UC San Diego and UC Santa Cruz. Bracket C features No. 3 UCLA, No. 6 Pepperdine, No. 8 UC Davis and Santa Clara. Finally, No. 4 Stanford, No. 5 UC Irvine, No. 10 Navy and No. 16 Pacific make up Bracket D.
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 tied for 16th place in the record books with 181 points (122 goals, 59 assists). Condict needs just four more points to move into the top 15 and could break into the top 10 by season's end.
Up Next...
Air Force has a week off before returning home to host the East Meets West Tournament, Sept. 29-30. Teams from Cal Baptist, Cal Lutheran and Pacific will join the Falcons in the annual tournament, which will be held at the Cadet Natatorium.
Players Mentioned
