Saturday, September 9
Redlands, CA
11:30 am MT
Air Force Academy
vs
Occidental
#20 Air Force Travels To Inland Empire Classic
9/7/2023 9:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
This Week: 20th-ranked Air Force (3-1 overall, 0-0 WCC) travels to Redlands and Claremont, Calif., for the annual Inland Empire Classic, Sept. 9-10. On Saturday, Sept. 9, Air Force will play Occidental at 11:30 am PT and Whittier at 6 pm PT. On Sunday, Sept. 10, the Falcons play Cal State Fullerton at 12:30 pm PT and host Redlands at 2:40 pm PT. Video stream and live stats will be available for every game.
Series History vs. Inland Empire Classic Opponents
vs. Occidental - Air Force leads 9-1. Last meeting, 14-13 win on 9/10/22
vs. Whittier - Air Force leads 17-2. Last meeting, 21-9 win on 9/30/22
vs. Cal State Fullerton - Air Force leads 4-2. Last meeting, a 6-4 loss in 1985.
vs. Redlands - Air Force leads 33-11. Last meeting, 14-13 win on 9/1/23
LAST WEEK: Air Force went 3-1 as the host of the Rare Air Challenge. On Saturday, the Falcons defeated Johns Hopkins 22-6 and Redlands 14-13. On Sunday, the Falcons fell to #5 UC Davis 18-5 and then came back to defeat Cal Lutheran 17-8.
New Falcons Making Impact: Air Force's freshmen group has already made their presence felt. Freshman Tom Leggett leads the team with 12 goals and 14 points. Classmate Jack Richards is tied for the team-lead with six assists and is third with eight points. Three addition freshman have scored points for the Falcons already.
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 160. He set the program record as a junior. He is 24 assists ahead of second place. He is also seventh all-time in career points and is 13 away from moving into sixth place.
Most Career Assists at Air Force
1. Ian Christie 2020-23 160
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
6. Bobby Geiger 2007-10 286
7. Ian Christie 2020-23 273
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 Kuyper 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 Navy on Thursday, Sept. 14 in a battle for the Freedom Vase. The Falcons then head to the Bucknell Invite Sept. 16-17 to take on Princeton, Wagner, Long Island and Bucknell.
Series History vs. Inland Empire Classic Opponents
vs. Occidental - Air Force leads 9-1. Last meeting, 14-13 win on 9/10/22
vs. Whittier - Air Force leads 17-2. Last meeting, 21-9 win on 9/30/22
vs. Cal State Fullerton - Air Force leads 4-2. Last meeting, a 6-4 loss in 1985.
vs. Redlands - Air Force leads 33-11. Last meeting, 14-13 win on 9/1/23
LAST WEEK: Air Force went 3-1 as the host of the Rare Air Challenge. On Saturday, the Falcons defeated Johns Hopkins 22-6 and Redlands 14-13. On Sunday, the Falcons fell to #5 UC Davis 18-5 and then came back to defeat Cal Lutheran 17-8.
New Falcons Making Impact: Air Force's freshmen group has already made their presence felt. Freshman Tom Leggett leads the team with 12 goals and 14 points. Classmate Jack Richards is tied for the team-lead with six assists and is third with eight points. Three addition freshman have scored points for the Falcons already.
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 160. He set the program record as a junior. He is 24 assists ahead of second place. He is also seventh all-time in career points and is 13 away from moving into sixth place.
Most Career Assists at Air Force
1. Ian Christie 2020-23 160
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
6. Bobby Geiger 2007-10 286
7. Ian Christie 2020-23 273
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 Kuyper 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 Navy on Thursday, Sept. 14 in a battle for the Freedom Vase. The Falcons then head to the Bucknell Invite Sept. 16-17 to take on Princeton, Wagner, Long Island and Bucknell.
Players Mentioned
AT
/ Men's Water Polo
C
/ Men's Water Polo
UT
/ Men's Water Polo
UT
/ Men's Water Polo
AT
/ Men's Water Polo
UT
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
UT
/ Men's Water Polo
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