No. 20 Air Force Heads to NorCal Tournament
9/14/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 14, 2011
The 20th-ranked Air Force water polo team returns to action this weekend, Sept. 17-18, at the NorCal Tournament, hosted by Pacific.
The Falcons will take on third-ranked UCLA in their first game of the weekend, before facing either No. 8 UC Santa Barbara or No. 13 Concordia on Saturday afternoon. Air Force will play both of its games on Saturday at June Fergusson Pool, located on the campus of Delta College. Meanwhile, Sunday's opponents (and game location) will be determined based on the results of Saturday's contests.
THE NORCAL TOURNAMENT FIELD...
The 2011 NorCal Tournament features 16 teams, 14 of which are ranked in the latest national poll, including 10 of the top 11 teams in the country.
The teams in this weekend's tournament are broken down into four pools. Pool A includes top-ranked USC, NO. 6 UC Irvine, No. 9 Long Beach State and West Valley JC, while Pool B includes second-ranked Cal, No. 6 Pepperdine, 11th-ranked UC Davis and Vanguard. No. 19 Air Force is featured in Bracket C along with No. 3 UCLA, eighth-ranked UC Santa Barbara and No. 13 Concordia, while fourth-ranked Stanford, No. 5 Pacific, No. 16 Santa Clara and No. 19 St. Francis will play in Bracket D.
LAST TIME OUT...
Air Force opened the season Sept. 3-4 at the annual Triton Invitational, hosted by WWPA rival UC San Diego. The Falcons split their four games, earning wins over Cal Lutheran (15-3) and La Verne (12-4), while falling to eighth-ranked Loyola Marymount (7-5) and 12th-ranked host UCSD (9-4).
Sophomore Andrew Hamilton was the Falcons' leading goal scorer on the weekend, with seven goals, including three in Air Force's victory over La Verne. Meanwhile, classmate Max Reilly notched four goals and four assists on the weekend to lead the team with eight points.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS...
The Air Force Falcons, ranked 20th in the latest national coaches poll, enter this weekend with a 2-2 overall record, including a 1-2 mark in the Western Water Polo Association.
Sophomore Andrew Hamilton has scored a team-best seven goals through the first four games of the season, while classmate Max Reilly has a team-best eight points (4g, 4a). Reilly shares the team lead in assists with junior Dillon Fisher, while junior Mike Fish and senior captain Danny Harold have split time in goal, notching 20 and 19 saves, respectively.
SCOUTING THE BRUINS...
The UCLA Bruins, ranked third in the latest national poll, enter this weekend with a 2-0 overall record. The Bruins opened their season on Sept. 3 with wins over Claremont (22-2) and La Verne (19-5) in the UCLA Invitational.
UCLA is coached by Adam Wright, in his third year at the helm of the program. Redshirt freshman David Culpan was the Bruins' leading scorer on opening weekend, tallying nine goals, while Brett Hays and Alex Johnson added six goals each.
SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS...
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, ranked eighth nationally, enter this weekend with a 5-1 overall record. The Gauchos are coming off a 3-0 performance at the Inland Empire Classic, defeating Pomona-Pitzer (12-7), Redlands (20-6) and Chapman (32-6).
UCSB is coached by Wolf Wigo, in his seventh year at the helm of the program. Sophomore Matt Gronow has notched a team-leading 21 points (15g, 6a) through the first six games of the season, while freshman Chase Racich is second on the team with 15 points (14g, 1a).
SCOUTING THE EAGLES...
The Concordia Eagles, ranked 13th in the latest national coaches poll, are currently undefeated at 8-0 and will play Cal Lutheran before heading to the NorCal Tournament this weekend. Concordia won four games at the Inland Empire Classic last weekend, defeating Redlands (18-10), Whittier (17-5), Occidental (16-8) and Pomona-Pitzer (12-10).
Concordia is coached by Steve Carrera, in his fifth year at the helm of the program. The Eagles' offense, which averages 14.4 goals per contest, is led by senior Rex Learmouth, who has tallied 20 goals on the season.
SERIES RECORDS...
This weekend's meeting between Air Force and UCLA is the 22nd in the all-time series, with the Bruins undefeated against the Falcons. The two teams met twice last season, included a 15-5 UCLA win at the NorCal Tournament.
Should Air Force face UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, it would mark the 33rd meeting in the all-time series, with the Gauchos holding a 28-4 advantage. The last meeting between the two teams came in 2009, when UCSB earned a 15-5 victory.
A meeting between Air Force and Concordia on Saturday would be just the fourth in the all-time series, with the Eagles winning all three previous contests. Concordia won a 14-8 decision between the two teams last season.
UP NEXT...
Air Force is back in action next Friday, Sept. 23, when it hosts its first home game of the season, welcoming conference rival UC San Diego to the Academy. The game is slated to begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Cadet Natatorium.
