No. 6 Waves Head into MPSF Championship Tournament Friday
11/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 24, 2004
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Tournament Weekend: After three straight upset victories, the sixth-ranked Waves finished the regular season last Saturday with a 14-12 record. This weekend Pepperdine takes their winning streak into the 2004 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championship Tournament at Stanford University. Having finished seventh in the MPSF, the Waves will open the tournament against second ranked Stanford at 5 p.m. on Friday.
Last Week for the Waves: The Waves extended their two-game win streak with another upset victory as they defeated Long Beach State 6-5 on Saturday. The win pushed the Waves up to the sixth spot in the polls after jumping from 11th to seventh last week.
Pepperdine played outstanding defense in Saturday's match holding the 49ers to one goal in the first half. After a scoreless first quarter, the Waves took the lead thanks to goals by Adam Hewko and Grant Miller.
With a one-goal lead at halftime, Pepperdine put the match out of reach in the third with three more goals. The three goal lead was enough for the Waves to cruise to victory as they were able to stop a late comeback by the 49ers and go on to a 6-5 win.
Miller led all scorers with three goals in the match. Hewko followed closely with two of his own and Matt MacDonell found the back of the net once. Robbie Miller played outstanding goal again recording seven saves while allowing only five goals.
The Home Stretch: After being picked fifth in the preseason polls, the Waves have bounced around and were once as low as 12th. Two weeks ago they found themselves in the 11th slot with three regular season matches remaining, all against higher ranked opponents.
Pepperdine rattled off three straight upset victories over Loyola Marymount, UCSB and Long Beach State to propel themselves to the sixth in the national polls as the regular season came to a close.
The Waves won five of their last six matches, all of which were against ranked opponents. Their only loss over the stretch came against third-ranked USC on Nov. 6.
MPSF: With the league schedule complete, the Waves have been slotted the seventh seed for the MPSF Tournament. Pepperdine will be matched up against Stanford to open this years MPSF Championship Tournament. The winner will advance to the semifinals on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. against the winner of the match between USC and Cal. The loser of Fridays match will play in a consolation match on Saturday and have the chance to play in the fifth place match on Sunday.
The winner of the MPSF Championship Tournament will receive an automatic bid to the four-team NCAA Championship Tournament. Loyola Marymount and Princeton received automatic bids from their conferences. All other teams will be eligible to receive an at-large bid to fill the final slot in the tournament
The MPSF is proud to boast yet another strong year with all nine teams ranked 15th or higher nationally. MPSF teams also currently hold the top eight slots in the national polls.
Breakin' it Down: The Waves are outscoring their opponents this year, averaging 7.54 goals per match while allowing only 7.04. Pepperdine has also outscored their opponents in the first three quarter this season, their strongest being the second, where they have scored 55 goals (2.12 per match).
Pepperdine boasts an 11-5 record when they score more than 6 goals in a match. The Waves are also 14-6 in matches where they hold their opponents to less than 10 goals.
The Leaderboard: Grant Miller's three goals on Saturday keep him on top of the leaderboard as the Wave's highest scorer with 48. Miller is averaging 1.85 goals per match and is ranked as the 9th highest scorer in the MPSF. Josh Acosta continues to play strong this year holding the second slot on the Pepperdine leaderboard. Acosta now has 33 on the season and had scored in 10 straight matches earlier this year. Acosta holds the 16th slot on the MPSF leaderboard averaging 1.27 goals per match.
The Coach: Regarded as one of the world's all-time outstanding players, and the U.S. National team captain from 1983-92, Dr. Terry Schroeder is in the midst of his 19th season as Pepperdine's head coach. The Waves have enjoyed tremendous success during Schroeder's previous 18 campaigns, posting a cumulative record of 307-195 (.612), earning eight NCAA Championships berths and claiming the program's first-ever national title in 1997.
Under Schroeder's watchful eye, Pepperdine has been a regular contender in recent years for the NCAA title, winning 20 or more games in a season on seven occasions. Pepperdine notched a 19-8 record last season and finished tied for fifth in the nine-team Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). Schroeder directed Pepperdine to a dazzling 25-3 (.893) mark in 1997, the best single-season winning percentage in the program's history. Not only did the program have four players earn first team All-American honors from U.S. Water Polo, but Schroeder was named the national "Coach of the Year" in 1997, as Pepperdine won its first-ever NCAA crown in water polo.
Tabbed the Big West Conference (BWC) "Coach of the Year" in 1989, Schroeder has directed Pepperdine to five regular season league titles. Schroeder oversaw a smooth transition of the Pepperdine program in 1986 when he succeeded longtime head coach Rick Rowland. The Waves rolled to a 23-11 record, winning the BWC title with an 11-1 mark, and placed fourth at the NCAA Championships. Pepperdine earned a fourth place finish at the 1989 NCAA Championships and was fifth in 1987, 1990 and 1992. The 1997 team won its first 14 games and claimed the regular season MPSF title with a perfect 8-0 mark. Schroeder was selected the MPSF "Coach of the Year" for the first time since the league was formed for water polo back in 1992. Schroeder was tabbed the University's 1997-98 "Coach of the Year."
A four-time Olympian, Schroeder maintains a busy schedule which includes coaching, working as a chiropractor and promoting water polo. The Schroeder-led U.S. team finished second to Yugoslavia at both the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games, and placed fourth at the 1992 event in Barcelona, Spain. He earned All-American honors at Pepperdine in 1977, 1978 and 1980. Schroeder led the Waves to fourth place finishes at the NCAA Championships in each of those seasons and a cumulative four-year record of 109-39 (.736).
