Waves Resume MPSF Play at Long Beach State
10/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
This Week: The No. 11 Pepperdine men's water polo team plays its lone game this week at No. 5 Long Beach State as the team returns to MPSF play. The Waves and 49ers play at noon in Long Beach.
Multimedia: Fans can follow @PeppWaterPolo on Twitter for updates.
Last Week: The Waves played at the prestigious SoCal Tournament last week, finishing with a 2-2 record. Pepperdine closed each day with a victory at the non-conference tournament, downing No. 13 Air Force on day one and then No. 12 UC Davis on the second day. The Waves suffered losses to No. 8 UC Santa Barbara and No. 10 UC Irvine.
Waves in the Rankings: Pepperdine moved up one spot to No. 11 in the most recent rankings this week, after its 2-2 weekend at the SoCal Tournament. The Waves started the season ranked No. 9 in the preseason poll and had been No. 12 the last two weeks.
Leading the Charge:Luke Hewko has led the Waves offensively this season, scoring a team-high 40 goals in 16 games played. His 2.5 goals per game are good for fifth in the MPSF. Hewko scored 55 goals last year and recorded 20 steals and eight assists. His brother Adam Hewko was a two-time All-American, playing four years at Pepperdine and is the Waves' 13th all-time goal scorer.
Freshman in Net: Freshman goalkeeper Zack Rhodes has started all 16 games so far for the Waves, recording 96 total saves. His 8.77 saves per game are good for 8th in the conference as he is the only player on the list to start every game in goal for his team.
Follow the Waves: Follow Pepperdine Water Polo on Twitter at @PeppWaterPolo and like the Waves on Facebook at Pepperdine Water Polo to get updates on everything happening with the program. Also follow Pepperdine Athletics on Instagram at @PepperdineWaves.
Schedule Notes:
- · The SoCal Tournament was the final non-conference invite left on the Waves' schedule.
- · The Waves' next five games are all MPSF contests.
- · Pepperdine has home games against Cal (Oct. 25), Stanford (Oct. 26) and UC Irvine (Nov. 1) left on the schedule.
- · The MPSF tournament will run Nov. 21-23, with the winner advancing to the NCAA tournament Dec. 6-7.
Schroeder File: Water polo icon Terry Schroeder returned last season for his second tour of duty as the Pepperdine men's water polo head coach. In his first stint with Pepperdine (1986-2005) he amassed 340 wins and a national championship in 1997. The head coach for USA Water Polo at the last two Olympics, Schroeder has been inducted into the Capital One Academic All-America Hall of Fame (2013), International Swimming Hall of Fame (2005), U.S. Water Polo Hall of Fame (1998) and the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame (1985).
Moses File: Two-time U.S. Olympian (2008, 2012) and former Pepperdine All-American Merrill Moses returns for the 2014 season as an assistant. A 2013 inductee into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame, Moses led the United States to a gold medal at the 2007 and 2011 Pan American Games. Moses also led the Waves to the 1997 national championship where they captured their first title.
Broadcast Info: Most of the Waves' 2014 home games will be streamed live on PepperdineSports.com. Click on the WaveCasts link to access the live feeds for each game.
About Pepperdine: Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports -- one of just 17 schools to have accomplished this feat -- and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 23 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #54 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
