SAN BRUNO, Calif. — The Santa Clara University men's water polo team swept the KAP7 West Coast Conference weekly awards Monday, with Riccardo De Simon earning his second consecutive Player of the Week accolade, and freshman Imme van der Schaaf collecting his first Newcomer of the Week recognition.
 
The two underclassmen were key in the No. 16 Broncos' narrow defeat at the hands of No. 9 UC Davis Saturday. De Simon was the team's leading scorer with four goals, and van der Schaaf added three. De Simon also drew four exclusions, swiped three steals and dished two assists for six total points. Van der Schaaf dished an assist along with his three scores for four total points and also swiped a steal and drew an exclusion.
 
De Simon brought the Broncos to within one in the third period with a penalty goal, making it 11-10 at the time. He also won multiple sprints during the game. Van der Schaaf's lone assist was to De Simon in the fourth period, and was immensely important at the time. He threw the ball ahead to a sprinting De Simon, who earned himself a one-on-one showdown with the UC Davis goalie and netted the ball to tie the score at 14-14.
 
De Simon was also part of the Broncos' last sweep of the WCC weekly awards on Nov. 5, 2024, when he was named Newcomer of the Week alongside now-graduated Zach Fales, who earned Player of the Week.
 
De Simon, van der Schaaf and the Broncos continue their home stand this week with two games against ranked opponents. They host No. 17 UC Santa Barbara at 2:30 p.m. Friday, then open WCC play at noon Sunday versus No. 11 Pacific. Fans can find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.