Air Force Academy
#15 UC Davis
Falcons Fall to UC Davis at WWPA Championship
11/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 22, 2009
ORANGE, Calif. -
Unable to overcome a 5-0 third-period run by the Aggies, the 14th-ranked Air Force water polo team dropped a 10-8 decision to No. 15 UC Davis in the fifth-place match of the 2009 Western Water Polo Association Championship, hosted by Chapman.
The second-seeded Falcons got out to a 4-2 lead after one period, and still had a one-goal cushion going into the intermission. However, the Aggies, who closed out the second quarter with a goal, turned it on offensively in the third period, scoring five unanswered goals. Although Air Force was able to shut out UC Davis in the final stanza, they could not score enough to make a comeback.
Senior Alex Churnside (Orange, Calif.) and junior Bobby Geiger (Buellton, Calif.) led the Falcons' offense with three goals each, while WWPA Newcomer of the Year Cruz Smithson (Fr., Capistrano Beach, Calif.) tallied both of Air Force's fourth-quarter scores.
The Falcons end the season with an 18-14 overall record on the season, marking the team's highest win total and win percentage since the 2003 season, when Air Force tallied an 18-10 record.
In addition, three of this year's players—Churnside, Geiger and Jack Hines (Sr., Riverside, Calif.)—are currently ranked in the top 25 career scorers at the Academy. Leading the way is Churnside, who ranks fifth all-time in career points with 276 and second in career assists with 131.
No. 15 UC Davis 10, No. 14 Air Force 8
UC Davis 2 3 5 0 10
Air Force 4 2 0 2 8
UCD Scoring: Richardson 3, Lyle 3, Martinez 3, Breen
AF Scoring: Churnside 3, Geiger 3, Smithson 2
Players Mentioned
