Friday, October 1
USAFA, CO
7 pm MT
Air Force Academy
vs
UC San Diego
Photo by: U.S. Air Force
No. 20 Air Force hosts No. 9 UC San Diego in WWPA tilt
9/29/2021 5:50:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
This Week: No. 20 Air Force (11-2 overall, 1-0 WWPA) hosts the No. 9 UC San Diego Tritons (9-5 overall, 2-0 WWPA), Friday, Oct. 1, at 7 pm at the Cadet Natatorium.
Racking up W's: Air Force's 11 wins this season as the most of any team in the WWPA and the third most in the nation. Only second-ranked Cal (13) and fourth-ranked Stanford (12) have more wins than the Falcons.
Series Records: Air Force and UCSD meet for the 89th time in the history of the schools. The Tritons hold a 72-16 lead in the series that began in 1975. The teams did not play last season due to COVID-19. The teams last met in the second round of the 2019 WWPA Championships, in Riverside, Calif., a 14-10 Triton win. UCSD has won nine straight games, dating back to a 12-7 Air Force win in 2015. The Falcons also defeated the Tritons in the 2012 WWPA Championship Game.
About the Tritons: UCSD is 9-5 overall and 2-0 in the WWPA. The Tritons went 2-2 at the MSPF Invitational last week, with wins over No. 17 Loyola Marymount and No. 13 UC Irvine. The Tritons also own a win over No. 5 Pepperdine early in the season. Vedran Latkovic, the WWPA Player of the Week this past week, leads the team with 31 goals and 39 points. Manuel Augusto has 18 goals, 14 assists and 32 points. Calder Hilde-Jones is tied for the team lead with 31 goals. Hilde-Jones and Latkovic are tied for fourth in the league in goals. Latkovic is fifth in the league in points. Goalie Alexander Nemeth has started nine of the 14 games in goals and ranks seventh in the nation with 105 saves and fifth with a .525 saves percentage. UCSD has won 17 WWPA titles, most recently in 2018.
The Air Force-Navy Vase: A stingy Air Force defense and five goals by Grant Snyder led the Falcons to an 11-7 win over 20th-ranked Navy, Sept. 23, in Annapolis, Md. With the victory, the Falcons won The Vase for the fourth time in the last seven years. Air Force scored four unanswered goals late in the second quarter for a 7-2 lead at the half. Navy scored five goals in the third to cut the Falcon lead to 10-7. Snyder scored a much-needed goal for the Falcons early in the fourth for an 11-7 lead. In the final six minutes, the Falcon defense dominated. Kuypers made a pair of saves and Fuller had a steal in a man-down situation. Fuller then had two field blocks and Christie had one late in the game.
Last Week: Following the Navy win, the Falcons completed the road swing with a 2-1 record. Air Force swept a pair of road games with wins over MIT, 13-8, and Brown, 14-10, Sept. 25, in Providence, R.I. Against MIT, Grant Snyder and Sam De La Cruz each scored four goals to lead Air Force to a 13-8 win. The Falcons broke open a close game with five goals in the second quarter to take a 7-2 lead at the half. MIT scored four unanswered goals to cut the AF lead to 9-6 in the third. Jones, De La Cruz and Snyder all scored early in the fourth for the Falcons. Against Brown, Snyder had five goals and four assists while Tanis had three goals and Ian Christie had two goals and four assists. Leading 3-2 in the second quarter, two goals by Yavitt and one each by Snyder and Fuller gave the Falcons a 7-3 lead. With back-to-back goals early in the third, Brown tied the game at 7-7. Tanis, Christie and McLaughlin answered for the Falcons for a 10-7 lead late in the third. Brown rallied again and cut the Falcon lead to 11-10 early in the fourth, but the Falcons put the game away with four unanswered goals. In the final game of the trip, No. 15 Harvard used a stifling defense to defeat Air Force, 14-5, Sept. 26, in Cambridge, Mass. Tanis tied the game at 1-1 early in the first, but the Crimson defense gave Air Force problems throughout the game. Harvard scored four unanswered goals for a 5-1 lead at the end of the first quarter. Snyder scored early in the second quarter, but again Harvard went on a run, scoring four unanswered goals for a 9-2 at the half.
