Water polo ranked No. 13

By Matthew Cucuzza

The men's water polo team started its 2008 campaign right where it left off last season, ranked No. 13 in the men's varsity preseason polls and ready to challenge for the Western Water Polo Association Championship.

Keith Wilbur, who is in his seventh year as men's water polo head coach, has postseason aspirations for his squad.

"Our goal is to win our conference and make it to the NCAA tournament," said Wilbur.

Santa Clara finished the last season with an overall record of 17-13, placing No. 15 in the nation.

The Broncos finished fourth in the WWPA Tournament after losing the third-place game to Air Force in overtime.

Sixteen players return from last year, including redshirt junior Jack Wall, who missed all of last season due to injury.

Wall was a standout player in his first two seasons and earned All-WWPA First Team honors two years ago before injury claimed his 2007-2008 season.

Wall is expected to provide the extra firepower the Broncos need to win the WWPA.

"Jack is a hard-working, talented and extremely competitive player," Wilbur said. "He brings a lot to our team offensively and defensively. I think that everybody on our team plays better when he is in the water."

The Broncos began their season in impressive fashion, finishing 4-1 two weekends ago at the Princeton Invitational in New Jersey with notable wins over No. 20 Princeton and then-No. 18 George Washington.

Junior Liam Farrell was honored as a WWPA Top Performer for the week after scoring 16 goals in five games at that tournament.

"It is the best start to the season we have had in my seven years here," Wilbur said. "Liam was definitely a catalyst to get the team going during our first weekend of competition."

Santa Clara dropped its first match 15-2 to No. 3 Stanford on day one of the NorCal Invitational in Stockton this past weekend.

The Broncos finished Saturday with a win over No. 13 Navy before losing on Sunday to No. 10 UC Santa Barbara and hosts No. 14 University of the Pacific. The team finished the tournament with an overall record of 5-4.

The Broncos head to Slugfest this weekend, which is hosted by UC Santa Cruz.

It will be the first time this season Santa Clara will play WWPA conference games.

Opponents and match times have yet to be announced.

"I expect us to play well at the Slugfest this year," Wilbur said.

The Broncos are still awaiting the opening of the new Sullivan Aquatics Center, leaving the squad without a pool to call home until late October.

Originally slated for a September opening, the state of the art facility will meet regulation size for depth and width and will allow both the men's and women's teams to practice simultaneously while still having lanes open for swimming laps.

The facility is scheduled to open on Oct. 25, for the Broncos' first home games.

The new aquatics center will allow Santa Clara to host WWPA opponents who are rarely seen in Silicon Valley.

"To have league rivals from outside the Bay Area, like Air Force and UCSD, come and play at Santa Clara for the first time in a long time, if ever, is going to be really special," Wilbur said.

Wilbur said the pool at San Jose State will be available for Santa Clara's use if Sullivan Aquatics Center is not finished on schedule.

Contact Matthew Cucuzza at (408) 551-1918 or mcucuzza@scu.edu.