Santa Clara Men's Water Polo kicks off their season Saturday, Sept. 5 at 12 p.m. in a cross-town matchup against No. 16 San Jose State.
The Broncos will face one of their toughest schedules in Keith Wilbur's 13-year tenure as SCU head coach. A perennial top-20 team, the Broncos were selected to finish 5th in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) preseason coach's poll. They received votes in the top-20 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) preseason national rankings, but were left just outside the top-20.
The team looks to use these expectations as motivation for the upcoming season.
The San Jose State Spartans are fielding their first team in 34 years, making the season opener on Saturday a huge event. A large crowd is expected to be on hand at SJSU's Aquatic Center. Even though they are a new team, the Spartans have fielded a strong team with several college transfers and a strong freshman class. They will rely heavily on younger players, with their roster holding nine freshmen and no seniors. The Spartans were selected to finish 10th in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), and received the No. 16 ranking in the CWPA top-20 coaches poll.
Senior captain Evan Chang, who led the team with 63 earned ejections on his way to 2nd Team All-WWPA honors last year, leads the Broncos into their 2015 debut. Redshirt junior Will Grant looks to build on his successful 2014 campaign, in which he scored 33 goals and earned 43 ejections.
Offensive powerhouse Graham McClone can do it all in the pool; scoring 33 goals while contributing 28 assists, 25 earned ejections, and 29 steals last season. Bronco goalkeepers Joe Maestri and Troy Nadel step into the shoes of graduated goalie Matt Pritchett as Santa Clara's last line of defense.
After facing No. 16 San Jose State, the Broncos will travel to the East Coast to play in the Princeton Invite where they will face No. 17 Saint Francis (NY), No. 11 Brown, and No. 11 Princeton.
Santa Clara will participate in the NorCal Tournament and Aggie Shootout again, also adding the SoCal Tournament to this year's schedule. The Broncos will host the 7th annual Rodeo at the Sullivan Aquatic Center on Oct. 23-25. After competitive conference play, the Broncos will face No. 4 Stanford, No. 3 Cal and No. 16 San Jose State again before jumping into the WWPA Tournament.
