Oct. 5, 2003

STANFORD, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's water polo team defeated Division III top-ranked UC Santa Cruz 7-6 to close action at the NorCal Tournament, hosted by Stanford at the Avery Aquatic Center. The Broncos' overall record moves to 9-8 on the season.

The NorCal Tournament is one of the premier collegiate water polo events in the country. Fourteen of the 16 teams entered are ranked in the Collegiate Coaches top 20.

"It was good competition all weekend and we lost two close games to teams ranked 10th and 12th in the country, so we're learning how to play at that level," SCU head coach Keith Wilbur said. "It was good to finish our weekend against a good Santa Cruz team with a win."

Kenny Flanagan-De La Hoz led the Broncos with three goals, while Daniel Figoni added two, and one each was tallied by Grant Allison and Jon Greco. Kevin Starry posted a strong defensive game with five steals, while Figoni also sparked the offense by drawing five kick outs. Peter Moore registered nine saves in goal.

Down 3-0 early in the game, the Broncos tied the match at 4-4 in the third quarter. Allowing two more goals for another deficit, Santa Clara scored the final three goals to take the victory.

Santa Clara will return to action next weekend at the Convergence Tournament in Claremont. The Broncos open the event against Chaminade on Friday at 9 a.m. and will also play Whittier that afternoon at 3:30 p.m. Santa Clara will face BYU-Hawaii (8:30 a.m.) and Pomona-Pitzer (1 p.m.) in Saturday's action at the Tournament. On Sunday, October 12, the Broncos will host an alumni game at the Leavey Pool at 1 p.m.