Falcons Picked Fifth in WWPA Coaches' Poll
8/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Aug. 25, 2008
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -
For the second straight season, the 16th-ranked Air Force water polo team has been selected to finish fifth in the Western Water Polo Association, as chosen by the conference’s head coaches in the 2008 preseason poll. Defending conference champion Loyola Marymount, ranked eighth in the national preseason poll, was picked to repeat as the WWPA’s top team, garnering 168 points, including 12 of 14 first-place votes.
No. 14 UC San Diego finished second in the voting, with 150 points and the other two first-place votes. Eleventh-ranked UC Davis took third place with 145 points, followed by No. 15 Santa Clara in fourth place (136 points) and Air Force in fifth place (122 points). Redlands was selected to finish sixth in the WWPA, followed by Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont in seventh and eighth place, respectively. Rounding out the conference rankings were Cal Lutheran, UC Santa Cruz, Occidental, Whittier, Chapman and La Verne.
The Falcons, who took third place in the WWPA last season after being picked fifth in the preseason poll, get the 2008 season off to a start next weekend, Sept. 6-7, as they head to the Triton Invitational, hosted by WWPA rival UC San Diego.
