Waves Travel to Stanford on Sunday
10/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Waves Travel to Stanford on Sunday
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Pepperdine Weekly Notes
October 16, 2009
UPCOMING - The Pepperdine men's water polo team moved up in rankings to No. 5 this week after defeating Loyola Marymount, UC Irvine and Long Beach State at the SoCal Tournament over the weekend.
The Waves (7-7, 1-1) travel north to meet MPSF rival No. 2 Stanford this week in their third conference competition.
Game #15: PEPPERDINE vs. STANFORD (Sunday, Oct. 18 @ 12 p.m. at The Avery Aquatic Center, Palo Alto, Calif.
The Cardinal (12-1, 1-0) lost their No. 1 national ranking this week after falling to No. 4 California in the first game of the SoCal Tournament last weekend. They went on to defeat No. 2 UCLA and Princeton. Stanford is ranked No. 3 according to the Oct. 14 polls.
Senior twins Drac and Janson Wigo hold the No. 1 and No. 5 MPSF top goal scorers rankings respectively.
The Waves are 0-2 this season against Stanford.
SOCAL TOURNAMENT RECAP - The Waves opened the tournament with a 11-9 win over UC Irvine. The second game saw Pepperdine fall 13-3 to Stanford. Day two proved to be much better for the Waves as they defeated No. 5 Loyola Marymount 11-9 in an early morning game and downed Long Beach State in overtime 12-11, to capture fifth place.
* JP MacDonell scored five goals against UCI.
* Bryce McLain had 29 saves for 2.5 games.
* Clayton Snyder scored four goals against Long Beach State including the game winning goal in sudden death.
* Christian Cardey scored two goals against both UC Irvine and Loyola Marymount.
MPSF CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Pepperdine true freshman goalkeeper Tommy O'Connell was selected as Co-MPSF Player of the Week (10/7/09) for his MPSF single-game high of 15 saves on Saturday.
The freshman goalkeepers 15 saves helped Pepperdine to an 8-7 win over MPSF rival Long Beach. With the score tied 6-6 after three quarters, he allowed just one goal fourth period goal in helping the Waves to their first conference win of the season.
O'Connell (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./El Toro HS) shares the honors with Janson Wigo of Stanford who recorded a game-high four goals to help Stanford to an 8-6 victory of UCLA.
PEPPERDINE IN THE POLLS - The Waves moved up to No. 5 in the national rankings this week, according to the latest NCAA Div. I polls.
MPSF STATS: JP MacDonell is ranked No. 2 for goals scored with a 2.33 average per game. Thomas O'Connell is ranked No. 10 for goalie saves with a 6.00 average per game and No. 9 for goals against with a 9.33 average per game. The Waves are ranked No. 8 for team goals at 9.0 per game and No. 7 for team defense with 8.50 per game.
COACH KOCUR - Coach Jack Kocur is in his fourth 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 second 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.
COACH MATTHIES - Coach Marty Matthies joins the Waves staff as the volunteer coach this season. Matthies was a member of the California 2006 NCAA championship team. He played for the USA Water Polo National Senior Team in 2005. Matthies is the son of Pepperdine's Head Women's Volleyball Coach Nina Matthies.
PEPPERDINE HISTORY - In its 34 seasons, the Pepperdine water polo program has posted an overall record of 648-382-8, including a 163-108 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation record. The Waves have posted 15 20+ winning seasons and advanced to the NCAA Championships 12 times, claiming the program's lone national title in 1997.
SUPER SENIOR CLASS - The senior class is comprised of two returning starters and four returning players who were an integral part of the 2008 team. JP MacDonell and Clayton Snyder lead the team as the 2009 co-captain. MacDonell was selected as a 2008 All-American third team and All MPSF first team. He was a member of the 2009 USA Water Polo University Team. Snyder enters his second season as a co-captain. He was named to the 2008 All-MPSF third team and the All-MPSF academic team.
Taylor Watson had a strong 2008 season and will be a contender for a starting position. Brett Auer came back at the end of the season after recovering from an injury. He led the Waves with three goals in an upset victory against Stanford at the 2008 MPSF semi-finals. Christian Cardey, Preston Lujan, Sam Busby and Jacob Young round out the senior class. The group has been together all four years with the exception of Young who transferred as a junior in 2008. All four saw significant playing time in the 2008 season and are expected to be key on defense and counter attacks.
REDSHIRTS RETURN - Four redshirts are anxious to get back in the pool this season. Travis Gough, Matt Brown, Jonathan Flowers and Milos Purkovic should all see some action this year. Gough was one of the top freshman scorers in 2007. He scored five goals in a game twice (Whittier and Cal Lutheran). Brown, Flowers and Purkovic will make their debut as Waves this season.
JUNIORS - Andrew Milcovich and Bryce Mclain will represent the junior class this year. Milcovich is a returning
starter and a 2008 MPSF All-Academic team selection. McLain is expected to be the starting goal keeper for the Waves.
AMAZING FRESHMAN CLASS - Fourteen freshmen make the 2009 class one of the largest in Pepperdine history.
Among the group are two USA Water Polo Junior National Team members: Spencer Hamby and James Perry. Fellow Wave Mathew Carter played for South Africa's Junior National Team.
Twelve remaining freshmen fill every position on the roster and look to provide the Waves with depth this season.
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.
