#19 Air Force Hosts 2023 Rare Air Challenge

19th-ranked Air Force men's water polo opens the 2023 season by hosting the Rare Air Challenge on Friday-Sunday, Sept. 1-3, at the Cadet Natatorium and Heidmous Pool.

Rare Air Challenge Schedule (Home team wears dark caps and listed second)
Live stats for select games in Cadet Natatorium via TheFOSH.net
Free video stream for all Air Force games only via https://www.youtube.com/c/AirForceFalcons

Friday, Sept. 1
Cadet Natatorium Games
2 pm - Redlands vs. Peak
3:30 pm - Cerritos vs. OUAZ
5 pm - Mt. SAC vs. Peak
6:30 pm - Cerritos vs. Peak

Saturday, Sept. 2
Cadet Natatorium Games
8:30 am - Redlands vs. #5 UC Davis (FOSH)
9:50 am - Johns Hopkins vs. #19 Air Force (FOSH)
11:10 am - OUAZ vs. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (FOSH)
12:30 pm - Cal Lutheran vs. #5 UC Davis (FOSH)
1:50 pm - Mt. SAC vs. Air Force B
3:10 pm - Johns Hopkins vs. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (FOSH)
4:30 pm - Redlands vs. #19 Air Force (FOSH)
5:50 pm - OUAZ vs. Peak Polo
7:10 pm - Cerritos vs. Air Force B

Heidmous Pool Games
11:10 am - Army vs. Cerritos
3:00 pm - Army vs. Peak Polo
5:30 pm - Mt. SAC vs. Cal Lutheran

Sunday, Sept. 3
Cadet Natatorium Games
8:30 am - Johns Hopkins vs. Redlands (FOSH)
10:00 am - OUAZ vs. Air Force B
11:30 am - Cerritos vs. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (FOSH)
1:00 pm - Johns Hopkins vs. Cal Lutheran (FOSH)
2:30 pm - #5 UC Davis vs. #19 Air Force (FOSH)
4:00 pm - Army vs. Air Force B
6:00 pm - Cal Lutheran vs. #19 Air Force (FOSH)

Heidmous Pool Games
8:30 am - Claremont-Mudd-Scripps vs. #5 UC Davis
11:30 am - Army vs. Mt. SAC
1:30 pm - OUAZ vs. Redlands

Series History vs. Rare Air Challenge Opponents
vs. Johns Hopkins - Air Force leads 4-1. Last meeting, 11-10 win on 10/18/2009
vs. Redlands - Air Force leads 32-11. Last meeting, 15-8 win on 9/17/22
vs. UC Davis - Air Force trails 38-46. Last meeting, 12-11 loss on 10/8/22
vs. Cal Lutheran - Air Force leads 12-0. Last meeting, 19-10 win on 9/30/22

Recapping 2022: Air Force went 23-12 last season and 4-4 in WWPA action. The 23 wins was the second-most wins in a season in program history. The Falcons had the nations' leading points and assists scorers. Grant Snyder, who earned his third All-American honors, led the nation with a school-record 181 points and Ian Christie led the nation with a school-record 99 assists.

Who's Back: Air Force returns eight of its top nine scorers from 2022. Senior Ian Christie is the top returning scorer, ranking second in goals (71) and points (170) last season. Junior Jacob Yi ranked third in goals with 40 and sophomore Jake Dixon was fourth with 39 goals. Sophomore Luca Smith is the top returning goalkeeper, posting a 10-0 record as a freshman with 97 saves in 15 games.

Who's Gone: Air Force lost three-time All-American Grant Snyder to graduation. Snyder led Air Force with 399 career points, which ranks second in program history. In addition, starting goalkeeper AJ Kuypers also graduated. Kuypers had 252 saves in 25 games for the Falcons last year. The Falcons also lost prominent contributors in Larsen McCarroll and Dylan Sinclair to graduation as well.

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.

Up next: Air Force travels to the Inland Empire Tournament, hosted by Redlands in Redlands, Calif. The tournament runs Sept. 9-10 and Air Force is slated to face Whittier and Occidental on Saturday and Cal State Fullerton and Redlands on Sunday.

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Players Mentioned

Ian Christie

Jake Dixon

Larsen McCarroll

Dylan Sinclair

Luca Smith

Grant Snyder

Jacob Yi

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