Friday, October 25
Stanford, CA - Avery Aquatic Center
5:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
at
#3 Stanford
Photo by Sophie Kent
Air Force Water Polo Travels To #3 Stanford and Fraser Memorial Tourney
10/24/2024 9:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
This Week: Air Force plays four games across three days in the San Francisco Bay Area from Oct. 25-27. The Falcons travel to #3 Stanford Friday and then take part in the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament on Saturday and Sunday, taking on Fresno Pacific, Pomona-Pitzer and #5 Fordham in San Jose.
#3 Stanford Game
Friday, Oct. 25 - Avery Aquatic Center/Stanford - 4 pm PT
Watch: TBD
Livestats: scores.6-8sports.com
Julian Fraser Memorial Schedule for Air Force
Saturday, Oct. 26 - Fresno Pacific @ SRAC Pool/San Jose - 10:20 am PT
Saturday, Oct. 26 - vs. Pomona-Pitzer @ SRAC Pool/San Jose - 3:40 pm PT
Sunday, Oct. 27 - vs. #5 Fordham @ SRAC Pool/San Jose - 9:20 am PT
Livestats: Fosh for all three games.
Video Stream: None (schedule will update if becomes available)
Series History vs. Opponents
vs. Stanford - Air Force trails 0-22. Last meeting, 18-1 loss on 9/27/2019
vs. Fresno Pacific - Air Force leads 17-1. Last meeting, a 20-11 win on 9/29/23 at the Fraser Memorial Tournament.
vs. Pomona-Pitzer - Air Force leads 26-5. Last meeting, 20-13 win on 9/18/22 at Rare Air Challenge
vs. Fordham - Air Force leads 2-0. Last meeting, a 15-10 win on 9/11/22 at Inland Empire Classic.
Recapping Last Week: Air Force dropped its WCC-opener to #5 Pepperdine 24-13 last Sunday. Kaito Ham, Tom Leggett and Alex Zarcu led the Falcons with three goals each.
NCAA Rankings (As of 10/23/24)
Goals - Tom Leggett - 1st/99
Points - Tom Leggett - 1st/128
Assists - Jacob Yi - 1st/49
Sprint Wins - Jacob Yi - 9th/18
Steals - Jacob Yi - 1st/49
Steals - Luca Smith - 7th/33
Saves - Luca Smith - 2nd/168
Recapping 2023: Air Force went 17-16 last year and 1-5 in the first year as member of the West Coast Conference. Freshman Tom Leggett led the team with 114 goals and 143 points.
Who's Back: Air Force returns 15 letterwinners, including 9 of its 10 top scorers from 2023. The Falcons return UT Tom Leggett, who led the WCC and ranked second in the nation with 114 goals as a freshman. He also ranked fourth in the nation with 143 points. Sophomore Jack Richards was second on the team with 59 goals last season. Junior Luca Smith started 17 games in goal for the Falcons last season, recording 125 saves.
Who's Gone: Air Force lost four seniors to graduation. Ian Christie was the second-leading scorer for the Falcons with 92 points and a team-leading 59 assists. He graduates as Air Force's all-time assists leader with 214. The Falcons also graduated Sam De La Cruz, Cole Kopperud and Joey Schell.
Who's New: Air Force welcomes 10 freshmen from the class of 2028. The freshmen come from four different states, with six from California and two from Washington.
Aiden Blatt - AT - Bellevue, WA/Newport HS
Gavin Carter - AT - Broomfield, CA/Stargate Charter HS
Brady Kopperud - UT - Rancho Cucamonga, CA/Damien HS
Gavin Honken - C - Elmhurst, IL/York Community
Luke Logan - C - Seattle, WA/Kennedy Catholic HS
Alexander Lyukmanov - AT - Santa Monica, CA/Redondo Beach HS
Dante Nocetti - AT - Sacramento, CA/Jesuit
Jay Pyle - GK - Huntington Beach, CA/Huntington Beach HS
Owen Steckmest - AT - San Jose, CA/Valley Christian HS
Benny Swanson - C - Detroit, MI/Walled Lake Central HS
2024 Honors:
So. UT Tom Leggett
- 2024 WCC Preseason All-Conference Team
- Air Force Athletics Athlete of the Week (Sept. 9)
- WCC Player of the Week (Sept. 24)
- WCC Player of the Week (Oct. 8)
Air Force Record Book Watch:
Most goals in a season:
1. Grant Snyder, 2022 - 123
2. Ben Phillips, 1972 - 120
3. Tom Leggett, 2023 - 114
4. Tom Leggett, 2024 - 99
Most points in a season:
1. Grant Snyder, 2022 - 181
2. Ian Christie, 2022 - 170
3. Ben Phillips, 1972 - 145
4. Tom Leggett, 2023 - 143
5. Tom Leggett, 2024 - 128
Most goals career:
1. Ben Phillips (1971-74) - 339
2. Grant Snyder (2019-22) - 283
3. Tom Leggett (2023-24) - 271
Up next: Air Force hosts Cal Baptist and Pacific in a pair of WCC games next weekend. The Falcons host Cal Baptist on Friday, Nov. 1 at 2 pm MT and Pacific on Sunday, Nov. 3 at noon.
Miscellanous Team Notes:
Air Force is in its 54th season of men's water polo ... The Falcons are in their second season at members of the West Coast Conference ... The Falcons were previously members of the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) from 1987-2022 ... sophomore UT Tom Leggett ranked second in the nation in goals (114) and fourth in points (143) as a freshman, earning ACWPC All-American Honorable Mention honors ... Leggett led the WCC in goals and points in 2023 ... freshman Brady Kopperud is the second member of his family to play Air Force water polo. His brother, Cole, was a four-year letterwinner and 2024 USAFA graduate.