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. The 1977 and 1974 teams set the school record for best start at 12-1.
Sammy on a Tear: Senior Sam Fuller has been on a tear this season. After opening the season with two assists in the win over Claremont Mudd Scripps, Fuller scored 27 goals in the next eight games and has a goal in nine of the 13 games this season. He was named the WWPA Player of the Week, Sept. 14, with 11 goals and 15 points in four games in the Inland Empire Classic in Redlands. Against Fresno Pacific, Sept. 18, he had eight goals and one assist. He matched his career high with five goals and six points in the first game against FPU. He is second on the team with 29 goal and 43 points and leads the team with six field blocks.
All-American Grant Snyder: Senior Grant Snyder, a second-team All-American last season, picked up right where he left off last season. Snyder had a career-best nine goals in a season-opening win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. He had 16 goals in the first three games of the season and added seven more at the Inland Empire Tournament. In the first game against FPU, Sept. 18, he had five goals and one assist. He has scored a goal in all 13 games this season. He has been named the USAFA Athlete of the Week twice, most recently when he scored 18 goals in four games on an eastern road swing. 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. He leads the team with 45 goals and 58 points. In addition to his scoring, he leads the team with 29 sprint victories, and steals (22) and drawn exclusions (27).
Inside the Numbers: Grant Snyder leads the WWPA in goals (45), points (58), sprint wins (29) and steals (22). Snyder is second in the nation in goals, third in points, third in steals and third in sprint wins. Sam Fuller is second in the league in field blocks (6), third in points (43), sixth in goals (29) and seventh in assists (14). Sophomore Ian Christie leads the WWPA in assists (23) and is second with 19 steals. Christie is fifth in the nation in assists and ninth in steals. Freshman Ryan McLaughlin is third in the conference in assists (20). Henry Yavitt is third in field blocks (5). Anthony Tolbert is fourth in the league in goals-against average (9.06) and saves percentage (.500). A.J. Kuypers is sixth in the WWPA in GAA (10.29) and saves percentage (.457).
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 for the first time ever, but fell to Cal Baptist, 11-9, in the title game. Air Force finished the season ranked eighth in the nation. The Falcons finished the season with a 4-7 overall record.
Racking up W's: Air Force's 11 wins this season as the most of any team in the WWPA and the third most in the nation. Only second-ranked Cal (13) and fourth-ranked Stanford (12) have more wins than the Falcons.
Series Records: Air Force and UCSD meet for the 89th time in the history of the schools. The Tritons hold a 72-16 lead in the series that began in 1975. The teams did not play last season due to COVID-19. The teams last met in the second round of the 2019 WWPA Championships, in Riverside, Calif., a 14-10 Triton win. UCSD has won nine straight games, dating back to a 12-7 Air Force win in 2015. The Falcons also defeated the Tritons in the 2012 WWPA Championship Game.
About the Tritons: UCSD is 9-5 overall and 2-0 in the WWPA. The Tritons went 2-2 at the MSPF Invitational last week, with wins over No. 17 Loyola Marymount and No. 13 UC Irvine. The Tritons also own a win over No. 5 Pepperdine early in the season. Vedran Latkovic, the WWPA Player of the Week this past week, leads the team with 31 goals and 39 points. Manuel Augusto has 18 goals, 14 assists and 32 points. Calder Hilde-Jones is tied for the team lead with 31 goals. Hilde-Jones and Latkovic are tied for fourth in the league in goals. Latkovic is fifth in the league in points. Goalie Alexander Nemeth has started nine of the 14 games in goals and ranks seventh in the nation with 105 saves and fifth with a .525 saves percentage. UCSD has won 17 WWPA titles, most recently in 2018.
