May 22, 2001
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - After playing the entire 2000 season without a home match, the Santa Clara men's water polo team returns to the Leavey Pool for six home contests as part of a nine-match, five-tournament schedule, head coach Steve Hanson announced today.
Renovations to the Leavey Center--in which the pool resides--kept the water polo squad on the road for the entire season. Now reopen for competition, the Broncos will begin the home schedule with an alumni game on Saturday, Sept. 22. Other home opponents include perennial powers UC Davis and Pacific, while the California Maritime Academy and UC Santa Cruz will also visit the mission campus. Additionally, the Broncos will play an exhibition game in nearby Saratoga against the Bay Area Masters.
"We're excited to be home again," Hanson said. "Our guys like playing against their peers and feeling the support that a home crowd brings. We missed our fans last season."
The Broncos open at Pacific on Sept. 5. After a match at BYU-Hawaii, Santa Clara's first tournament is the Triton Invitational, an early measuring stick for the team's progress, according to Hanson.
"Facing LMU early will be good for us," he said of an opening match against the Lions at the Triton Invitational hosted by UC San Diego. "They are ranked in the top 10 nationally, so the challenge will set the pace for the rest of the season."
The Broncos will also take part in the Redlands Inland Empire Tournament, the UC Santa Cruz Slugfest Tournament, and the Northern California Invitational, hosted by Stanford. The team hopes to close out the season with an invitation to the Western Water Polo Association Championships. Only the top eight seeds in the 14-team conference participate.
The Broncos return 10 letterwinners from last year's team that finished the season with an 11-17 mark and will add five newcomers. Leading the way will be senior Jay Moorhead, who scored a team-high 64 goals last season, and junior defender Daniel O'Connell.
Santa Clara Men's Water Polo 2001 Schedule
Day Date Opponent Location Time
Wednesday Sept. 5 Pacific Stockton, Calif. 4 p.m.
Friday Sept. 7 BYU-Hawaii San Diego, Calif. 3:30 p.m.
Triton Invitational
UC San Diego, Redlands, Claremont, LMU, Air Force, LaVerne, Whittier, BYU - Hawaii
Saturday Sept. 8 Loyola Marymount San Diego, Calif. 9:15 a.m.
Saturday Sept. 8 Whittier San Diego, Calif. 1 p.m.
Sunday Sept. 9 TBA San Diego, Calif. TBA
Inland Empire Tournament
Redlands, Pomona, Occidental, Whittier, Chapman, Cal Baptist, Chaminade, UC Santa Cruz
Saturday Sept. 15 TBA Redlands, Calif. TBA
Sunday Sept. 16 TBA Redlands, Calif. TBA
Saturday Sept. 22 Alumni Game Santa Clara All Day
Slugfest Tournament
Friday Sept. 28 TBA Santa Cruz, Calif. TBA
Saturday Sept. 29 TBA Santa Cruz, Calif. TBA
Sunday Sept. 30 TBA Santa Cruz, Calif. TBA
Saturday Oct. 6 UC Davis Santa Clara 11 a.m.
Northern California Invitational
Stanford, California, UCLA, USC, UC Irvine, Pepperdine, UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, UC San Diego, Long Beach State, Cal Baptist, Air Force, LMU, Pacific, UC Santa Cruz
Saturday Oct. 13 TBA Stanford, Calif. TBA
Sunday Oct. 14 TBA Stanford, Calif. TBA
Sunday Oct. 21 Pacific Santa Clara Noon
Tuesday Oct. 30 Cal Maritime Academy Santa Clara 3 p.m.
Saturday Nov. 3 UC Davis Davis, Calif. Noon
Sunday Nov. 4 UC Santa Cruz Santa Clara Noon
Saturday Nov. 5 Bay Area Masters* Saratoga, Calif. Noon
WWPA Championships
Friday Nov. 16 TBA Los Angeles, Calif. TBA
Saturday Nov. 17 TBA Los Angeles, Calif. TBA
Sunday Nov. 18 TBA Los Angeles, Calif. TBA
Home matches in bold and played at Leavey Pool
* Exhibition match
Times listed as Pacific
