June 27, 2007
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's water polo team announced its schedule today for the upcoming 2007 season. The Broncos will again be tested by a number of nationally recognized opponents, as the Broncos look to take another step up in the Western Water Polo Association standings and the national rankings.
Led by head coach Keith Wilbur, who continues to take SCU to new heights, the Broncos travel cross-country to open their season for the second straight year. In 2006, SCU kicked off the year at the Navy Labor Day Open in Annapolis, Md., and this season the Broncos head to Princeton, N.J. to play Queens College in the opener on Sept. 7. Following the match against Queens, Wilbur's squad will participate in the Princeton Invitational on Sept. 8 and 9 to wrap up the East Coast excursion.
"We have a good, competitive schedule and we are going to get to see a lot of different teams next fall," said Wilbur. "We are playing all the teams from our conference (WWPA) that we normally see, but we are also going to get to play several quality teams from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) and the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA.) We will have tough games pretty much every weekend so this schedule should help us prepare for the conference tournament at Air Force at the end of the season."
Following the opening weekend on the East Coast, the Broncos return to Northern California for the NorCals at UC Berkeley, a tournament that typically features a number of top 10 programs. SCU will also participate in the Slugfest in Santa Cruz and the Claremont Convergence in Claremont, Calif. Last season, the Broncos went a perfect 8-0 in those two competitions.
The home schedule begins on Thursday, Sept. 20 with a 7:00 p.m. match against Fordham at Malley Pool. Other home matches include a Sunday, Oct. 14 game against rival, UC Santa Cruz, at 12 noon and a match-up against UC Davis on Sunday, Nov. 4 at 12 noon. The team will host the annual alumni game on Saturday, Oct. 20 at 1:00 p.m.
After wrapping up the season against Stanford on the road on Nov. 11, the Broncos head to the Western Water Polo Association Championships from Nov. 16-18. This year the WWPAs will be held at the Air Force Academy in Colorado.
The 2007 men's water polo team will be led by junior Jack Wall, who was named an All-American in 2006, along with 2006 WWPA Newcomer of the Year Liam Farrell. Goalkeeper Rob Callahan also returns to lead the defense.
For the complete schedule click here.