#3 Stanford Game
Friday, Oct. 25 - Avery Aquatic Center/Stanford - 4 pm PT
Watch: TBD
Livestats: scores.6-8sports.com
Julian Fraser Memorial Schedule for Air Force
Saturday, Oct. 26 - Fresno Pacific @ SRAC Pool/San Jose - 10:20 am PT
Saturday, Oct. 26 - vs. Pomona-Pitzer @ SRAC Pool/San Jose - 3:40 pm PT
Sunday, Oct. 27 - vs. #5 Fordham @ SRAC Pool/San Jose - 9:20 am PT
Livestats: Fosh for all three games.
Video Stream: None (schedule will update if becomes available)
Series History vs. Opponents
vs. Stanford - Air Force trails 0-22. Last meeting, 18-1 loss on 9/27/2019
vs. Fresno Pacific - Air Force leads 17-1. Last meeting, a 20-11 win on 9/29/23 at the Fraser Memorial Tournament.
vs. Pomona-Pitzer - Air Force leads 26-5. Last meeting, 20-13 win on 9/18/22 at Rare Air Challenge
vs. Fordham - Air Force leads 2-0. Last meeting, a 15-10 win on 9/11/22 at Inland Empire Classic.
Recapping Last Week: Air Force dropped its WCC-opener to #5 Pepperdine 24-13 last Sunday. Kaito Ham, Tom Leggett and Alex Zarcu led the Falcons with three goals each.
NCAA Rankings (As of 10/23/24)
Goals - Tom Leggett - 1st/99
Points - Tom Leggett - 1st/128
Assists - Jacob Yi - 1st/49
Sprint Wins - Jacob Yi - 9th/18
Steals - Jacob Yi - 1st/49
Steals - Luca Smith - 7th/33
Saves - Luca Smith - 2nd/168
Recapping 2023: Air Force went 17-16 last year and 1-5 in the first year as member of the West Coast Conference. Freshman Tom Leggett led the team with 114 goals and 143 points.
Who's Back: Air Force returns 15 letterwinners, including 9 of its 10 top scorers from 2023. The Falcons return UT Tom Leggett, who led the WCC and ranked second in the nation with 114 goals as a freshman. He also ranked fourth in the nation with 143 points. Sophomore Jack Richards was second on the team with 59 goals last season. Junior Luca Smith started 17 games in goal for the Falcons last season, recording 125 saves.
Who's Gone: Air Force lost four seniors to graduation. Ian Christie was the second-leading scorer for the Falcons with 92 points and a team-leading 59 assists. He graduates as Air Force's all-time assists leader with 214. The Falcons also graduated Sam De La Cruz, Cole Kopperud and Joey Schell.
Who's New: Air Force welcomes 10 freshmen from the class of 2028. The freshmen come from four different states, with six from California and two from Washington.
Aiden Blatt - AT - Bellevue, WA/Newport HS
Gavin Carter - AT - Broomfield, CA/Stargate Charter HS
Brady Kopperud - UT - Rancho Cucamonga, CA/Damien HS
Gavin Honken - C - Elmhurst, IL/York Community
Luke Logan - C - Seattle, WA/Kennedy Catholic HS
Alexander Lyukmanov - AT - Santa Monica, CA/Redondo Beach HS
Dante Nocetti - AT - Sacramento, CA/Jesuit
Jay Pyle - GK - Huntington Beach, CA/Huntington Beach HS
Owen Steckmest - AT - San Jose, CA/Valley Christian HS
Benny Swanson - C - Detroit, MI/Walled Lake Central HS
2024 Honors:
So. UT Tom Leggett
- 2024 WCC Preseason All-Conference Team
- Air Force Athletics Athlete of the Week (Sept. 9)
- WCC Player of the Week (Sept. 24)
- WCC Player of the Week (Oct. 8)
Air Force Record Book Watch:
Most goals in a season:
1. Grant Snyder, 2022 - 123
2. Ben Phillips, 1972 - 120
3. Tom Leggett, 2023 - 114
4. Tom Leggett, 2024 - 99
Most points in a season:
1. Grant Snyder, 2022 - 181
2. Ian Christie, 2022 - 170
3. Ben Phillips, 1972 - 145
4. Tom Leggett, 2023 - 143
5. Tom Leggett, 2024 - 128
Most goals career:
1. Ben Phillips (1971-74) - 339
2. Grant Snyder (2019-22) - 283
3. Tom Leggett (2023-24) - 271
Up next: Air Force hosts Cal Baptist and Pacific in a pair of WCC games next weekend. The Falcons host Cal Baptist on Friday, Nov. 1 at 2 pm MT and Pacific on Sunday, Nov. 3 at noon.
Miscellanous Team Notes:
Air Force is in its 54th season of men's water polo ... The Falcons are in their second season at members of the West Coast Conference ... The Falcons were previously members of the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) from 1987-2022 ... sophomore UT Tom Leggett ranked second in the nation in goals (114) and fourth in points (143) as a freshman, earning ACWPC All-American Honorable Mention honors ... Leggett led the WCC in goals and points in 2023 ... freshman Brady Kopperud is the second member of his family to play Air Force water polo. His brother, Cole, was a four-year letterwinner and 2024 USAFA graduate.
Players Mentioned
AT
/ Men's Water Polo
AT
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AT
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C/D
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C
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UT
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UT
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UT
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C
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AT
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AT
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AT
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AT
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
AT
/ Men's Water Polo
C
/ Men's Water Polo
C
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