Air Force Academy

Oct. 19, 2011

Weekly Release #6

The 18th-ranked Air Force water polo team is back on the road this weekend, Oct. 22-23, when it takes part in The Rodeo, hosted by conference foe Santa Clara. On Saturday, the Falcons take on the 15-ranked host Broncos and Brown, while facing No. 12 UC Davis and No. 3 Stanford in Sunday's games.

LAST TIME OUT...
The Falcons dropped a 10-7 decision to 13th-ranked Loyola Marymount last Friday in a home WWPA contest.

Sophomore Josh Stedman led the Falcons with three goals against the Lions, while junior Cruz Smithson added two goals and an assist to help lead Air Force's offense.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS...
The Air Force Falcons, ranked tied for 18th in this week's coaches poll, enter this weekend with a 5-10 overall record, including a 3-5 mark in the Western Water Polo Association.

Sophomore Andrew Hamilton leads the Falcons' offense with 31 points on the season, including a team-best 29 goals. Junior Cruz Smithson (23g, 7a) is second on the team with 30 points, while classmate Dillon Fisher has registered a team-best 21 assists on the season.

SCOUTING THE BRONCOS...
The Santa Clara Broncos, ranked 15th in the latest coaches poll, currently hold an 11-11 overall record and 5-3 mark in the WWPA. The Broncos are coming off a 12-9 loss to then-third-ranked UCLA.

Santa Clara is coached by Keith Wilbur, in his 10th year at the helm of the program. Sophomore Theo Nasser leads the Broncos' offense with a team-best 31 goals for the season, while senior goalkeeper Michael Wishart has registered 208 saves on the year.

SCOUTING THE BEARS...
The Brown Bears, receiving votes in this week's coaches poll, currently hold a 10-5 overall record, winning nine of their last 10 contests. The Bears are coming off victories over Fordham and Mercyhurst and will take on Connecticut College and Iona before heading to The Rodeo this weekend.

Brown is coached by Felix Mercado, in his fifth year at the helm of the program. Junior Svetozar Stefanovic has scored a team-best 56 goals on the season, while sophomore James McNamara is second on the team with 29 goals.

SCOUTING THE AGGIES...
The UC Davis Aggies, ranked 12th in the latest coaches poll, currently hold a 16-6 overall record and 10-2 mark in the WWPA. The Aggies have dropped their last three contests, including games against conference foes UC San Diego (11-10) and Santa Clara (9-6).

UC Davis is coached by Steve Doten, in his 11th year at the helm of the program. Senior Aaron Salit is the Aggies' leading scorer with 57 goals, while redshirt freshman Chris Richardson has added 30 goals on the season. Meanwhile, senior goalkeeper Kevin Peat has recorded 217 saves on the year.

SCOUTING THE CARDINAL...
The Stanford Cardinal, ranked third in the latest coaches poll, enters this weekend with a 9-3 overall record. The Cardinal is coming off a 7-6 loss to UCLA.

Stanford is coached by John Vargas, in his 10th year at the helm of the program. Freshman Alex Bowen leads the Cardinal's offense with 25 goals on the season, while Jacob Smith and Forrest Watkins have added 18 and 17 goals, respectively.

SERIES RECORDS...
This weekend's game between Air Force and Santa Clara will be the 45th meeting in the all-time series, with the Falcons leading, 34-10. Air Force won the previous meeting between the two teams this season, handing the Broncos a 12-10 loss.

Air Force and Brown will face each other for the 19th time this weekend, with the Falcons holding a slight 10-8 advantage in the series. Air Force won the last contest between the two teams, an 11-10 decision at The Rodeo in 2010.

The contest between Air Force and UC Davis on Sunday will mark the 64th in the series, with the Falcons holding a 36-27 advantage. The two teams played each other three times in 2010, with the Aggies winning all three contests.

Finally, Sunday's game between Air Force and Stanford will be the 20th in the series, with the Cardinal undefeated against the Falcons. The two teams last met in 2008, with Stanford earning a 14-2 decision.

UP NEXT...
Air Force closes out its home slate next weekend, Oct. 29-30, with a pair of games against St. Francis. The Falcons will face the Terriers at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, while playing at 11:00 on Sunday morning.