Saturday, October 14
USAFA
12:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
vs
#13 San Jose State
Photo by: 2023
Air Force Opens WCC Play Hosting #13 San Jose State
10/11/2023 4:00:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
This Week: Air Force (13-9 overall, 0-0 WCC) plays its first-ever West Coast Conference game, hosting #13 San Jose State (3-4, 0-0 WCC) this Saturday, Oct. 14. Ball drops at 12 pm MT. Live stats and video stream will be available for the game.
Inaugural season in WCC: Air Force joins the West Coast Conference in 2023, the first year the conference is sponsoring men's water polo. The Falcons join WCC member institutions, Loyola Marymount, Pacific, Pepperdine and Santa Clara, along with fellow affiliate members California Baptist and San Jose State. The Falcons previously played in the Western Water Polo Association from 1987-2022.
Series History vs. SJSU
Head To Head: AF leads 3-2
Last Meeting: AF lost 10-8 on Sept. 29, 2019.
LAST TIME OUT: Air Force went 4-1 in its last weekend of competition, Sept. 29-30. The Falcons went 4-0 at the Gary Troyer Invite in Claremont/Pomona, with wins over McKendree (19-11), Fresno Pacific (20-10), Mount St. Mary's (20-8) and Penn State Behrend (24-3). The Falcons also played #1 UCLA for its third game of the day on Saturday, Sept. 30, falling 14-8.
New Falcons Making Impact: Air Force's freshmen group has already made their presence felt. Freshman Tom Leggett leads the WCC with 62 goals and 84 points. He enters the weekend ranked third in the nation in goals scored. Classmate Jack Richards is second on the team in goals scored with 36, which ranks sixth in the WCC. Richards has 59 points, which ranks seventh in WCC.
NCAA Rankings
Goals
Tom Leggett 3rd/62
Points
Tom Leggett 3rd/84
Field Blocks
Ian Christie 3rd/11
WCC Rankings
Goals
Tom Leggett 1st/62
Jack Richards 6th/38
Assists
Ian Christie 8th/26
Jacob Yi 9th/25
Points
Tom Leggett 1st/84
Jack Richards 7th/49
Field Blocks
Ian Christie 1st/11
Saves
Luca Smith 4th/104
Liam Markus 6th/72
Goals Against Average
Luca Smith 2nd/10.26
Liam Markus 3rd/11.06
Team Captains: Air Force's team captains for the 2023 season are senior Ian Christie and junior Kaito Ham.
Christie Assists Record-Holder: Senior Ian Christie is Air Force's all-time leader in assists with 181. He set the program record as a junior. He is 45 assists ahead of second place. He is also fifth all-time in career points with 310.
Most Career Assists at Air Force
1. Ian Christie 2020-23 181
2. David Chaney 1988-91 136
3. Alex Churnside 2006-09 131
Most Career Points at Air Force
1. Ben Phillips 1971-74 442
2. Grant Snyder 2019-22 399
3. David Chaney 1988-91 347
4. Brian Pendergast 1993-96 317
5. Ian Christie 2020-23 310
Up next: Air Force travels to the Julian Fraser Tournament, Oct. 20-22, hosted by Santa Clara. The Falcons take on Fresno Pacific, Brown and Bucknell.
Inaugural season in WCC: Air Force joins the West Coast Conference in 2023, the first year the conference is sponsoring men's water polo. The Falcons join WCC member institutions, Loyola Marymount, Pacific, Pepperdine and Santa Clara, along with fellow affiliate members California Baptist and San Jose State. The Falcons previously played in the Western Water Polo Association from 1987-2022.
Series History vs. SJSU
Head To Head: AF leads 3-2
Last Meeting: AF lost 10-8 on Sept. 29, 2019.
LAST TIME OUT: Air Force went 4-1 in its last weekend of competition, Sept. 29-30. The Falcons went 4-0 at the Gary Troyer Invite in Claremont/Pomona, with wins over McKendree (19-11), Fresno Pacific (20-10), Mount St. Mary's (20-8) and Penn State Behrend (24-3). The Falcons also played #1 UCLA for its third game of the day on Saturday, Sept. 30, falling 14-8.
New Falcons Making Impact: Air Force's freshmen group has already made their presence felt. Freshman Tom Leggett leads the WCC with 62 goals and 84 points. He enters the weekend ranked third in the nation in goals scored. Classmate Jack Richards is second on the team in goals scored with 36, which ranks sixth in the WCC. Richards has 59 points, which ranks seventh in WCC.
NCAA Rankings
Goals
Tom Leggett 3rd/62
Points
Tom Leggett 3rd/84
Field Blocks
Ian Christie 3rd/11
WCC Rankings
Goals
Tom Leggett 1st/62
Jack Richards 6th/38
Assists
Ian Christie 8th/26
Jacob Yi 9th/25
Points
Tom Leggett 1st/84
Jack Richards 7th/49
Field Blocks
Ian Christie 1st/11
Saves
Luca Smith 4th/104
Liam Markus 6th/72
Goals Against Average
Luca Smith 2nd/10.26
Liam Markus 3rd/11.06
Team Captains: Air Force's team captains for the 2023 season are senior Ian Christie and junior Kaito Ham.
Christie Assists Record-Holder: Senior Ian Christie is Air Force's all-time leader in assists with 181. He set the program record as a junior. He is 45 assists ahead of second place. He is also fifth all-time in career points with 310.
Most Career Assists at Air Force
1. Ian Christie 2020-23 181
2. David Chaney 1988-91 136
3. Alex Churnside 2006-09 131
Most Career Points at Air Force
1. Ben Phillips 1971-74 442
2. Grant Snyder 2019-22 399
3. David Chaney 1988-91 347
4. Brian Pendergast 1993-96 317
5. Ian Christie 2020-23 310
Up next: Air Force travels to the Julian Fraser Tournament, Oct. 20-22, hosted by Santa Clara. The Falcons take on Fresno Pacific, Brown and Bucknell.
Players Mentioned
AT
/ Men's Water Polo
UT
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
AT
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
UT
/ Men's Water Polo
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