Friday, November 22
Stockton, CA
1:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
vs
#13 San Jose State
Air Force Opens WCC Men’s Water Polo Championships vs. #13 San Jose State
11/21/2024 10:07:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
This Week: Air Force men's water polo plays at the 2024 West Coast Conference Men's Water Polo Championships, held Nov. 22-24 in Stockton, Calif. The Falcons, playing as the six-seed, open against three-seed #13 San Jose State. All games at the tournament will have live video stream via ESPN+ and livestats via Fosh.
#6 Air Force vs. #3 (13) San Jose State
Friday, Nov. 22 - 12 pm PT
Chris Kjeldsen Pool at the Douglass M. Eberhardt Aquatics Center - Stockton, Calif.
If win: Air Force would advance to the semifinals on Saturday and take on the winner of #2 Pepperdine vs. #7 LMU. The game would be at 11 am PT.
Series History
vs. SJSU - Air Force leads 4-3. Last meeting, SJSU won 19-9 on Sunday, Nov. 17, in San Jose.
Recapping Last Week: Air Force dropped a pair of matches in the Bay Area, falling at #17 Santa Clara 23-13 last Friday and falling 19-9 at #13 San Jose State on Sunday.
NCAA Rankings (As of 11/20/24)
Goals - Tom Leggett - 1st/143
Points - Tom Leggett - 1st/181
Assists - Jacob Yi - 3rd/66
Sprint Wins - Jacob Yi - 6th/30
Steals - Jacob Yi - 5th/51
Saves - Luca Smith - 5th/211
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)
- Air Force Athletics Athlete of the Week (Oct. 28)
- WCC Player of the Week (Sept. 24)
- WCC Player of the Week (Oct. 8)
- All-WCC First-Team
Sr. AT Jacob Yi
- All-WCC Honorable Mention
Air Force Record Book Watch:
Most goals in a season:
1. Tom Leggett, 2024 - 143
2. Grant Snyder, 2022 - 123
3. Ben Phillips, 1972 - 120
4. Tom Leggett, 2023 - 114
Most points in a season:
1. Grant Snyder, 2022 - 181
2. Tom Leggett, 2024 - 181
3. Ian Christie, 2022 - 170
4. Ben Phillips, 1972 - 145
5. Tom Leggett, 2023 - 143
Most assists in a season:
1. Ian Christie, 2022 - 99
2. Rob Mattivi,1985 - 85
3. Jacob Yi, 2024 - 66
Most goals career:
1. Ben Phillips (1971-74) - 339
2. Grant Snyder (2019-22) - 283
3. Tom Leggett (2023-24) - 257
Most assists career:
1. Ian Christie (2020-23) - 214
2. Jacob Yi (2021-24) - 145
3. David Chaney (1988-91) - 136
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.
#6 Air Force vs. #3 (13) San Jose State
Friday, Nov. 22 - 12 pm PT
Chris Kjeldsen Pool at the Douglass M. Eberhardt Aquatics Center - Stockton, Calif.
If win: Air Force would advance to the semifinals on Saturday and take on the winner of #2 Pepperdine vs. #7 LMU. The game would be at 11 am PT.
Series History
vs. SJSU - Air Force leads 4-3. Last meeting, SJSU won 19-9 on Sunday, Nov. 17, in San Jose.
Recapping Last Week: Air Force dropped a pair of matches in the Bay Area, falling at #17 Santa Clara 23-13 last Friday and falling 19-9 at #13 San Jose State on Sunday.
NCAA Rankings (As of 11/20/24)
Goals - Tom Leggett - 1st/143
Points - Tom Leggett - 1st/181
Assists - Jacob Yi - 3rd/66
Sprint Wins - Jacob Yi - 6th/30
Steals - Jacob Yi - 5th/51
Saves - Luca Smith - 5th/211
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)
- Air Force Athletics Athlete of the Week (Oct. 28)
- WCC Player of the Week (Sept. 24)
- WCC Player of the Week (Oct. 8)
- All-WCC First-Team
Sr. AT Jacob Yi
- All-WCC Honorable Mention
Air Force Record Book Watch:
Most goals in a season:
1. Tom Leggett, 2024 - 143
2. Grant Snyder, 2022 - 123
3. Ben Phillips, 1972 - 120
4. Tom Leggett, 2023 - 114
Most points in a season:
1. Grant Snyder, 2022 - 181
2. Tom Leggett, 2024 - 181
3. Ian Christie, 2022 - 170
4. Ben Phillips, 1972 - 145
5. Tom Leggett, 2023 - 143
Most assists in a season:
1. Ian Christie, 2022 - 99
2. Rob Mattivi,1985 - 85
3. Jacob Yi, 2024 - 66
Most goals career:
1. Ben Phillips (1971-74) - 339
2. Grant Snyder (2019-22) - 283
3. Tom Leggett (2023-24) - 257
Most assists career:
1. Ian Christie (2020-23) - 214
2. Jacob Yi (2021-24) - 145
3. David Chaney (1988-91) - 136
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
/ Men's Water Polo
AT
/ Men's Water Polo
C/D
/ Men's Water Polo
C
/ Men's Water Polo
UT
/ Men's Water Polo
UT
/ Men's Water Polo
UT
/ Men's Water Polo
C
/ Men's Water Polo
AT
/ Men's Water Polo
AT
/ Men's Water Polo
AT
/ Men's Water Polo
AT
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
AT
/ Men's Water Polo
C
/ Men's Water Polo
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