Nov. 19, 2009

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The No. 13 Santa Clara men's water polo team will be heading to Orange, Calif. this weekend for the Western Water Polo Association Championships at Chapman University's Allred Aquatics Center and will contend for an automatic bid into the NCAA Championships, held this year at Princeton from Dec. 5-6.

The Broncos received the fourth seed in the tournament and will have to face a tough opener against fifth-seeded UC Davis, with whom they have split games this season. The Aggies upset Santa Clara 8-7 on Sept. 27 on the Mission Campus, but the Broncos returned the favor just five days ago in Davis, blasting the Aggies 10-4 in their own pool.

If Santa Clara wins, they would have to play the winner of top-seeded Loyola Marymount and Chapman in the semifinal. The Lions have the statistical advantage to advance, having won six of the last eight WWPA Championships since 2001 (UC San Diego won in 2002 and 2006).

THE WWPAs
WWPA Tournament Info
The Western Water Polo Association Men's Water Polo Championship are hosted by Chapman University, Friday, Nov. 20 - Sunday, Nov. 22. LMU received the top seed, followed by No. 2 Air Force Academy, No. 3 UC San Diego, No. 4 Santa Clara, No. 5 UC Davis, No. 6 Redlands, No. 7 Whittier and No. 8 Chapman. Game No. 1 will feature No. 2 Air Force taking on No. 7 Whittier at 10 a.m. Air Force finished the regular season 17-12 and 10-4 in the WWPA. They will take on SCIAC runner-up Whittier, who finished 18-12 overall and 11-7 against WWPA opponents. Game No. 2 at 11:45 a.m., of the eight-team tournament, will feature No. 3 UC San Diego taking on No. 6 Redlands. UC San Diego enters the tournament 12-13 overall and 8-5 against WWPA opponents, four of the setbacks were to No. 1 LMU. Redlands defeated Claremont 4-2 in the SCIAC Championships on Sunday, Nov. 15, and enters the WWPAs 17-16 overall and 12-5 in the WWPA. Game No. 3 at 1:30 p.m., features No. 1 LMU taking on host Chapman, who finished 12-14 overall and 5-6 against the WWPA. The final game is No. 4 Santa Clara taking on No. 5 UC Davis at 3:15 p.m. Santa Clara is 20-11 overall and 10-4 in the WWPA, while UCD is 13-15 overall and 8-7 in league play.