Oct. 8, 2005
Claremont, Calif. - The Convergence Tournament was an opportunity to test the No. 20 Santa Clara men's water polo team and by the time the Broncos finished their fourth game in two days, they passed with flying colors, posting a 4-0 record at the prestigious invitational. Today, SCU took down Harvard 9-3 and later defeated Western Water Polo Association rival and host school Claremont College 8-3.
"It's nice to go 4-0 this weekend. We played two solid teams today and did well. The guys did great on defense, to only hold our opponents to three goals each today," said head coach Keith Wilbur. "Now we'll go home, enjoy the day off, and then get ready for next week."
Jack Wall led the way for Santa Clara against Harvard, posting three goals in the early morning match. Tom Kelly kicked in two goals, while Jon Greco, Tom Hendrickson, Patrick Noack, and Whit Gilfillan all chipped in with a goal. Grant Allison drew two kickouts and a penalty shot and Kevin Starry led the team with three steals. Mike Petersen was superb in the cage with nine saves.
"This was a really good win by our team. We were clicking on all cylinders in this game. Our half-court offense was on, our counterattack was clicking and our defense was there," said head coach Keith Wilbur on the Harvard match.
The Broncos concluded the tournament with a victory over Claremont College this afternoon and seven different players put the ball in the net against the host team. Chris Parolin scored twice, in addition to drawing two kickouts and adding two steals and one assist. Mike Detoy, Charlie Moore, Greco, Gilfillan, Hendrickson, and Starry all chipped in a goal. Allison played another important role for SCU, drawing four kickouts. Petersen played magnificently as goalie on both ends of the pool, tallying 17 blocks and three assists.
"Defense was the best part of our game. We were up 3-0 by the half and shutting them down defensively really set the tone for the rest of the game," said Wilbur about the Claremont victory. "The guys played with a lot of energy, which is nice to see in our fourth game in two days."
Santa Clara improves its record to 12-6 on the year and 10-4 in the WWPA. The Broncos return to action next week when they travel to Berkeley, Calif. to participate in the NorCal Tournament, beginning October 15.
