Sept. 21, 2001
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - After playing the entire 2000 season without a home match, the Santa Clara men's water polo team (4-2) returns to the Leavey Pool and will open the 2001 home schedule with an alumni game, set for Saturday at 11 a.m.
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 host intercollegiate matches against perennial powers UC Davis and Pacific, while longtime rival UC Santa Cruz the California Maritime Academy will also visit the mission campus. Additionally, the Broncos will play a match against Southern California at West Valley Junior College and an exhibition game in nearby Saratoga against the Bay Area Masters.
"We're excited to be home again," head coach Steve 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 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.