Nov. 23, 2005

MALIBU, Calif. - This weekend the Pepperdine water polo team will begin its post-season run as it heads to the University of Southern California Friday morning for an 11:30 a.m. (PT) game against Stanford. The Waves are the sixth seed in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) tournament.

Pepperdine (17-9) was led by three-time All-American Jesse Smith's career-tying-high 55 goals in 2005. A pair of sophomores in Adam Hewko and Grant Miller finished the regular-season with 38 goals each, while Matt Digges' 26 goals ranked fourth on the team.

Senior Ben Tait logged 230 saves in 26 games as the Wave's primary goaltender.

Friday's tilt against Stanford will mark the third meeting of the season for the two teams with the Cardinal emerging with a 7-6 victory on Sept. 18 and an 11-9 decision on Oct. 30.

Complete tournament results can be found at www.mpsports.org.