No. 20 Falcons Go Undefeated at Claremont Convergence Tournament

Oct. 4, 2008

LA VERNE, Calif. - Outscoring their opponents 25-7 on the day, the 20th-ranked Air Force water polo team grabbed a pair of victories to wrap up the Claremont Convergence Tournament, hosted by Claremont, La Verne and Pomona. The Falcons, whose Saturday games were hosted by La Verne, downed Mercyhurst, 10-5, before rolling to a 16-2 victory over conference foe Whittier. With the victories, Air Force improves to 9-8 overall and 7-2 in the Western Water Polo Association.

In its first game of the morning, Air Force gave up an early 3-2 lead to Mercyhurst. However, the Falcons went on a roll in the second period, outscoring the Lakers, 5-0, to take a four-goal lead at the half. Air Force shut out Mercyhurst in the third quarter as well, before giving up a 2-1 edge in the final period.

Junior Alex Churnside (Orange, Calif.) led the Falcons with three goals in the contest, while Jack Hines (Jr., Riverside, Calif.) and Bobby Geiger (So., Buellton, Calif.) added two goals each. Also scoring for Air Force were Kevin Williams (Sr., River Forest, Ill.), Matt Versage (So., Merced, Calif.) and Tyler Hewko (Sr., Laguna Hills, Calif.) with a goal apiece. Junior goalkeeper David Ostrom (Mission Viejo, Calif.) was impressive in the cage with 10 saves and just three goals against in three periods of action.

The Falcons met up with conference foe Whittier in their final game of the tournament, and dominated the contest from the outset. A 4-0 first period advantage quickly grew into an 8-0 halftime lead for Air Force. The Poets finally got on the board in the third quarter, but the Falcons still led, 13-1, after three periods en route to the 14-goal victory.

Versage was the leading scorer for Air Force against Whittier, tallying three scores, while Williams, Churnside and Miles McMullan (Sr., Irvine, Calif.) notched two goals each. Seven others scored one goal each, including the first career scores for sophomore Mark Beeman (Monrovia, Calif.) and goalkeeper Ostrom, who played in the field. Freshman Danny Harold (Corona Del Mar, Calif.) played all four quarters in goal for the Falcons, recording nine saves, along with two assists.

The Falcons play one more game this weekend, as they face Fordham at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow on the campus of Loyola Marymount.

No. 20 Air Force 10, Mercyhurst 5
Mercyhurst 3 0 0 2 5
Air Force 2 5 2 1 10
Mercyhurst Scoring: N/A
AF Scoring: Churnside 3, Hines 2, Geiger 2, Williams, Versage, Hewko

No. 20 Air Force 16, Whittier 2
Whittier 0 0 1 1 2
Air Force 4 4 5 3 16
Whittier Scoring: N/A
AF Scoring: Versage 3, Williams 2, Churnside 2, McMullan 2, Hines, Geiger, Fung, Ford, Harvey, Beeman, Ostrom

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