Waves Finish 2004 Campaign After Placing Sixth in MPSF Tournament
12/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Dec. 1, 2004
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Wrapping it up: The Waves finished the 2004 season last weekend after placing sixth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championship Tournament. Pepperdine entered the eight-team tournament with a seventh-seed. After losing to second-seeded Stanford in the opener, the Waves upset Cal to earn a chance to compete for fifth place. Sunday's loss to Long Beach dropped the Waves to sixth and brought an end to the 2004 campaign.
Friday's match against Stanford was one-sided as the Cardinal jumped out to an early lead and cruised to a 10-5 victory over the Waves. Doug Mann was the leading scorer for the Waves with two. Adam Hewko, Matt Digges and Josh Acosta each added a goal in the loss. Goalkeeper Robbie Miller collected 11 saves.
Pepperdine rebounded from the loss and was able to pull out an upset victory over California on Saturday. The defensive struggle resulted in a 4-3 win for the Waves as Miller tallied a season-high 18 saves in goal. Hewko, Digges, Mann and Nick Corjon each contributed a goal marking the second consecutive game in which four different Waves scored.
Saturday's victory granted Pepperdine a chance to compete for fifth place on Sunday against Long Beach State. The match marked the third time the teams had met this year, with the season series tied at one.
Long Beach would prove to be victorious in the rubber match as they handed the Waves a 9-8 loss. Pepperdine had jumped out to an early lead, going up 4-1 in the first quarter, but were unable to hang on as the 49ers scored three unanswered goals in the fourth to pull out the one-goal win.
Acosta and Hewko led all scorers in the match with three each. Grant Miller added on to his team leading 48 goals with two more in Sunday's match. Robbie Miller collected 6 saves in goal.
The Polls: After beginning with a preseason rank of fifth, the Waves dropped as low as twelfth at one point in the year. With three straight upset victories to close out the season, Pepperdine currently holds the sixth slot in the national polls.
MPSF: With the season complete, the Waves have finished sixth in the MPSF Standings thanks to their performance last weekend. Pepperdine opened the tournament against the eventual champion Stanford who received this years automatic bid to the NCAA Tournaments next weekend.
With the winner of the MPSF Championship Tournament receiving an automatic bid to the four-team NCAA Championship Tournament, only the at-large bid was left. Loyola Marymount and Princeton received automatic bids from their conferences and UCLA was chosen to represent the MPSF as the fourth team.
The MPSF posted 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 outscored their opponents this year, averaging 7.34 goals per match while allowing only 7.07. Pepperdine also outscored their opponents in the first three quarter this season, their strongest being the second, where they have scored 62 goals (2.14 per match).
Pepperdine boasts an 11-6 record when they score more than 6 goals in a match. The Waves are also 15-7 in matches where they hold their opponents to less than 10 goals.
The Leaderboard: Grant Miller's two goals on Sunday keep him on top of the leaderboard as the Wave's highest scorer with 50. Miller is averaging 1.72 goals per match and is ranked as the 10th highest scorer in the MPSF. Josh Acosta finished a strong senior year holding the second slot on the Pepperdine leaderboard. Acosta now has 37 on the season and had scored in 10 straight matches earlier this year. Acosta holds the 17th slot on the MPSF leaderboard averaging 1.28 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).
