Friday, September 20
USAFA, CO - Cadet Natatorium
6:30 pm MT
Air Force Academy
vs
#17 Navy
Air Force Water Polo Hosts Rare Air Challenge
9/18/2024 1:00:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
This Week: Air Force men's water polo hosts the 2024 Rare Air Challenge, running Friday-Sunday, Sept. 20-22 at the Cadet Natatorium and Heidmous Pool on the campus of the U.S. Air Force Academy. The Falcons are slated to play six games, including a Friday night matchup against Service Academy rival #17 Navy.
Rare Air Challenge Schedule
- Home team wears dark caps and listed first
- Live stats available for most games via fosh.net (games with asterisk will NOT have live stats)
- Video stream via ESPN+ for all Air Force games only
- All times MTN standard.
Friday, Sept. 20
All Friday games at Cadet Natatorium
5 pm - Biola vs. Cal Lutheran
6:30 pm - Air Force vs. #17 Navy
8 pm - Biola vs. Cerritos*
Saturday, Sept. 21
Cadet Natatorium Games
9 am - Concordia vs. La Verne
10:30 am - Biola vs. Augustana
Noon - Air Force vs. Harvard
1:30 pm - Concordia vs. Navy
3 pm - La Verne vs. Iona
4:30 pm - Air Force vs. Biola
6 pm - Navy vs. Harvard
7:30 pm - Cal Lutheran vs. Iona
Heidmous Pool Games
10 am - Denver vs. Cerritos*
1 pm - Falcon vs. Denver*
2:30 pm - Cal Lutheran vs. Augustana
6 pm - Falcon vs. Cerritos*
Sunday, Sept. 22
Cadet Natatorium Games
8:30 am - Air Force vs. Cal Lutheran
10 am - Biola vs. Navy
11:30 am - Air Force vs. Augustana
1 pm - Concordia vs. Iona
2:15 pm - Biola vs. Harvard
4:30 pm - Air Force vs. Iona
Heidmous Pool Games
8:30 am - La Verne vs. Augustana
10 am - Concordia vs. Harvard
Noon - La Verne vs. Cerritos*
1:30 pm - Cal Lutheran vs. Navy
Series History vs. Rare Air Opponents
vs. Navy: Air Force will be playing Navy for The Freedom Vase on Friday. The teams are meeting for the 36th time with Navy holding a 24-11 lead in the series. Navy won last years meeting 11-7 in Annapolis.
vs. Harvard - Air Force leads 4-3. Last meeting, 14-5 loss on 9/26/21.
vs. Biola - Air Force leads 3-0. An 18-17 win in 3OT on 9/23/2023 at Titan Invitational.
vs. Cal Lutheran - Air Force leads 13-1. Lost 16-15 last Saturday at Titan Invitational.
vs. Augustana - Air Force leads 1-0. Last meeting, 19-13 win on 9/25/22 at Rare Air Challenge II.
vs. Iona - Air Force leads 12-2. Last meeting, 13-10 win on 9/16/22 at Rare Air Challenge.
Recapping Last Week: Air Force went 2-2 at the Titan Invitational last weekend. The Falcons defeated Concordia 20-14 and Cal State Fullerton 12-8 on Friday and fell to Chapman 20-10 and Cal Lutheran 16-15. Sophomore Tom Leggett led the Falcons with 17 goals and 25 total points on the weekend.
NCAA Rankings (As of 9/18/24)
Goals - Tom Leggett - 3rd/32
Points - Tom Leggett - 3rd/46
Assists - Jacob Yi - 7th/15
Field Blocks - David Brown - 7th/4
Sprint Wins - Jacob Yi - 2nd/10
Steals - Jacob Yi - 4th/14
Steals - Luca Smith - 4th/14
Saves - Luca Smith - 2nd/59
Recapping 2023: 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 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)
Up next: Air Force travels to the greater Los Angeles area, Fri.-Sat., Sept. 27-28 to take on Long Beach State, UCLA and Chapman.
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.
Rare Air Challenge Schedule
- Home team wears dark caps and listed first
- Live stats available for most games via fosh.net (games with asterisk will NOT have live stats)
- Video stream via ESPN+ for all Air Force games only
- All times MTN standard.
Friday, Sept. 20
All Friday games at Cadet Natatorium
5 pm - Biola vs. Cal Lutheran
6:30 pm - Air Force vs. #17 Navy
8 pm - Biola vs. Cerritos*
Saturday, Sept. 21
Cadet Natatorium Games
9 am - Concordia vs. La Verne
10:30 am - Biola vs. Augustana
Noon - Air Force vs. Harvard
1:30 pm - Concordia vs. Navy
3 pm - La Verne vs. Iona
4:30 pm - Air Force vs. Biola
6 pm - Navy vs. Harvard
7:30 pm - Cal Lutheran vs. Iona
Heidmous Pool Games
10 am - Denver vs. Cerritos*
1 pm - Falcon vs. Denver*
2:30 pm - Cal Lutheran vs. Augustana
6 pm - Falcon vs. Cerritos*
Sunday, Sept. 22
Cadet Natatorium Games
8:30 am - Air Force vs. Cal Lutheran
10 am - Biola vs. Navy
11:30 am - Air Force vs. Augustana
1 pm - Concordia vs. Iona
2:15 pm - Biola vs. Harvard
4:30 pm - Air Force vs. Iona
Heidmous Pool Games
8:30 am - La Verne vs. Augustana
10 am - Concordia vs. Harvard
Noon - La Verne vs. Cerritos*
1:30 pm - Cal Lutheran vs. Navy
Series History vs. Rare Air Opponents
vs. Navy: Air Force will be playing Navy for The Freedom Vase on Friday. The teams are meeting for the 36th time with Navy holding a 24-11 lead in the series. Navy won last years meeting 11-7 in Annapolis.
vs. Harvard - Air Force leads 4-3. Last meeting, 14-5 loss on 9/26/21.
vs. Biola - Air Force leads 3-0. An 18-17 win in 3OT on 9/23/2023 at Titan Invitational.
vs. Cal Lutheran - Air Force leads 13-1. Lost 16-15 last Saturday at Titan Invitational.
vs. Augustana - Air Force leads 1-0. Last meeting, 19-13 win on 9/25/22 at Rare Air Challenge II.
vs. Iona - Air Force leads 12-2. Last meeting, 13-10 win on 9/16/22 at Rare Air Challenge.
Recapping Last Week: Air Force went 2-2 at the Titan Invitational last weekend. The Falcons defeated Concordia 20-14 and Cal State Fullerton 12-8 on Friday and fell to Chapman 20-10 and Cal Lutheran 16-15. Sophomore Tom Leggett led the Falcons with 17 goals and 25 total points on the weekend.
NCAA Rankings (As of 9/18/24)
Goals - Tom Leggett - 3rd/32
Points - Tom Leggett - 3rd/46
Assists - Jacob Yi - 7th/15
Field Blocks - David Brown - 7th/4
Sprint Wins - Jacob Yi - 2nd/10
Steals - Jacob Yi - 4th/14
Steals - Luca Smith - 4th/14
Saves - Luca Smith - 2nd/59
Recapping 2023: 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 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)
Up next: Air Force travels to the greater Los Angeles area, Fri.-Sat., Sept. 27-28 to take on Long Beach State, UCLA and Chapman.
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
UT
/ 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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