Oct. 1, 2008

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The No. 12 Santa Clara water polo team will travel to Southern California to participate in the Convergence Tournament hosted by Claremont and Pomona Colleges on Friday, Oct. 3 and Saturday, Oct. 4. During the two day tournament, the Broncos will face three conference opponents in Chapman, Claremont and Whittier, and will square off for the first time with Concordia College (Calif.). This week Santa Clara reaches their highest national ranking of the season, at No. 12. It is the highest the Broncos have been ranked in head coach Keith Wilbur's seven seasons at the helm of the program.

"I am very proud of the team this season," said Wilbur. "They are working hard to improve each day and our results are proof of our dedication and commitment to playing well. This season we have already reached landmark feats, in getting our highest national ranking since I have been here and we beat UC Davis for the first time in five seasons."

At Convergence, the Broncos will take on Whittier at 9 a.m. and hosts Claremont at 12:45 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 3 at Claremont's Matt M. Axelrood Pool. The following day, at Pomona's Haldeman Aquatics Center, they will face Chapman at 9 a.m. and Concordia at 2 p.m.

"Every game is important, so we will try to play our best game going into this weekend," Wilbur said. "Three of the four teams we will face are conference opponents, so we would really like to get wins that will help us in the conference tournament at the end of the season."

Santa Clara enters this weekend's competition with an 8-5 overall record and come off going 3-1 at the Slugfest Tournament at UC Santa Cruz. They defeated then No. 15 UC Davis, 10-8, for the first time in five years. Jack Wall had a standout game, scoring six goals and posting two steals. The Broncos also defeated Cal Lutheran, 13-7, and blanked Occidental, 20-11. In their only loss of the weekend, they fell, 9-8, to then No. 16 Redlands.

Freshman goalie Michael Wishart has posted 111 blocks, and eight steals and assists, in 13 games this season. He was named a WWPA Top Performer this week, coming off a standout weekend at the Slugfest. He helped the Broncos win three of their four games this past weekend tallying 33 saves, six assists and four steals.

Leading SCU this season is junior Liam Farrell, who has scored 27 goals, notched seven assists, posted three steals and 17 kick outs drawn. He was named the WWPA Top Performer for the week of Sept. 17. Wall, is the assist leader on the season with 13 and has scored 24 goals.

	SantaClaraBroncos.com
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