SANTA CLARA, Calif. - After holding its annual alumni game last weekend, the Santa Clara men's water polo team heads on the road.

The Broncos (4-7, 0-1), who have been without a complete lineup in recent outings, will play at No. 10 UC Davis (10-5, 2-0) on Saturday at noon.


The injuries of Reilley May, John Raineri, and Jack Rottman have given opportunities for other players to step up and see playing time.

"Nate [Miller] is one of these players, and he's been doing a great job at 2-meter," said head coach Keith Wilbur. "He was also coming back from an injury and working very hard getting in great shape, so I am glad to see him ready to play and take advantage of this opportunity."

Santa Clara has been focusing on and testing out varying plans of attack.

"With two of our centers out, we've experimented with smaller lineups and having more motion on offense," said Wilbur. "We have had some success with this style of play, and it is a good option that we can go to in certain situations."

The Broncos look to the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) matchup with the Aggies with focus and preparation.

"The main thing we've been working on the past two weeks is our counterattack, both offense and defense," said Wilbur. "This is an area that we need to improve, and it is also a strength for Davis. They're a really well conditioned team, they react quickly, and they get up and down the pool with a lot of speed.  A definite key to the game is to stay with them on the counter, and it will be a good test to see if we have improved in this area of the game that we have been focusing on in practice."

Santa Clara faces Cal Baptist on Thursday, Oct. 19 at home, one day before the Broncos begin serving as host to the three-day Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament.

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