SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The No. 14 Santa Clara men's water polo team will travel to southern California this weekend for a single match against Chapman on Friday before taking on some of the best collegiate water polo teams in the nation at the prestigious SoCal Tournament, hosted by UCLA.
The Broncos moved up one spot in the national rankings this week after splitting games this past weekend in the Aggie Shootout in Davis, Calif. Santa Clara suffered a tough loss to UC Davis but defeated Redlands.
Junior James Case has emerged as the team's leading scorer this season with 20 goals, but the Broncos have received scoring from a wide variety of players thus far. Also registering double-digit goals are senior Stephen Hobbs (15), junior Daley Meistrell (10), and senior Mitch Klipa (14). Meistrell also has posted an impressive assist number with 28 total. Hobbs is leading the team in kickouts drawn (17) and Klipa is tied for a team-leading 13 steals with junior Marcus Akerland.
Santa Clara (6-6 overall, .500) will play a Chapman team on Friday that is 4-6 overall and has failed to defeat a Division I team so far this season. Last season, the Broncos defeated the Panthers, 18-5. Chase Parlee is Chapman's most dominant offensive force with 24 goals on 48 shots. Parlee also has 18 steals in nine games played. Taylor Rszkos has seen the most time in the cage with 6.25 games played. Rszkos has saved 55 % of the shots he has faced.
To open the SoCal tournament on Saturday, Santa Clara will meet California at 11:40 a.m. on the UCLA campus in the second of at least three meetings between the teams this season. The Broncos opened the 2010 season against the Golden Bears, falling 14-5. Depending on the outcome of that match, Santa Clara will play again at either 4:30 p.m. (if they lose to Cal) or 5:50 p.m. (if they defeat Cal) against either UC Irvine or St. Francis (NY).
If the Broncos lose to the Bears in the opener on Saturday, Sunday's Santa Clara games will move to the second site of the tournament, Sunset Canyon Recreation Center.
A tournament page has been created for the weekend and will be the first place results from the SoCal tournament can be viewed for fans not in attendance. Click http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/m-wpolo/spec-rel/10-socal-open.html to view the page. A link to this page is also available on the Santa Clara men's water polo website schedule page.
After the SoCal tournament, the Broncos will return to southern California the following weekend for the two-day Claremont Convergence before playing the rest of the season, save for one game on Nov. 5 at Pacific, at home in the Sullivan Aquatic Center.
