No. 16 Falcons Open Season at Triton Invitational
9/3/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 3, 2008
The 16th-ranked Air Force water polo team gets the 2008 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. 6-7. The Falcons, competing in Group A, begin the weekend with a contest versus Pacific Saturday at 10:10 a.m., followed by a meeting against either USC or Claremont on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons' schedule for the remainder of the weekend will be determined based on Saturday's results.
Head Coach Jeff Ehrlich...
Head coach Jeff Ehrlich is in his 10th 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 130-128 overall record. Additionally, the Falcons have been nationally ranked in the top 20 at the end of eight of Ehrlich's nine seasons, with a best final ranking of 13th in 1999.
Air Force Picked Sixth in WWPA Preseason Coaches Poll...
For the second-straight season, the Falcons were selected to finish fifth in the Western Water Polo Association, as chosen by the conference's head coaches in the 2008 preseason poll. Defending champion Loyola Marymount, was picked to repeat as the WWPA's top team, garnering 168 points, including 12 of 14 first-place votes.
UC San Diego finished second in the voting, with 150 points and the other two first-place votes. UC Davis and Santa Clara were selected as the third- and fourth-place picks in the coaches' poll, while Air Force, which finished third in 2007, rounded out the top five.
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 Triton Invitational Field...
The 2008 Triton Invitational features 14 teams, including 10 that are nationally ranked. No. 2 USC, No. 13 Pacific and Claremont join Air Force in Group A. Group B consists of No. 7 Pepperdine, No. 11 UC Davis and Pomona-Pitzer, while Group C includes No. 9 Long Beach State, No. 14 UC San Diego and Redlands. Finally, Group D features No. 6 UC Santa Barbara, No. 8 Loyola Marymount, No. 17 Cal Baptist and Cal Lutheran.
Scouting the Falcons...
The Air Force Falcons, ranked 16th in the national preseason poll, are coming off a 15-14 season and third-place finish at the WWPA Championships. While the Falcons lost their top two scorers from the 2007 season to graduation, this year they will be led by a solid group of veterans, including starting goalkeeper David Ostrom and leading returning scorers Alex Churnside, Tyler Hewko and Bobby Geiger.
Joining the aforementioned players on this weekend's trip to the Triton Invitational will be seniors Miles McMullan and Kevin Williams, juniors Jason Fung and Jack Hines, sophomores Mark Beeman, Aaron Blore, Charley Ford, Andrew Strawbridge and Matt Versage and freshmen Danny Harold, Anson Harvey and Taque Patino.
Scouting the Tigers...
The Pacific Tigers, ranked 13th in the 2008 preseason poll, put together a 14-17 overall record last season, including a 1-7 mark in the MPSF.
Pacific is coached by James Graham, in his first year at the helm of the program. Among the top returners for the Tigers are seniors Will Milcovich, who ranked third on the team in total goals last year with 30, and goalkeeper Brian Domecus, who notched 187 saves in 2007.
Scouting the Trojans...
The USC Trojans, ranked second in this year's national preseason poll, finished 2007 with a 19-3 overall record and 6-2 mark in the MPSF. After capturing the tournament title in the MPSF Championship, the Trojans went on to defeat Loyola Marymount in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship, before falling to Cal in the title game.
USC is coached by Jovan Vavic, in his 14th year at the helm of the program. Among the Trojans' top returners are 2007 All-Americans Matt Sagehen, J.W. Krumpholz and Shea Buckner. Sagehen tallied a team-best 38 goals for USC last season, while Bucker added 24 goals. Krumpholz, the only collegiate member of the 2008 silver-medal-winning U.S. Olympic water polo team, had 20 goals for the Trojans in 2007.
Scouting the Stags...
The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags wrapped up last season with a 13-17 overall record and 7-3 mark in the SCIAC. The Stags also finished ninth at the WWPA Championships in 2007.
Claremont is coached by Greg Lonzo, in his second season at the helm of the program. Among the leaders for the Stags is goalkeeper Alexandre Wright, a two-time All-SCIAC selection and Division III All-American in 2007.
Series Records...
Air Force and Pacific meet for the 33rd time this weekend, with the Tigers holding a 26-6 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams met twice last season, with Pacific winning both contests.
Should Air Force meet USC this weekend, it would mark the 14th meeting in the series, and the first time since 2004, with the Trojans undefeated against the Falcons. Meanwhile, the Falcons hold a 26-5 advantage in their series versus Claremont, including a 5-3 win over the Stags last season in a halted contest.
Up Next...
Air Force has another week off before heading back out to California Sept. 19-21. First, the Falcons will visit Stanford on Sept. 19, before taking part in the prestigious NorCal Tournament, hosted by Pacific, Sept. 20-21.
