Saturday, November 6
Riverside, CA
1 pm MT
Air Force Academy
at
California Baptist University
Photo by: U.S. Air Force photo / Trevor Co
No. 19 Air Force travels to No. 18 California Baptist
11/4/2021 7:32:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
This Week: No. 19 Air Force (17-6, 5-2 WWPA) travels to No. 18 California Baptist (16-13, 4-2 WWPA) for the final Western Water Polo Association regular-season game, Saturday, Nov. 6, at noon PT in Riverside, Calif.
WWPA Tournament Ahead: Following the CBU game, the Falcons are off until the WWPA Tournament, Nov. 19-21, in Davis, Calif. UC Davis is currently in first place in the league with a 6-0 record. Loyola Marymount is second (6-1) and Air Force is third (5-2). The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.
Racking up W's: Air Force's 17 wins this season are tied as the most of any team in the nation. No. 2 Cal and No. 5 Long Beach State each have 17 as well. No. 1 UCLA has 16. Air Force's 17 wins are already the most under head coach Ryan Brown and are the most since the 2012 team won 19. The Falcons have won 20 games in a season five times, including a school record 24 in 1991.
Series Record vs. CBU Air Force and California Baptist meet for the 41st time and the Falcons have a 23-17 lead in the series that began in 1999. Air Force and CBU met twice last season. The Falcons won the regular-season WWPA game, 15-14 in overtime at the Academy to clinch the regular-season title. CBU defeated Air Force in the WWPA championship game, 11-9, in Riverside, Calif.
Recently: Air Force was idle last week. The Falcons have not played since a 22-9 win over Iona in the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament in Santa Clara. The Falcons posted a 1-2 record in the tournament after a pair of close losses to Princeton and Brown.
Home Sweet Home: Air Force posted a perfect 9-0 record at home this season. While there have been several undefeated home seasons, the 9-0 record marks the most wins ever in an undefeated home season. The nine home wins are the second most in school history. The 1976 team won a school-record 10 home games (10-1).
Best Start in 30 years: Air Force opened the 2021 season with six straight wins, before falling to No. 6 Long Beach State. The six-game winning streak is the longest since the 2008 team won seven in a row at midseason. With wins over MIT and Brown, the Falcons improved to 11-1 overall this season, the best start since 1977.
All-American Grant Snyder: Junior Grant Snyder, a second-team All-American in 2020, picked up right where he left off last season. Snyder is second in the WWPA and fifth in the nation in goals (79). He leads the WWPA, and is fourth in the nation in points (103). Snyder is also fourth in the league in steals (37) and second in sprint victories (49), fourth in the nation. He has scored a goal in all 23 games this season. He has been named the USAFA Athlete of the Week twice and was named the WWPA Player of the Week once (Oct. 20). Snyder had a career-best nine goals in a season-opening win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. He had five goals in the win over Navy and tied his career best with nine points (5-4-9) in the win over Brown. In conference games only, Snyder leads the league in goals (25) and points (35).
Snyder Climbing the Charts: Snyder's 79 goals this season are the second most in school history. Ben Phillips set the school record with 120 in 1972. Snyder's 103 points are the fifth most in school history. Snyder needs seven points to jump into fourth place. Phillips holds that record as well with 145 points in 1972. David Chaney is second in single-season points with 121 and Scott Butler is third with 117. With the COVID shortened season of 2020, Snyder still ranks just outside the top five in career goals and points.
Inside the Numbers: In addition to Snyder, several Falcons ranks among the conference leaders. Senior Sam Fuller is second in the league in field blocks (9), sixth in goals (51) and seventh in points (71). Sophomore Ian Christie is second in the league in assists (44) and seventh in points (68). Seniors Henry Yavitt and Gavin Jones are tied for second in the league with eight field blocks each. Junior A.J. Kuypers ranks seventh in the league in saves (124), fifth in saves percentage (.464) and 10th in steals (27).
2020 WWPA Champions: Air Force won its first ever WWPA regular season championship in 2020 with a perfect 2-0 record in conference play. The Falcons defeated Loyola Marymount, 15-13 in overtime, and Cal Baptist, 15-14, in overtime, in designated conference games. Air Force was the No. 1 seed in the WWPA Tournament, but fell to California Baptist, 11-9, in the title game. Air Force finished the season ranked eighth in the nation with a 4-7 overall record.
