SANTA CLARA, Calif. – With a strong group of returners and some impressive young talent, Santa Clara men's water polo kicks off the 2016 season Saturday at noon in a game against local rival San Jose State at the Sullivan Aquatic Center.
The Broncos have a number of their top performers back from from last season, but will have to replace two All-Western Water Polo Association players.
Senior driver Graham McClone was second on the team last season in both goals (42) and assists (33), and senior two-meter player Will Grant was fourth in scoring with 32 goals. McClone was a second-team All-WWPA.
Senior two-meter player Matt Godar joins McClone and Grant as team captains.
However, three starters will have to be replaced.
Evan Chang, an honorable mention All-WWPA at his two-meter position who led the team with 64 kickouts drawn, and goalie Joe Maestri, who started in 25 of his 26 appearances last season, exhausted their eligibility.
The Broncos will be without leading scorer John Raineri. The third-year driver injured an elbow in the summer and will miss the season. Last year, he was the top goal (46) and assist (43) producer for the team en route to earning both honorable mention All-America and all-conference accolades.
With some key contributors back off last year's team that finished fifth in the WWPA Tournament, head coach Keith Wilbur is excited to begin his 15th year.
"Practice for the team has been going well, the players showed up in better shape than in the past," Wilbur said. "There are some guys who are playing at a high level early on in our freshman class so they're mixing in well with the returners so it's making for some good competition throughout the team. All six freshmen are more up to speed than usual for a freshman class."
The freshmen, which include Keaton Fox, Patrick Kirk, Mac Carey, Ryan Werner, Shane Hughes and Luca Pagano, aren't the only players who have impressed Wilbur. He is equally thrilled with the performance of his returners and how they have taken on leadership roles throughout the team.
"We have a bunch of veteran players like Will [Grant], Graham [McClone], Matt Godar, and Garrat Johnson who all have strong leadership roles," Wilbur said. "We're strong with some of our bigger guys like Will Grant who plays as a two-meter. Some third year players, Sam Toriggino and Reilley May, have size and speed, which is a really nice combination, and they are also playing well at those positions. Graham has been a very strong player since his freshman year and is continuing to do well."
With Maestri gone, Wilbur was unsure of what to expect in the cage in the preseason, but has been pleasantly surprised.
"We have a redshirt sophomore in Emil Huebner and he's being doing great as goalie and has been playing really strong," Wilbur said. "One of our incoming freshman, Keaton Fox, has been playing really well too. I think we weren't really sure what we were going to have in the cage and both those guys really stepped up and have been doing really well."
Going into the game on Saturday, Wilbur is looking for great defense from his team as well as good effort levels.
"We are going to be a younger team than expected with a few players out due to injuries." Wilbur said. "The focus at the beginning of the year is on defense, counter attacks, and ball control. With a bunch of newer players in the mix, those three facets of the game, which depend mostly on conditioning and effort, are the most important to establish."
Tickets: Single-game tickets are available for $6. Click here to purchase online or contact the ticket office weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. at (408) 554-4660 or BroncoTickets@scu.edu. Sullivan Aquatic Center, as well as its ticket office, is open one hour prior to the start of the game. Only cash is accepted at Sullivan Aquatic Center.
Parking: For weekday games, the Leavey Center lot, located on Accolti Way off El Camino Real, is free beginning one hour prior to the start. Any other parking facility on campus will be subject to normal daily rates or restrictions, including the main structure, located on Palm Drive. During the weekend, campus parking facilities are free (except for permit required locations). Click here for a campus map and parking restrictions. For the San Jose State game, the Leavey Center lot will NOT be available due to restriping. Fans are encouraged to use the main structure, which can be accessed through the main campus entrance.
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