Air Force Academy

Oct. 1, 2008

The 20th-ranked Air Force water polo team takes part in the Claremont Convergence Tournament this weekend, Oct. 3-4, while playing Fordham in a neutral site contest on Oct. 5. The Falcons will take on George Washington at 12:45 p.m. (PT) on Friday, followed by a 4:30 p.m. contest against WWPA rival Pomona-Pitzer. On Saturday, Air Force faces Mercyhurst at 9:00 a.m., and wraps up the tournament at 12:45 p.m. with a conference game versus Whittier. The Falcons will conclude their weekend on Sunday with a non-conference match-up against Fordham, scheduled for 10:00 a.m. at Loyola Marymount.

Last Time Out...
The Falcons went 3-1 last weekend at the Slugfest Tournament, playing a quartet of conference games. Air Force defeated UC Santa Cruz, Occidental and Cal Lutheran, before dropping a 10-8 contest to No. 16 Redlands.

Among the leaders for Air Force last weekend were sophomores Bobby Geiger and Matt Versage. Geiger scored eight goals, while Versage added seven for the weekend. In addition, goalkeeper David Ostrom notched 28 saves while also adding six assists.

Air Force Athlete of the Week...
Sophomore Matt Versage was named the Air Force Athlete of the Week on Sept. 29. Versage tallied seven goals and three assists to help the Falcons to a 3-1 record at the Slugfest Tournament. He scored a team-leading three goals in the Falcons' close 10-8 loss to No. 16 Redlands, as Air Force improved to 5-2 in the Western Water Polo Association.

Versage, a native of Merced, Calif., entered this season with just two career goals, but already has 15 scores in 2008.

About the Claremont Convergence Tournament...
The Claremont Convergence Tournament, hosted by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Pomona-Pitzer and La Verne, will feature 21 teams competing at three different venues. Both of Air Force's games on Friday will be played at Pomona, while the Falcons will play their Saturday contests at La Verne.

Scouting the Falcons...
The Air Force Falcons, ranked 20th in the last week's coaches poll, enter this weekend with a 5-8 overall record and 5-2 mark in the Western Water Polo Association.

The leading goal scorers for Air Force this season are junior Alex Churnside and sophomore Bobby Geiger with 17 goals each, while junior Jack Hines and sophomore Matt Versage have tallied 15 goals each on the season. is right behind with 11 goals. Geiger (17g, 9a) also has a team-best 26 points, while goalkeeper David Ostrom has recorded 108 saves on the year.

Scouting the Colonials...
The George Washington Colonials, receiving votes in the latest coaches poll, enter this weekend with a 6-9 overall record and will visit Cal Baptist on Thursday before heading to the Claremont Convergence Tournament. The Colonials split a pair of CWPA contests last weekend, defeating Bucknell, 11-9, before dropping an 11-9 decision to 19th-ranked Princeton.

George Washington is coached by Scott Reed, in his 10th season at the helm of the program. Senior Nick Eddy leads the Colonials with 24 goals on the year, while David Zenk and Jean-Claude Wright follow with 21 and 20 scores, respectively.

Scouting the Sagehens...
The Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens enter this weekend with a 3-7 overall record and 2-2 mark in the WWPA. The Sagehens went 2-2 last weekend at the Cal Baptist Tournament, defeating Chapman and Riverside CC before falling to Long Beach State and Cal Baptist.

Pomona is coached by Alex Rodriguez, in his second year at the helm of the program. 

Scouting the Lakers...
The Mercyhurst Lakers currently hold a 7-2 overall record and will visit Cal Lutheran before taking part in this weekend's tournament. The Lakers went 3-0 last weekend, with victories over Gannon, Penn State Behrend and Salem International.

Mercyhurst is coached by Curtis Robinette, in his seventh season at the helm of the program. Leading the Lakers' offense in 2008 are sophomores Alex Moggridge and Andrew Schonoff with 23 and 21 goals, respectively.

Scouting the Poets...
The Whittier Poets enter this weekend with a 4-8 overall record and a 2-3 mark in the WWPA. The Poets went 2-2 at the Cal Baptist Invitational, defeating Cal Maritime and Chaffey, while falling to Cal Baptist and Riverside CC.

Whittier is coached by Justin Pudwill, in his second season leading the team. Among the leaders for the Poets are senior Chris Villanueva and sophomore Will Jackson.

Scouting the Rams...
The Fordham Rams enter this weekend with a 6-4 overall record. Last week, the Rams dropped their conference opener, 13-12 in overtime, to Queens College.

Fordham is coached by Bill Harris, in his fifth season at the helm of the program. Alex Powell is the Rams' leading scorer through the first 10 games of the season with 27 goals.

Series Records...
This weekend, Air Force and George Washington will meet for the sixth time in the series, with the Falcons undefeated against the Colonials. The last meeting between the teams was last year, when Air Force escaped with a 6-5 victory.

Air Force holds a 14-0 advantage in its series with Pomona, including an 8-5 victory in this year's season-opening Triton Invitational.

The Falcons are also undefeated against Whittier, holding a 10-0 edge in the all-time series. The last time the two teams met was in 2006, when Air Force picked up a 14-6 win.

Meanwhile, this weekend marks the first-ever meeting between Air Force and Mercyhurst, as well as the first meeting between Air Force and Fordham.

Up Next...
The Falcons are off next weekend, but return to action Oct. 18-19, when they host Iona for their lone home games of the season. Air Force will face the Gaels at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and wrap up the weekend with a 10:00 a.m. contest on Sunday.

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