Sept. 28, 2008
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - The No. 13 Santa Clara men's water polo team concluded play at the Slugfest Tournament hosted at UC Santa Cruz. In what head coach Keith Wilbur described as a rollercoaster day, the Broncos defeated No. 15 UC Davis, 10-8, only after falling to No. 16 University of Redlands, 9-8, in the morning.
Santa Clara played hard and came out strong in the early game, but Redlands was able to capitalize in the second half and edge the Broncos for their first loss in two games. Seven Broncos scored in the game, including Andrew Fitch who had two goals, two assists, two steals and a kick out drawn. Mitchell Klipa had another strong defensive game tallying five steals, and freshman goalie Michael Wishart had a standout game in the cage with 12 blocks and two assists.
After falling to the Bulldogs, Santa Clara came back strong and defeated the Aggies of UC Davis, 10-8. The Broncos have not defeated Davis in five years, so the win was a major success for the Santa Clara men's water polo program. The Aggies, who are a powerhouse program, could not match Santa Clara's prowess in the pool. Redshirt junior Jack Wall led the Broncos offensive attack with six goals, as well as adding to the defensive depth with two steals. Chris Parolin had an assist and four kick outs drawn in the game, and Wishart held Davis off the board with seven blocks and got in on the offensive game with an assist.
"The Davis game was really physical," said Wilbur. "We suffered a tough loss in the morning and I am very proud of the way we bounced back in the afternoon. We had lots of energy and were great on the counterattacks, defensively and getting points on the board."
The Broncos continue conference play when they travel to Claremont to participate in the Claremont Convergence Tournament, from Friday, Oct. 3 to Saturday, Oct. 4. Times and opponents are to be determined.
Game One
Santa Clara 8, Redlands 9
Goals
Klipa - 1, Sorgenfrei - 1, Parolin - 1, Fitch - 2, Poggetti - 1, Adler - 1, Hobbs - 1
Assists
Early - 2, Parolin - 1, Detoy - 2, Fitch - 2, Adler - 1, Wishart - 2
Steals
Miestrall - 1, Klipa - 5, Sorgenfrei - 2, Parolin - 1, Detoy - 1, Fitch - 2, Poggetti - 1, Case - 1
Kick Outs Drawn
Farrell - 3, Fitch - 1, Adler - 1
Blocks
Wishart - 12
Game Two
Santa Clara 10, UC Davis 8
Goals
Farrell - 1, Early - 1, Sorgenfrei - 1, Poggetti - 1, Wall - 6
Assists
Farrell - 2, Early -2, Sorgenfrei - 1, Parolin - 1, Adler - 1, Wishart - 1
Steals
Farrell - 1, Early - 1, Sorgenfrei - 1, Case - 1, Wall - 2, Adler - 1
Kick Outs Drawn
Farrell - 1, Klipa - 2, Parolin - 4, Detoy - 1, Hobbs - 1
Blocks
Wishart - 7
