Nov. 15, 2007

The Santa Clara men's water polo team will travel to Colorado Springs this weekend where they will compete in the WWPA Championships, hosted by Air Force Academy. Following a 16-11 season in which the Broncos went 11-4 in their conference, Santa Clara earned a birth as the No. 2 seed in the WWPA Championships, the highest in the school's history. The team will face off against Pomona-Pitzer in the first round on Friday, Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. (MT).

If Santa Clara beats Pomona, they face a potential rematch of the thrilling overtime upset of LMU, but head coach Keith Wilbur does not have that on his mind right now. "All our focus is on the first game," said Wilbur. "If we beat Pomona on Friday, our focus can shift, but until then all our focus is on Pomona."

The first time the Broncos matched up against Pomona this season resulted in a 10-6 victory for Santa Clara, but Wilbur says the final score was not indicative of the hard fought game. "First of all, they have an excellent coach, so they've gotten progressively better throughout the season," said Wilbur. "They have a strong hole set, but we have excellent two meter defenders to match up with that."

Being a two seed is a different position for Santa Clara to be in, and one that might bring added pressure for some teams. "When you're a two seed, you're expected to beat the seven seed," said Wilbur. "But every team here is tough, every game is going to be tough, we're not head and shoulders above anyone here. But that's the sort of thing we have to deal with."

The Broncos will send a team to Colorado with four All-WWPA honorees, but this tournament, as it has been all year, will be about the team and not the individual. The two seniors that garnished 1st and 2nd Team All-WWPA honors respectively, Tommy Kelly and Robert Callahan, are best known for their consistency more than their stats. WWPA Honorable Mention Tommy Hendrickson can score five goals one night, then the next have all assists according to Wilbur. That opens the door for a sharpshooter from the outside, such as Josh Early, or a physical player like Liam Farrell to get in and mix it up to get his opportunities. The team is deep and every player is capable of contributing.

The first round of the WWPA Championships kicks off tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 16 at Air Force Academy with the play-in game of UC Santa Cruz against Claremont at 10:30 a.m. (MT). Santa Clara takes one Pomona at 5 p.m. (MT) The winner of that game will face the winner of LMU and Redlands on Saturday at 2 p.m. (MT)

	SantaClaraBroncos.com
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