The Air Force-Navy Vase: A stingy Air Force defense and five goals by Grant Snyder led the Falcons to an 11-7 win over 20th-ranked Navy, Sept. 23, in Annapolis, Md. With the victory, the Falcons won The Vase for the fourth time in the last seven years. Air Force scored four unanswered goals late in the second quarter for a 7-2 lead at the half. Navy scored five goals in the third to cut the Falcon lead to 10-7. Snyder scored a much-needed goal for the Falcons early in the fourth for an 11-7 lead. In the final six minutes, the Falcon defense dominated. Kuypers made a pair of saves and Fuller had a steal in a man-down situation. Fuller then had two field blocks and Christie had one late in the game.
Last Week: Following the Navy win, the Falcons completed the road swing with a 2-1 record. Air Force swept a pair of road games with wins over MIT, 13-8, and Brown, 14-10, Sept. 25, in Providence, R.I. Against MIT, Grant Snyder and Sam De La Cruz each scored four goals to lead Air Force to a 13-8 win. The Falcons broke open a close game with five goals in the second quarter to take a 7-2 lead at the half. MIT scored four unanswered goals to cut the AF lead to 9-6 in the third. Jones, De La Cruz and Snyder all scored early in the fourth for the Falcons. Against Brown, Snyder had five goals and four assists while Tanis had three goals and Ian Christie had two goals and four assists. Leading 3-2 in the second quarter, two goals by Yavitt and one each by Snyder and Fuller gave the Falcons a 7-3 lead. With back-to-back goals early in the third, Brown tied the game at 7-7. Tanis, Christie and McLaughlin answered for the Falcons for a 10-7 lead late in the third. Brown rallied again and cut the Falcon lead to 11-10 early in the fourth, but the Falcons put the game away with four unanswered goals. In the final game of the trip, No. 15 Harvard used a stifling defense to defeat Air Force, 14-5, Sept. 26, in Cambridge, Mass. Tanis tied the game at 1-1 early in the first, but the Crimson defense gave Air Force problems throughout the game. Harvard scored four unanswered goals for a 5-1 lead at the end of the first quarter. Snyder scored early in the second quarter, but again Harvard went on a run, scoring four unanswered goals for a 9-2 at the half.
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. The 1977 and 1974 teams set the school record for best start at 12-1.
Sammy on a Tear: Senior Sam Fuller has been on a tear this season. After opening the season with two assists in the win over Claremont Mudd Scripps, Fuller scored 27 goals in the next eight games and has a goal in nine of the 13 games this season. He was named the WWPA Player of the Week, Sept. 14, with 11 goals and 15 points in four games in the Inland Empire Classic in Redlands. Against Fresno Pacific, Sept. 18, he had eight goals and one assist. He matched his career high with five goals and six points in the first game against FPU. He is second on the team with 29 goal and 43 points and leads the team with six field blocks.
All-American Grant Snyder: Senior Grant Snyder, a second-team All-American last season, picked up right where he left off last season. Snyder had a career-best nine goals in a season-opening win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. He had 16 goals in the first three games of the season and added seven more at the Inland Empire Tournament. In the first game against FPU, Sept. 18, he had five goals and one assist. He has scored a goal in all 13 games this season. He has been named the USAFA Athlete of the Week twice, most recently when he scored 18 goals in four games on an eastern road swing. 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. He leads the team with 45 goals and 58 points. In addition to his scoring, he leads the team with 29 sprint victories, and steals (22) and drawn exclusions (27).
Inside the Numbers: Grant Snyder leads the WWPA in goals (45), points (58), sprint wins (29) and steals (22). Snyder is second in the nation in goals, third in points, third in steals and third in sprint wins. Sam Fuller is second in the league in field blocks (6), third in points (43), sixth in goals (29) and seventh in assists (14). Sophomore Ian Christie leads the WWPA in assists (23) and is second with 19 steals. Christie is fifth in the nation in assists and ninth in steals. Freshman Ryan McLaughlin is third in the conference in assists (20). Henry Yavitt is third in field blocks (5). Anthony Tolbert is fourth in the league in goals-against average (9.06) and saves percentage (.500). A.J. Kuypers is sixth in the WWPA in GAA (10.29) and saves percentage (.457).
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 for the first time ever, but fell to Cal Baptist, 11-9, in the title game. Air Force finished the season ranked eighth in the nation. The Falcons finished the season with a 4-7 overall record.
Players Mentioned
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