Sept. 23, 2005

Santa Clara, Calif. - In front of a loud and packed crowd, the Santa Clara men's water polo team dominated visiting Cal Lutheran 16-8 this afternoon at the Leavey Center pool. The Broncos, who improve to 4-3 on the year and 1-0 in the Western Water Polo Association conference, were led by redshirt junior Whit Gilfillan and sophomore Chris Parolin with three goals apiece.

In the first quarter, the Broncos jumped out to a 5-1 lead, thanks in part to good passing and precise shooting. Santa Clara continued its great play in the second period, holding a commanding 8-2 edge at the end of the second seven-minute half. In the third quarter, Cal Lutheran threatened to close the gap, scoring three goals, though SCU countered with four goals of its own to dispel any notion of a comeback by its conference opponent. Santa Clara finished with four more goals in the final quarter to cap off a great first home match.

"It was a good showing for us," said head coach Keith Wilbur. "It was our first home game and I'm glad to see we played well. The key for us was that great first quarter start and we were able to stay strong the rest of the game. The momentum of our start carried us through the rest of the afternoon."

Other scorers for the Broncos include Luke Oda (2), Jon Greco (2), Mike Detoy (2), Josh Early (1), Andrew Fitch (1), Mark Melnyk (1), and Tom Hendrickson (1). Defensively, Michael Petersen had four saves and freshman Jack Wall had seven steals.

Santa Clara returns to action tomorrow when the team travels to UC Santa Cruz to participate in the Slugfest Classic. Their first match on Saturday will be at 10:10 a.m. against Whittier College.