Water Polo Travels to Santa Barbara on Sunday
11/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
UPCOMING — The No. 5 ranked Pepperdine men’s water polo team (17-6,4-2) travels north this weekend to take on UC Santa Barbara in a battle of rankings for the MPSF Tournament.
PEPPERDINE VS. UC SANTA BARBARA (Nov. 16, 12 p.m.) — The Waves travel to Santa Barbara on Sunday to meet the No. 7 Gauchos (15-8). Santa Barbara is coming off a major upset over No. 2 Stanford last Sunday, 5-4. The Gauchos have a perfect 6-0 season record at their home pool.
Pepperdine had a match against Santa Barbara (Oct.10) at the SoCal Tournament and won, 10-8.
STANFORD RECAP — Pepperdine dropped an MPSF match to No. 2 Stanford on Saturday, 9-4.
The Waves (16-6, 3-2) played a strong first half both offensively and defensively against Stanford (21-2). However, the Cardinal took over offensively the second half by capitalizing on 6-on-5 opportunities. Adam Hewko (Irvine,Calif./Servite HS) led the Pepperdine offense with three goals. Goalkeeper John Hahn (Sydney,Australia) had seven saves for the Waves.
CONCORDIA RECAP — After a tough loss to the Cardinal, Pepperdine returned to the pool to take on Concordia University. Jacob Young (Saratoga, Calif./Valley Christian HS) and Christian Cardey (Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly HS) led the Waves offense with three goals each. Matt Digges (Coronado, Calif./Coronado HS) and J.P. MacDonell (Redwood City, Calif./Bellarmine Prep) added two goals a piece.
UC IRVINE RECAP — J.P. MacDonell (Redwood City, Calif./Bellarmine Prep) was the match high-scorer with five goals. Pepperdine goalkeeper John Hahn had 13 saves. The Waves were 3-for-6 on extra man opportunities while the Anteaters went 4-for-6.
MACDONELL NAMED MPSF PLAYER OF THE WEEK — Junior J.P. MacDonell was selected as the MPSF Player of the Week for Nov. 10. Freshman John Hahn was selected as the MPSF Player of the Week for the last week in September. Hahn had 16 saves against California to help the Waves upset the Golden Bears 7-5.
PHOTO GALLERIES — Galleries are up for the Cal- Claremont Matches NorCal Tournament, LMU Match, 2008 Chance for Children and the Triton Invitational. Go to the left hand side of the water polo web page to access the galleries.
PEPPERDINE IN THE POLLS — The Waves are No. 5 in the national rankings this week, according to the latest NCAA Div. I polls.
MPSF RANKINGS — Five Waves make the top 24 for goals scored in the MPSF individual statistics this week. J.P. MacDonell moved up to the No. 5 spot this week for goals scored (46) with a 2.0 game avg. An injured Grant Miller fell to No. 7 with 38 goals and a 1.81 average. Adam Hewko took over the No. 11 spot with 38 goals and a1.65 average. Mat MacDonell fell to the No. 21 spot with 28 goals and a 1.32 game average. The Waves are ranked No. 4 for team goals with 248 and No. 5 for team defense with 171 goals scored against them.
COACH KOCUR — Coach Jack Kocur is in his third year as head coach. Kocur took over the position from Terry Schroeder when he took a leave of absence to serve as the assistant coach for the U.S. National Team in 2006. Kocur was a member of the Waves 1997 national championship team, earning first All-American honors as a senior. Kocur spent four seasons as an assistant under Schroeder.
COACH O’BRIEN — Coach Gary O'Brien begins his first season as assistant coach. O’Brien played for UCLA and then went on to play semi-professionally in Australia. He has eight years of coaching experience at the high school, community college, university and club level.
PEPPERDINE HISTORY — In its 33 seasons, the Pepperdine water polo program has posted an overall record of 622-375-8, including a 151-104 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation record. The Waves have posted 14 20+ win seasons and advanced to the NCAA Championships 12 times, claiming the program’s lone national title in 1997.
SENSATIONAL SENIORS — Pepperdine’s five seniors are expected to be the core of the 2008 team. Four of the five redshirted their junior season in order to be a part of this season’s team: attacker and 2007 All-American Adam Hewko (Irvine, Calif./Servite, HS), centerback Matt Digges (Coronado, Calif./Coronado HS), centerback and two-time All-American Grant Miller (La Verne, Calif./La Verne HS) and utility Matt MacDonell (Redwood City, Calif./Bellarmine Prep.) . Jack Curley (Sonoma, Calif./Santa Rosa CC) is expected to be a top contender for the starting goalkeeper position.
AMAZING COMEBACK — Adam Hewko returns after taking spring semester off to train with the USA National Team. Hewko underwent shoulder surgery in January and suffered a life-threatening complication which kept him out of training for several months. The Waves top scorer (59 goals for the 2007 season) made it to the final cuts for the USA Olympic Water Polo Team despite his late start. Hewko is fully recovered and should be a major scoring force for the Waves this season. Hewko was ranked No. 30 nationally last season for goals scored.
OUTSTANDING JUNIORS — Attacker J.P. MacDonell (Redwood City, Calif./Bellarmine Prep.) was the second highest scorer for the Waves last season with 58 goals and finished the season ranked No. 35 nationally for goals. Macdonell is a two-time All-MPSF honorable mention selection. Center Clayton Snyder (Seal Beach, Calif./ Los Alamitos, HS) returns as one of the top ranked scorers in the MPSF finishing the season with 42 goals.
UP AND COMING SOPHOMORES — Attackers Andrew Milcovich (Walnut Creek, Calif./Bellarmine HS) and Taylor Watson (Alamo, Calif./Monte Vista HS) are expected to be major contributors to the Waves offense this season.
INTERNATIONAL PLAYER — Freshman John Hahn (Sydney, Australia) joins the Waves as another top contender for the starting goalkeeper position. Hahn has extensive experience with the Australian National Junior Team.
WAVES HOST MPSF CHAMPIONSHIPS — The Malibu campus will be the setting for the 2008 MPSF Championships on November 27-30. Once again, the top teams in the nation — California, USC, Stanford and UCLA with the addition of UC Santa Barbara, Pepperdine, Long Beach State, UC Irvine and Pacific — meet to determine the 2008 MPSF champion.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE — Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won a total of nine NCAA championships in five different men’s sports — one of just 14 schools to have accomplished this feat. Of the 14, Pepperdine is the only non-BCS school and has by far the smallest enrollment. The majority of Pepperdine’s teams are ranked nationally year after year and compete for conference and national titles.
