Waves Play Home Opener on Saturday
9/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
UPCOMING — The Pepperdine men’s water polo team will host the Pepperdine Mini-Tournament this Saturday with four colleges scheduled to participate.
TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK — The No. 5 Waves (11-3, 0-1) faces No. 10 Loyola Marymount in the first match of the day. LMU finished 11th at the NorCal Tournament (Sept. 15-16) and is 4-6 for the season. Pepperdine last met the Lions on Sept. 2 and defeated them 10-4.
Two matches will take place before the Waves meet Golden West Community College at 4:30 p.m. At 1:30 p.m., Golden West will meet #8 UC Santa Barbara and at 3 p.m., the Gauchos will be back in the pool to take on LMU.
The last game of the event will be the Waves going against Golden West Community College, ranked No. 1 in the state for community colleges and currently undefeated (4-0).
PEPPERDINE VS USC — The Waves lost their first MPSF match of the season 10-4, last Saturday (Sept. 29) to No. 1 USC. Pepperdine stayed competitive with USC for most of the game with a 3-3 score at the half and down by only one point late in the third quarter at 5-4.
STANDOUTS — Junior attacker Grant Miller (La Verne, Calif./ Damien HS) was responsible for three goals. Sophomore attacker J.P. MacDonell (Redwood City, Calif/ Bellarmine HS) added one goal for the Waves. Credited with 11 saves was sophomore goalkeeper Travis Stachowski (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./ Foothill HS).
PEPPERDINE IN THE POLLS — The Waves remain #5 in the polls for the second straight week.
UP NEXT —The Waves will travel to Claremont-Mudd for the Claremont Convergence Tournament to be held Oct .5-6.
JACK KOCUR — Coach Jack Kocur served as interim head coach for the 2006 season, and this will be his first season as head coach as he takes over for Terry Schroeder who is serving as an assistant coach for the U.S. National Team. Kocur was a member of Pepperdine’s 1997 national championship team, earning first All-American honors as a senior. Kocur had spent four seasons as an assistant under Schroeder prior to the 2006 season. Former Pepperdine player William Rodriguez is in his second season as assistant coach.
PEPPERDINE HISTORY — In its first 33 seasons, the Pepperdine water polo program has posted an overall record of 596-363, including a 165-104 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation record. The Waves have posted 13 20+ win seasons and advanced to the NCAA Championships 12 times, claiming the program’s lone national title in 1997.
REDSHIRTS RETURN — Last season, head coach Jack Kocur chose to redshirt four of his top returners from the 2005 squad. Juniors Adam Hewko, Grant Miller, Matt Digges and Matt MacDonell made their return debut at the Triton Invitational over Labor Day weekend.
J.P. MACDONELL— The leading scorer in the 2006 season with 60 goals, J.P. MacDonell returns this year as one of the top players. MacDonell was named to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation’s honorable mention team in 2006.
ADAM HEWKO — Pepperdine attacker Adam Hewko spent the summer training and representing the United States at the Pan American Games held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The U.S. team went undefeated in the competition and defeated Brazil in the finals to take the gold medal. Hewko scored a goal in the championship match and helped the U.S. to a 9-2 victory over Brazil. The victory secured the U.S. a spot at the Olympic Games in Beijing, China, next summer. Hewko reunited with Coach Terry Schroeder and alumni Jesse Smith and Merrill Moses as members of the national team.
1997 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS REUNION — Sunday, August 27, the 2007 Pepperdine men’s water polo team joined the 1997 Pepperdine national champions to celebrate their 10-year reunion at the Malibu West Swim Club. The 1997 team was honored at a barbecue and fund raiser put on by the Pepperdine water polo program.