WWPA Tournament Ahead: Following the CBU game, the Falcons are off until the WWPA Tournament, Nov. 19-21, in Davis, Calif. UC Davis is currently in first place in the league with a 6-0 record. Loyola Marymount is second (6-1) and Air Force is third (5-2). The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.
Racking up W's: Air Force's 17 wins this season are tied as the most of any team in the nation. No. 2 Cal and No. 5 Long Beach State each have 17 as well. No. 1 UCLA has 16. Air Force's 17 wins are already the most under head coach Ryan Brown and are the most since the 2012 team won 19. The Falcons have won 20 games in a season five times, including a school record 24 in 1991.
Series Record vs. CBU Air Force and California Baptist meet for the 41st time and the Falcons have a 23-17 lead in the series that began in 1999. Air Force and CBU met twice last season. The Falcons won the regular-season WWPA game, 15-14 in overtime at the Academy to clinch the regular-season title. CBU defeated Air Force in the WWPA championship game, 11-9, in Riverside, Calif.
Recently: Air Force was idle last week. The Falcons have not played since a 22-9 win over Iona in the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament in Santa Clara. The Falcons posted a 1-2 record in the tournament after a pair of close losses to Princeton and Brown.
Home Sweet Home: Air Force posted a perfect 9-0 record at home this season. While there have been several undefeated home seasons, the 9-0 record marks the most wins ever in an undefeated home season. The nine home wins are the second most in school history. The 1976 team won a school-record 10 home games (10-1).
Best Start in 30 years: Air Force opened the 2021 season with six straight wins, before falling to No. 6 Long Beach State. The six-game winning streak is the longest since the 2008 team won seven in a row at midseason. With wins over MIT and Brown, the Falcons improved to 11-1 overall this season, the best start since 1977.
All-American Grant Snyder: Junior Grant Snyder, a second-team All-American in 2020, picked up right where he left off last season. Snyder is second in the WWPA and fifth in the nation in goals (79). He leads the WWPA, and is fourth in the nation in points (103). Snyder is also fourth in the league in steals (37) and second in sprint victories (49), fourth in the nation. He has scored a goal in all 23 games this season. He has been named the USAFA Athlete of the Week twice and was named the WWPA Player of the Week once (Oct. 20). Snyder had a career-best nine goals in a season-opening win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. He had five goals in the win over Navy and tied his career best with nine points (5-4-9) in the win over Brown. In conference games only, Snyder leads the league in goals (25) and points (35).
Snyder Climbing the Charts: Snyder's 79 goals this season are the second most in school history. Ben Phillips set the school record with 120 in 1972. Snyder's 103 points are the fifth most in school history. Snyder needs seven points to jump into fourth place. Phillips holds that record as well with 145 points in 1972. David Chaney is second in single-season points with 121 and Scott Butler is third with 117. With the COVID shortened season of 2020, Snyder still ranks just outside the top five in career goals and points.
Inside the Numbers: In addition to Snyder, several Falcons ranks among the conference leaders. Senior Sam Fuller is second in the league in field blocks (9), sixth in goals (51) and seventh in points (71). Sophomore Ian Christie is second in the league in assists (44) and seventh in points (68). Seniors Henry Yavitt and Gavin Jones are tied for second in the league with eight field blocks each. Junior A.J. Kuypers ranks seventh in the league in saves (124), fifth in saves percentage (.464) and 10th in steals (27).
2020 WWPA Champions: Air Force won its first ever WWPA regular season championship in 2020 with a perfect 2-0 record in conference play. The Falcons defeated Loyola Marymount, 15-13 in overtime, and Cal Baptist, 15-14, in overtime, in designated conference games. Air Force was the No. 1 seed in the WWPA Tournament, but fell to California Baptist, 11-9, in the title game. Air Force finished the season ranked eighth in the nation with a 4-7 overall record.
Players Mentioned
AT
/ Men's Water Polo
AT
/ Men's Water Polo
C/D
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
UT
/ Men's Water Polo
AT
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